Hawaii Age 21-24 Underage Driver Surcharge Fees

Information about reduced fees for under age drivers (age 21-24) when renting a car in Hawaii

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It's IMPORTANT!

January 1, 2012

AGE 21-24 UNDERAGE DRIVER FEES: (2012)

Many people ask about the reduced age 21 to 24 so-called "underage" or young driver fees that Hawaii Car Rentals (www.hawaiicarrentals.net) is offering and...

If they can really get it.
How they can get it.
Is it really true.
What they have to do to get it.
Why do the car rental company Terms and Conditions state $27/day if the offer is $10/day or $20/day?

DOLLAR & THRIFTY - 2012: $10/day surcharge

Because of special arrangements that Hawaii Car Rentals has with Thrifty Car Rentals (for Hawaii only), we are able to offer car rentals in Hawaii to drivers age 21 to 24 (under 25) at a reduced $10/day fee instead of the usual $27/day fee. Please note that renters under the age of 25 are "able to rent all car categories." There is nothing special that you have to do in order to get the reduced underage fee. Simply by booking your car with our special weblink (and NOT selecting "See Standard Rates") enables this bonus. Please see Special Notes and Please be advised below.

ENTERPRISE - 2012: $10/day or $20/day surcharge

Because of special arrangements that Hawaii Car Rentals has with Enterprise Rent-A-Car (for Hawaii only), we are able to offer car rentals in Hawaii to drivers age 21 to 24 (under 25) a reduced fee of between $10/day(non-airport) or $20/day (at airports) instead of the usual $27/day fee that other car rental companies charge. Please note that renters under the age of 25 are normally restricted to economy thru full size vehicles only. There is nothing special that you have to do in order to get the reduced underage fee. Simply by booking your car with our special weblink enables this bonus.

The Enterprise underage driver fees are as follows:

$10/day - Non-Airport Locations
$20/day - Airport Locations (Read the next section!!)

READ THIS MISTAKE: Enterprise is supposed to be $10/day at NON-airport locations and $20/day at airport locations. But every time I do a trial reservation, they keep showing $10/day at the airport and they don't show any charge at non-airport locations. Please be advised that you may be charged at non airport locations even if it says nothing. I called my Enterprise rep and also some Enterprise Hawaii locations and they said for my corporate account it's supposed to be $20/day at the airport, but if the reservation comes up saying $10/day at the airport, they've got to go with what the reservation says. (This may change at any time).

PLEASE NOTE: If you wish to call Enterprise Rent-A-Car to confirm the young driver surcharge amount or that the Additional Driver Fee is Waived, please call 808-836-0130. *Be sure to mention that you have booked or are going to book through www.HawaiiCarRentals.net from Corporate Customer Number: TG36020&arc=03534123. If they don't hear this information from you, or you call Enterprise's mainland or 800 number, they don’t acknowledge the waivers, not to mention the better rates discount. Hawaii has its own special rates, discounts and waivers programs that are different from Enterprise mainland. Our Hawaii corporate agreement supercedes national terms and conditions. the If you have already made your reservation, have your reservation number available so they can look it up if necessary.

AVIS & BUDGET - 2012: $27/day surcharge

At this time, a $27/day underage driver surcharge fee applies to drivers who are under 25 years old (age 21-24).

What about drivers who are age 18 to 20?
None of the car rental companies we represent will rent to anyone who is not at least 21 years old. The exception is Enterprise. They will rent to drivers age 18 to 20, but they have to be traveling on military orders and be able to prove it. If you contact me, I can direct you to a couple places in Honolulu who will rent to young, "underage drivers" who are 18 to 20 years old. NOTE: I've read some reviews and some people had a fine experience and other people had terrible experiences.

Special Notes: (Also read Please be advised below)
In the Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise car rental company Terms and Conditions it may state that you may (or will) be charged an underage driver fee. If you call Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise, you will probably be told on the phone that the underage is $27/day. I apologize for this confusion. The discrepancy is because Hawaii Car Rentals is on a Hawaii-only program that we have arranged with Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise. We do not have this arrangement with Avis or Budget. Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise have not integrated our special Hawaii underage fee arrangements into the Terms and Conditions you see when you make a reservation.

Our corporate agreement supersede the car rental company's nationwide terms and conditions:
Nevertheless, please be assured that you will NOT be charged the higher rate because our corporate agreement supersede the car rental company's nationwide terms and conditions. This reduced underage fee, along with "spouse driver free, etc., as well as the special rates listed on our website, are built right onto our special weblinks that take you right to each car rental company reservations page. So the Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise reduced underage fee WILL be accorded to you simply by booking through our website. You don't need any sort of coupon to get these bonuses. When you get to Hawaii to pick up your car, the Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise car rental pick-up desk agent will see these applicable bonuses and rates on his or her computer screen.

No one who has ever booked through Hawaii Car Rentals (www.hawaiicarrentals.net) has ever been charged for an additional driver or been overcharged Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise young driver fees. I guarantee you will not be overcharged. I always tell people if you reserve through our website using our special links, and are charged extra for some reason, then I will make sure you are reimbursed. In the many years I've been renting cars in Hawaii I’ve never ever had to reimburse anyone.

Please Note: Just because there may be no place to check your age on the Avis, Budget, Dollar or Thrifty reservation form, or it doesn't show up in your estimate after you fill in the reservation form, does not mean that you will not be charged an underage surcharge fee when you pay for your rental car. Currently, Enterprise is the only company who has the option of specifying your age group. Enterprise usually shows a young driver fee for airport rentals on your estimate. For some reason, they do not show it for reservations at off-airport locations. See READ THIS MISTAKE in the Enterprise section above.

Please be advised (Thrifty Only): When you get to the select a car page, please be advised if you click on (see graphics below), it will show you a set of rates that may or may not be lower than our corporate discount rates. Because of supply and demand, on that particular day, if there is a glut of cars that Thrifty needs to get rented out, the rates will be lower than our corporate discount rates. But please be advised if you select a standard rate car, you will NOT be given any additional bonuses such as underage driver surcharge fee discount or additional driver fee waivers. You WILL be charged $27/day if you are 21 to 24 and you will be charges $10 to $27/day for additional drivers. Like all companies, Thrifty does not allow double benefits - ie: a lower than corporate rate AND the underage driver surcharge fee discount or additional driver fee waivers. But if these bonuses are not an issue for you and the standard rate is lower than our corporate discount rate, by all means, go with the lower rate. In many cases, if you inadvertantly happen to select standard rates because they were lower and you also have to pay for an additional driver or the full underage fee, the total cost of the rental might not be a whole lot different than if you had selected corporate rates and didn't have to pay for those bonuses. But all that depends on how low the standard rates that were offered that day were. Lots of times it turns out to be, as they say, "six of one, half dozen of the other."

Corporate Rates Graphic:

Standard Rates Graphic:

Have a great time in Hawaii.

Steve Parquet, President