Sally French is a travel rewards expert who joined NerdWallet in 2020. She previously wrote about travel and credit cards for The New York Times and its sibling site, Wirecutter.
Outside of work, she loves fitness, and she competes in both powerlifting and weightlifting (she can deadlift more than triple bodyweight). Naturally, her travels always involve a fitness component, including a week of cycling up the coastline of Vietnam and a camping trip to the Arctic Circle, where she biked over the sea ice. Other adventures have included hiking 25 miles in one day through Italy's Cinque Terre and climbing the 1,260 steps to Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand.
She lives in San Francisco. Lead Assigning Editor Kevin Berry
Lead Assigning Editor | NerdWallet, the Portland Diamond Project, NBC Sports.
Kevin Berry works as the content lead for multimedia production at NerdWallet including YouTube, podcasts and social media videos across all financial topics. Previously, he was the Lead Editor for the Travel Rewards team. Prior to NerdWallet, Kevin managed the content and social media teams at NBC Sports in Portland for eight years. His prior experience also includes time as a financial analyst (Comcast) and business system analyst (Nike).
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If you’re under age 25 and want to rent a car, there are options but they can be pricey. Most car rental companies will hit you with a steep additional fee simply for being under 25, usually referred to as an underage- or young-driver surcharge.
Depending on the rental, under 25 car rental fees can easily add hundreds of dollars to the price of your car. For example, the Hertz young renter fee is $19 per day — an additional $133 for a weeklong rental.
However, there’s a way to avoid the fee through a little-known perk offered by a loyalty program — and using it could save you hundreds of dollars a year.
AAA's partnership with Hertz makes it one of the easiest rental car companies to use if you want to avoid underage driver fees. Through the partnership, AAA members get several discounts, fee waivers and other perks when they rent with Hertz. One of those benefits is that the young renter fee is waived for drivers ages 20 to 24.
To qualify to have the fee waived, young renters must be AAA members and have a valid driver’s license and a major credit card.
AAA membership rates vary based on where you live and the level of coverage, but if you’re planning to rent a car with Hertz and are 20 to 24 years old, it’s almost always worth it to purchase an AAA membership.
When signing up for AAA membership, you can choose coverage plans ranging from the lowest-priced Classic (often around $50 annually) to the most expensive and comprehensive Premier plan (around $120 annually). Exact prices vary by location and sometimes the plan names may vary, too.
The Hertz under 25 rental fee costs $19 per day. Now, let’s say you got the $50 AAA membership. You’d break even on the AAA membership cost after just three days of a car rental. For a weeklong trip, you’d save over $80 after accounting for what you paid for AAA.
Don’t discount the other benefits of becoming an AAA member besides the waived under 25 car rental fee.
As an AAA member, you’ll also get additional benefits when renting with Hertz, including:
Discounts on car rental base rates of up to 20%. Free use of a child or infant booster seat. No additional driver fee for AAA members. 10% off the per gallon price if you purchase fuel from Hertz. 10% off prepaid rates for U.S. rentals. 50% discount on SiriusXM satellite radio.AAA membership also comes with a bunch of benefits beyond Hertz savings.
AAA is perhaps best known for offering 24-hour roadside assistance to its members.
In addition, AAA provides discounts at other travel providers, including Marriott hotels and some theme parks. Other travel services offered by AAA include vacation planning and free maps.
AAA offers financial products to its members, including auto insurance , life insurance and travel insurance .
You don’t technically need to be a member to be eligible to purchase life or travel insurance from AAA, but members get discounts on them.
If you’re a young driver planning to rent a car with Hertz for at least three days, it’s almost always a smart move to join AAA to save money on the under 25 fee. Plus, you may find that the other benefits of AAA membership — such as help with a flat tire or discounted Disney tickets — are a delightful money-saving surprise.
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024 :
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve® Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card About the authorYou’re following Sally French
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Sally French is a travel rewards expert who joined NerdWallet in 2020. She previously wrote about travel and credit cards for The New York Times and its sibling site, Wirecutter. She also has worked for MarketWatch and The Orange County Register. She loves fitness, and her travels have included cycling up the coastline of Vietnam and over the sea ice in the Arctic Circle. Sally studied journalism at the University of Missouri. Twitter: @SAFmedia. See full bio.
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on Chase's website
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rate5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.
Intro offerEarn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
on Chase's website
Chase Sapphire Reserve® NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rateEarn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Intro offerEarn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
on Capital One's website
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rateEarn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.
Intro offerEarn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
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