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Originally Posted by Sheep86
I'll need a rental car in a few weeks from now. The plan is to drive from LV to Utah, and back the next day. So three days should be enough. Any recommendations? Does it make a difference if I book it now or a few days in advance?
Prices go up and down, so I'd book something now that is totally refundable and then check rates again closer to when you need the car. You can always cancel and rebook if rates dropped. Most of the major rental companies (like Enterprise, National, Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo) are pretty equivalent, but brands like Hertz, National, and Enterprise will generally cost more. Some people will say the cars are higher quality from those brands, but IME they're not really any better and the higher pricing is probably mostly a product of business traveler loyalty. I wouldn't book with the much smaller/budget brands like Fox or whatnot.
Your credit card may give you status with a company -- I get Hertz from my Amex and there's a status match to National, so I will typically book with them because I can skip the line and get free upgrades.
If you have a credit card that offers good car rental coverage (like a Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve), make sure to book the car with that card. And if you have personal auto insurance, it very likely covers the rental car (at least almost all U.S. policies do) and you can and should decline all the coverage add-ons. In fact, if you accept them, your credit card benefit won't trigger.