I believe I selected Alamo because there was no charge for a spouse driver. I hate them, too. I'll go back and check again. I had to look in the FAQ's to find that info.

And right, my daughter reserved a car through Budget using her Costco code off their web site (and we also saw it on brochures at Costco) which gave her a lower rate.

I deselected the "show me only the best price" to see several rental car companies and their rates. Alamo was not the lowest, but no charge for the second driver. Budget was also free but much higher rate:

$321.00 from Alamo (with Tax $409.62)*
$413.00 from Avis (with Tax $516.43)*
$402.00 from Budget (with Tax $504.04)*
$437.00 from Dollar (with Tax $541.74)*
$306.00 from Thrifty (with Tax $385.13)*


"Q: We would like to add an additional driver to our car rental. What are the charges for an additional driver if he is over 25 years old?

A: If you book the car with Alamo, as of January 1st 2007 one additional driver is free and every other one thereafter costs $8.00 per day (plus tax), in addition to the regular rental charge.

If the additional driver is your spouse or partner, we suggest you check our Budget rate and see if it makes sense to book it this way. With Budget, the additional driver is free (if they're older than 25 years and the spouse or partner of the driver).

To get the quote for Budget, just unclick the "show me best price" option and see the other price quotes.

Budget does not charge more than $45.00 if the additional driver is not the partner (for instance, if it's your daughter over 25, she cannot be called the partner. Therefore the rate is $9.00 per day, but not more than $45.00).

Charges for additional driver (over 25 years old):

• Alamo - first one free, each additional $8 per day
• Budget $9 per day (max $45) - Spouse and partners are free"

Where is that edit button. First paragraph:

Budget additional driver is not free.

Another vote for Priceline. I just used their bid program to come up with a full size car at $22/day in Kauai over Easter week. I was really surprised when they accepted my first bid. The rental turned out to be with Alamo.