usrentacar.co.uk ® Car Hire USA Blog

Hi all,

Today’s post is a guide on how to collect your car hire voucher from our website.

Assuming you haven’t got an iPhone and therefore haven’t taken advantage of our free voucher app, available here – usrentacar voucher app you will need to print a copy of your voucher from our website.

The voucher is confirmation to our suppliers that you have pre-paid in the UK and also lists exactly what’s included in your rental.

Step 1

At the top of our homepage and on every page are two options for logging in to your usrentacar.co.uk account both are shown with green arrows in the above picture.  The first is a link to a separate login page, the second is a direct link to your account, you can access this by entering your email address, the password reconfirmed on your confirmation email and the verification code found in the box to the left of it.

Step 2

If you opted to click on Collect Voucher from stage 1, then you will be redirected to this page www.usrentacar.co.uk/booking. Here you are required to enter the email address used at the time of booking, your password which is reconfirmed on your confirmation email and enter the verification code situated below the box. The verification code is used to identify you as a human and not a robot or crawler.

Stage 3

Once you’ve successfully logged in to your account you will notice a button titled “Collect Your Voucher” an icon of a voucher will appear as soon as its ready to download. Clicking on this button will open up a new window, displaying your voucher.

Stage 4

Once you click on “collect voucher” in stage 3, your browser should open a new window displaying your car hire voucher (you may need to disable pop up blockers momentarily) at the bottom of the page is a button that states “Print Voucher”, clicking on this button will start the process of printing off your voucher.

We always advise you to read your voucher and make sure you fully understand it, if you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 0845 226 8523.

regards

James

Hi all,

Fresh from the news that we are expecting a price rise from Budget Rent A Car, Dollar Rent A Car have now contacted us to advise a price increase which will take effect from 20 May 2011.

The price increase will cover most of the peak summer period and will involve some of the more popular vehicles including the Intermediate (IFAR), Standard (SFAR) and the Premium Sports Utility Vehicle (PFAR) and also the Convertible (STAR).

Increases

The increases will take effect for all new reservations made from May 20, 2011;

For pick up on or after June 20, 2011

• Florida: Rates have increased for the STAR and IVAR and  the SFAR and PFAR
• All areas except Florida: The high season surcharge will commence June 20 (originally it was July 14)
• All areas except Florida: Rates have increased  for the STAR, IVAR, SFAR and the PFAR

The rate increases will effect all suppliers of Dollar Rent A Car, and is a spiralling effect from the terrible Tsunami that struck Japan in March, which has led to a real shortage of supply’s for the manufacturing of vehicles.

usrentacar.co.uk promises to try to minimise the impact it has on our pricing by swallowing as much of the increase as possible.

Remember this does not effect rentals that have already been made.

We’ll keep you posted of for further increases which seem inevitable now.

Kind regards,

James

Hi all,

Here at usrentacar.co.uk we were one of the first car rental companies to offer independent Sat Nav hire for your Florida Car Hire and beyond.

Today we have taken delivery of the new batch of Sat Nav’s to get us through the 2011 season. The GPS systems we will be using this year are mostly the Garmin Nuvi 1370T.

About the Garmin Nuvi 1370T

Get more maps and less profile with the widescreen Garmin nuvi 1370T. This ultra-thin navigator has preloaded maps for North America and Europe, lane assist, hands-free calling, free traffic alerts and ecoRoute™ to calculate a more fuel-efficient route.

• Slim Down. Take It With You
• Know the Lane Before It’s Too Late
• See More
• Get Turn-by-Turn Directions
• Make Hands-free Calls
• Receive Free Traffic Alerts
• Go Beyond Navigation

Twenty-five percent slimmer than other nüvis, the 1200 and 1300-series are ideal traveling companions. Garmin nuvi 1370T easily fits in your pocket or purse, and its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot. Take advantage of the 1370T’s new Public Transit mode by downloading optional CityXplorer™ content for select cities to navigate via subways, trams, buses and more.

No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate.

With Garmin nuvi 1370T’s widescreen display, you’ll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch display is easy to read — from any direction.

Garmin nuvi 1370T’s intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: “Where To?” and “View Map.” Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator® NT street maps for both North America and Europe, millions of points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1370T’s enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You can also upload custom points of interest (POIs). And with HotFix™ satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.

For hands-free calling, Garmin nuvi 1370T integrates Bluetooth® wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker. Just pair it with your compatible Bluetooth phone and talk hands-free through the 1370T while staying focused on the road. Simply dial numbers with nüvi’s touchscreen keypad to make a call. To answer calls, just tap the screen and speak into its built-in microphone. Enjoy convenient one-touch dialing for contacts and points of interest.

Steer clear of traffic with nüvi 1370T’s integrated FM traffic receiver and free lifetime¹ traffic updates. Receive alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route. Next, simply touch nüvi’s screen to view traffic details or detour around the problem area.

Navigation is just the beginning. Garmin nüvi 1370T saves you gas and money with ecoRoute— a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1370T includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect™ Photos and navigate to them. It’s also compatible with MSN® Direct (receiver purchase and subscription required). With its “Where Am I?” emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1370T features Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles.

