A Travel Agent Spills Her Best Secrets (11 28 23)

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Want to save time renting a car this holiday season? Clark offers a free way to cut the line at the rental counter later in this email.

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🚘️ Trick To Avoiding Long Rental Car Lines

If the record-setting numbers at airports Thanksgiving weekend were any indication, holiday travel will remain saturated.

That could lead to extra stress if you need to rent a car. Rental car fleets haven’t returned to normal in many cases after COVID-19 forced those companies to make drastic moves.

On several occasions recently, a member of Team Clark has gotten stuck in a long line at a car rental counter.

Clark addressed this on the Nov. 1 podcast.

What To Do: Join the free loyalty programs at the big rental car companies.

What Not To Do: Count on a “manager’s special.”

“For free you can join the car rental clubs of all the companies that allow you to pre-check yourself in. And that is really important right now with the rental car shortages,” Clark says. “You don’t want to be in the queue waiting forever for a vehicle.”

These free programs typically allow you to skip the line and step right into an available vehicle. Some of the popular names include:

• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

• Alamo Skip the Counter

• Enterprise ReadyPass

A few Clark listeners have been asking (or complaining) about some version of the “manager’s special” at car rental shops.

Since they’re often short on vehicles and they aren’t sure which vehicles they’ll have on the lot, you can book one of these specials. But then you have to accept whatever car that’s available.

And it usually doesn’t allow you to skip to the front of the line — and may force you to wait even longer as the desk agent scrambles to find something available.

“The car rental companies said, ‘You know what, we don’t know what, if anything, we’re going to have on the lot,’” Clark says.

“So you pay this rate and it’s a mystery car. And it’s a mystery not just to you. It’s a mystery to them. And you have to take whatever they give you. So supposedly you’re getting a better price on the vehicle by taking the mystery. Well I don’t recommend it.”

📊 Stat of the Day

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals

🎙️ Podcast

There was a recent ruling against real estate agencies and illegal practices on commissions. Will this change the industry in the United States? Also, big monster mega banks pay you measly rates on your savings. There are several better places to open accounts so you can earn the most on your cash, including some of Clark’s favorite three children: Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab.

☎️ Need Money Help?

The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.

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