Renting car for 34 yr old daughter and husband to use

[dthomasla]

My 2 30 + year old children and their spouses are arriving by plane in Austin Tx at 11:30 PM. Can I rent a car through Priceline for them to use to drive 80 miles to vacation with me? I don't want to drive to Austin to get them.

My concerns are 1) since I would use my credit card to make the Priceline reservation do I have to give my daughter my credit card to show to the rental staff (when I need it for my own travels of 2 weeks)? Or can she give them her credit card as security for damages to the car?

2) If my credit card is used and the rental company policy is to allow a spouse to be an additional driver at no charge is my daughter's spouse eligible to drive or would it be my spouse (since the credit card is mine)?

This are hard questions because I don't even know yet which company I would be renting from.

Is the best answer for the above that my daughter should make the rental reservation with her credit card even though I wanted to keep things simple by using my card (so she wouldn't have to handle any charges).

[thereuare]

My 2 30 + year old children and their spouses are arriving by plane in Austin Tx at 11:30 PM. Can I rent a car through Priceline for them to use to drive 80 miles to vacation with me?

Yes, but you probably don't want to do it this way for reasons outlined below...

My concerns are 1) since I would use my credit card to make the Priceline reservation do I have to give my daughter my credit card to show to the rental staff (when I need it for my own travels of 2 weeks)? Or can she give them her credit card as security for damages to the car?

She can give her own credit card for security.

2) If my credit card is used and the rental company policy is to allow a spouse to be an additional driver at no charge is my daughter's spouse eligible to drive or would it be my spouse (since the credit card is mine)?

You'd be renting the car in her name, so if the rental company allows a spouse as an additional driver then i don't see why they wouldn't allow it to be her spouse who is the additional driver. However, keep in mind, once they meet up with you, you would not be able to drive the car... even though you paid for it, you're not the 'driver of record'.

This are hard questions because I don't even know yet which company I would be renting from.

Which is why if you need an additional drive PRICELINE / HOTWIRE may not be the best option.

Is the best answer for the above that my daughter should make the rental reservation with her credit card...

This is how i would do it, and if you wanted to pay for it, just reimburse her the money. The BIGGEST reason to do this is because if your credit card includes any type of collision coverage, it usually will not transfer to a 3rd party (your daughter). HOWEVER, all credit card companies are different and have their own rules/policies, so you should check with them directly to see if 1) the coverage would be in force on a PRICELINE rental, and 2) if any coverage would transfer to your daughter in such a situation (i doubt it would)

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases. (and if you end up booking direct we have links to a few rental companies in our support page)

[actraveler]

I had a similar experience.

I rented a car through PL at EWR with Avis.

I was told that my spouse could drive the car or someone who works at the same company at no charge.

I told them that I wanted to add my girlfriend to the contract as an additional driver. No problem. Once she arrived at JFK (a different airport) I was told to take the contract and my girlfriend to Avis there where she could be added for $5.00 per day.

Everything went smooth but they charged $5.00per day for the full rental (7 days) as they didn't have a way to only charge for 5 days on a 7 day rental. No problem. It was well worth it. A simple form (Contract Addendum) and we were on our way. About 15 minutes total time.

If you want to drive the rental, perhaps there is a branch of whatever company you get where you can pop in to add yourself.

If not can you take a bus or train one-way to Austin to meet them to pick up the car in your name and add them as drivers?

Hal