Car Rentals (Reward Programs)

Why I Avoid Renting a Car…

ByMatt

You may have noticed by now that I rarely talk about renting a car. Which means I barely ever write about car rental loyalty companies. If I ever do rent a car, I personally bank the points directly to a airline or hotel partner.

This article from CBC triggered the idea for today’s post: Hidden camera footage catches misleading sales practices at car rental agency.

Here’s a quick summary of the key suggestions from the article to watch out for when renting a car and I’ll provide my thoughts after each of the key points.

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Aeroplan Adds Budget Car Rental Award Booking

ByMatt

Aeroplan has added a new reward car rental redemption partner. Members can now redeem for Budget car rentals online. Avis has already been available.

Budget

Budget has over 3,000 rental locations in Canada, US, Latin America, and Europe. As an added bonus, members can currently earn 100 miles every time they redeem for a Budget car rental.

Here is a screen shot of a 1 week car rental:

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Car Rental Companies Fined $1.25 Million for False Advertising

ByMatt

I am happy to see our tax dollars being put to good use! Hertz and Dollar Thrifty, car rental companies have both been fined a total of $1.25 million by Canada’s Competition Bureau for falsely advertising discount prices “that are essentially impossible to obtain”.

Basically, the two companies are found to have advertised prices that consumers could not possibly obtain in reality due to additional fees added into the overall rental cost.

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Aeroplan Car Purchase and Rental Promotions

ByMatt

For those of you who do not rent a car very often and do not want to earn car rental points, another option to consider is to bank the rewards that you would earned to an airline partner. Aeroplan is a partner of Avis and Hertz. Currently, these 2 car rental companies are offering 3 Aeroplan bonus miles promotions each.

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[READER QUESTION] What Method of Transportation Should I Take for Last Minute Trip?

ByShirley Huang

A few days ago, a friend had asked me which type of transportation she should take from Ottawa to Guelph, Ontario as an emergency trip occurred and she would need to leave within the next couple of days. For last minute travel, it will be an extremely difficult task to get the best deal, but at least you can try to make the best out of it. She had originally decided to take the Greyhound bus. Below is a list of recommendations:

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[ANALYSIS] National Emerald Club Program

ByShirley Huang

As a points collector, I always tell my friends, it doesn’t hurt to join a loyalty program that doesn’t have any annual fees. You never know when those points will bring you unexpected rewards. One of our most popular car…