Customer Reviews

Great GPS! I use this particularly when traveling in places away from home. I uaually use it to find points of interest from the lists, e.g. find me the nearest [...], the nearest McDonald’s, etc. It can sense delays from traffic and route you around it

Pros: Simple Controls; Easy Menus; Reliable Performance; Large Screen; Easy To Read; Compact; Acquires Satellites Quickly; Easy To Set Up.

I bought the Nuvi 1370T to take on a trip to Florida and it did not disappoint, in fact I don’t know what we would have done without it

Sat Nav Hire with usrentacar.co.uk

Sat Nav hire with usrentacar.co.uk is £30.00 per week. We send it to your house for delivery 24 hours before your pick up date. The box will include the Sat Nav, window mount, charger and return postage.

This optional extra can be added in the pre-payable extras section of our website or by calling 0845 226 8523.

regards,

James

Hi all,

Please find below the usrentacar.co.uk call centre opening hours over the Easter weekend 2011.

usrentacar call centre hours

Friday 22nd – 09:00 until 13:00

Saturday 23rd – 09:00 until 13:00

Sunday 24th – Closed

Monday 25th – 09:00 until 13:00

Remember our website www.usrentacar.co.uk is open 24 hours 7 days a week for USA car hire reservations.

Have a great Easter.

regards,

James

Hi all,

Easter is a very busy time of year in the world of car rental, thousands and thousands of usrentacar customers will collect vehicles over the next few days; so I thought now would be a good time to just refresh some of you on the collection process.

To collect

To collect your rental you must present the supplier with the following items

1. Your full driving licence, if you have the new (ish) UK licence you must produce the card part and the paper copy.
2. A credit card (alamo, budget & dollar) or a visa debit card (alamo & dollar) to leave as security on the vehicle.
3. Your usrentacar.co.uk voucher – either printed from our website (www.usrentacar.co.uk/booking) or via our voucher app, downloaded from the app store.

Once you have produced the above documentation you will be asked to sign your rental agreement.

Your rental agreement

The rental agreement is the contract between yourself and the supplier (alamo, budget, thrifty or dollar). It will list all the relevant details associated with your car hire. It will also list any additional charges payable locally; for example, one way rental charges, child seats, petrol.

It is imperative that you read and fully understand this rental agreement before you sign it.

Once you have signed this agreement you are legally agreeing to its contents and usrentacar.co.uk will not be able to intervene on your behalf for any additional extras.

Local extras

Our suppliers do have the right to offer additional optional extras locally. Your usrentacar.co.uk package is sufficient for your rental needs however all suppliers can offer the following.

Upgrades – Suppliers may offer you an additional daily rate to upgrade your vehicle to a higher category. Remember that the rate offered maybe subject to local taxes.

Advanced Roadside assistance/roadsafe – Your rental comes with basic roadside assistance covering mechanical failure, our suppliers can offer advanced roadside assistance or RoadSafe more information available here

Sunpass/Ezipass – Is basically a toll pass allowing you to drive through the tolls, Florida is slowly phasing out all manually operated toll booths so this maybe an option some might consider more information available here

Remember these are optional extras and are not required

usrentacar.co.uk Tip – if you notice after collection that you have signed for something locally we suggest you contact the location immediately and ask them to remove this cost. If you have elected to upgrade your vehicle you will have to return it.

On return

When you return your vehicle some suppliers will provide you with a receipt confirming any amounts due, we advise that you query any charges you do not recognise.

Also remember to check the vehicle for your own belongings as retrieving forgotten items is very difficult.

I hope this quick guide is useful, if you can add to any of the above please feel free to comment below.

Enjoy your car hire

regards

James

I thought it might be a good time to list 5 reasons why you should pick us for you florida car hire….

• We are the largest USA car hire specialist in the UK.
• We don’t charge credit card fee’s.
• All our rates include CDW, SLI, UMP and unlimited mileage as standard.
• Still the only company to include user generated reviews within their search.
• You can secure your hire with a £50 deposit.

Here at usrentacar.co.uk we pride ourselves on our customer services and always try our very best to offer each customer the service we believe they deserve.

To keep our customers informed we offer several forms of communication.

• usrentacar.co.uk blog
• usrentacar.co.uk podcast
• usrentacar.co.uk facebook page
• usrentacar.co.uk twitter page

Regards,

James,

usrentacar.co.uk

Hi all,

It’s podcast time again at usrentacar.co.uk and this months listen is dedicated to the usrentacar.co.uk voucher app.

Frank Williams, takes a look at the app and runs through some of the features you’ll be able to take advantage of for free.

Frank also give’s you Android users some insider knowledge and tells you how to get a free Florida discount voucher.

Introducing the new usrentacar.co.uk Free iPhone Voucher App!

Remember the usrentacar.co.uk podcast is now available to download from Itunes.

If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover please feel free to comment below.

regards,

James

Hi all,

I thought I’d share some of the Florida Car Hire reviews that have been left this month by our customers.

