Expedia Bungles Car Rental
Last week I drove from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, via the
Pacific Coast Highway. Photo: Photonica, Getty Images
Just got back to the Conde Nast Traveler offices after a West Coast jaunt, and what's the first thing I did? Marched straight into Wendy's office to tell her about my rental-car fiasco. (Nobody appreciates a good travel debacle like Wendy.) Her response? "Fabulous! You should make that your first blog post!" So here goes:
I'd made a reservation through Expedia for a Thrifty rental car to be picked up in San Francisco and dropped off in Portland, Oregon: 3 days, $115. I know, it sounded too good to be true -- particularly to someone who sits down the hall from the Ombudsman himself. But believe me, after working with Wendy for almost five years now, I know how to find loopholes in travel bargains, and I'd scoured the e-mail that Expedia sent me for any whiff of any extra fee they might tack on. No asterisks, no fine print -- just a daily rate, taxes and fee, and a total: $115.
It wasn't until I called Expedia to try to extend the rental that I was told Thrifty would be adding a $235 drop-off charge!
The 3-day rental was going to cost not $115 but $350. Thank God I discovered this before picking up the car! I canceled the reservation, did a search on Sidestep, and booked the cheapest car available through Alamo, for just under $300. If only I'd read Upgrade: Travel Better, I would have known that daily rates are always negotiable, at least at Enterprise.
The moral of the story: Next time you book a rental car through Expedia, call the rental company before picking up the car to make sure Expedia's price is accurate and all-inclusive.
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How did you like Portland? I grew up in Hood River, in the Columbia River Gorge and realize now how beautiful it is. Did you get a chance to visit there?
We moved from Portland 2 years ago and I miss it! My husband and I both worked for Nike, which is headquartered on the west side of Portland. Beautiful campus.
Nicole
CarSeatTraveler.com
Posted by: tncornett | March 23, 2007 at 01:20 PM
Update on my getting to San Francisco by buying a ticket to Las Vegas ($89)and getting off in SF: My husband mentioned one complication that I had forgotten about: If the airline cancels the flight, they could send you on a different route. Years ago he bought a ticket to Baton Rouge because it was a cheaper way to get to New Orleans, the stopover city. He was not happy at the airport when he arrived and found out the "good news" - his flight to Baton Rouge had been cancelled but they were able to book him on another flight, through Cincinatti, or some similar place! The savings on the flight went into a rental car to drive to New Orleans.
We ended up not getting the Las Vegas ticket because it sold out (at that fare) as I was booking. Instead, I got nonstop roundtrips from DC to LAX ($280) on Alaska Air, allowing me to get American miles for a lower price than booking through American.
Posted by: DCLinda | March 24, 2007 at 07:15 PM