After renting with usrentacar.co.uk we always contact our customers to ask for their comments regarding their hire and to mark the supplier on services such as speed of collect, vehicle quality and value for money to name a few.

In the interest of fairness I’ll try and offer 2 positive reviews and 1 negative for each supplier.

Alamo

Mr D Horton, Orlando International Airport, 14/03/11 said:

Great service from Alamo, I love the fact you can pick your car from the line rather than having a vehicle assigned to you. Big thumbs up.

Mrs J Ellis, Sanford International Airport, 22/03/11 said:

Our flight was delayed by almost 6 hours but the Alamo staff were very friendly and had our vehicle all prepared and waiting for us upon arrival. They even gave us a free upgrade to a lovely 4×4.

Mr D Herring, Tampa International Airport, 11/04/11:

We spent the best part of an hour queing up at the Alamo desk to rent the car this which is unacceptable.

Budget

Mr J Godwin, Tampa International Airport, 25/03/11:

Excellent service from Budget as well as USCarRental. Received upgrade as requested from Tampa location..in the past have used same service at other airports ie Orlando and Miami where upgrades were not ”available”!

Mr B Terry, Orlando International Airport, 07/03/11:

GOOD SERVICE AS ALWAYS,WE HAVE USED BUDGET FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS WITH NO PROBLEMS. MY ONLY GRIPE IN THE TIME WE HAVE TO SPENT IN THE QUEUE AFTER A NINE HOUR FLIGHT

Mrs J Alexander, Melbourne Airport, 29/03/11:

I have used this supplier at the same location 4 times now and each time they do not seem to know what I have signed up for. This is the second time that I have been charged for$64 for a second driver and had to go back to get it re-imbursed onto my credit card. It seems that the US locations can”t quite believe the deal we get in England.So…my advice is..book this deal but make sure that you check what you are being charged for BEFORE you leave at the end of your hire.

Dollar

Mr K McCarthy, Orlando International Airport, 24/03/11:

Excellent top of the range car, new blind spot sensors are a fantastic addition and only 250 miles on clock

Mr A Moore, Orlando International Airport, 18/03/11:

We booked a Ford Mustang at a very reasoable. We collected from Dollar staff who were very helpful, and returned to a Dollar desk at our hotel with no problems at all. later in the holiday we rented a yellow and black Corvette from a different supplier, and were not at all impressed with the service. No guessing who we booked with when we wanted to arrange a hire car for the last few days and to take us to the airport. Will happily use next time we visit America. Thanks!

Mr N Roberts, International Drive Palms Resort, 28/03/11:

CAR COULD HAVE BEEN CLEANER

Does your experience of Florida Car Hire match up with any of the reviews above?

regards,

James

Hi all,

Today’s post is all about little hidden car hire gems that perhaps you may have missed.

Here at usrentacar.co.uk we try to offer as much practical information as possible but we do understand that sometimes they can be hard to find. So below is a list of pages that I think are really useful, they are not in an particular order and to view them simply click on the link.

10 usrentacar.co.uk pages you may have missed

1. Drivers under 25 – Our guide to the young driver package’s we offer. A great way to save money if you’re aged 21-24.
2. Driving Tips – A quick look at some of the features your rental vehicle may have.
3. Petrol Prices – A look at current petrol prices in the USA along with tips on how to preserve your gas.
4. Dollar Choice Product – A list of participating locations for the Dollar Choice Product.
5. Alamo Choice Product – A list of participating locations for the Alamo Choice Product.
6. Pre Registration – A great way of speeding up collection upon arrival.
7. Voucher App – The best way to make your voucher mobile. iPhone app for your car hire voucher.
8. What’s Included – An in depth look at what is included in the inclusive and gold rates.
9. One Way Rentals – A look at the prices and offers associated with picking up in one location and dropping in another.
10. USA Rental Guide – A snap shot of information relating to your car hire in the USA.

If you think I’ve missed a page of that should be here then let me know below.

regards

James

Hi all,

We are now a week in to the launch of the usrentacar voucher app and we are delighted about the amount of downloads we’ve had .

One of the more interesting statistics (well I think its interesting) is where our app is being downloaded from.

Below are the top 10 Countries to download the usrentacar voucher app

1. UK
2. USA
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Turkey
6. Switzerland
7. Australia
8. Ireland
9. Taiwan
10. Kuwait

Interesting to see Taiwan and Kuwait in there, I definitely wouldn’t have ever guessed we’d have had downloads from there, it does truly show that usrentacar.co.uk is now a global brand.

About the usrentacar voucher app

If you are fed up with having to bother with the hassle of printing off pieces of paper to take with you when you collect your car then the usrentacar voucher App is for you.

Its simple; just download the iPhone App from the App Store and your rental voucher will be available via your iPhone.

But its not just an voucher App it will also give you access to some pretty snazzy information. The App will also help you find out the current average wait time to collect your car, you can also review and rates your car rental experience as well as keep up to date with all the latest news and info from the usrentacar.co.uk blog.

To download the usrentacar voucher app and turn your voucher mobile, please visit the apple store by clicking here

regards

James