Whitefish MT -- need to drop off rental car and get to station. Ideas

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erinch13

Train Attendant
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
68
Hello all!

We will be taking a trip in July that will take us from PA to New Mexico, picking up a rental car in Albuquerque. A few weeks later, we'll be catching the Empire Builder back from Whitefish, MT, where we will spend the night and leave at 7:41 am on a Sunday.

We will need to drop off the rental car, then find a way to get from the car rental location to lodging for then night to the station.

I haven't booked the car yet -- all brands are available from ABQ.

Don't know anything about Whitefish, and thought this helpful group might have some ideas.

thank you,

Erin C-H
 
erinch13 said:
Hello all!

We will be taking a trip in July that will take us from PA to New Mexico, picking up a rental car in Albuquerque. A few weeks later, we'll be catching the Empire Builder back from Whitefish, MT, where we will spend the night and leave at 7:41 am on a Sunday.

We will need to drop off the rental car, then find a way to get from the car rental location to lodging for then night to the station.

I haven't booked the car yet -- all brands are available from ABQ.

Don't know anything about Whitefish, and thought this helpful group might have some ideas.

thank you,

Erin C-H
Click to expand...
Hertz has a counter in the station.
 
CCC1007 said:
erinch13 said:
Hello all!

We will be taking a trip in July that will take us from PA to New Mexico, picking up a rental car in Albuquerque. A few weeks later, we'll be catching the Empire Builder back from Whitefish, MT, where we will spend the night and leave at 7:41 am on a Sunday.

We will need to drop off the rental car, then find a way to get from the car rental location to lodging for then night to the station.

I haven't booked the car yet -- all brands are available from ABQ.

Don't know anything about Whitefish, and thought this helpful group might have some ideas.

thank you,

Erin C-H
Click to expand...
Hertz has a counter in the station.
Click to expand...
Second that. We rented from Hertz in Whitefish in 2014; the car was left at the station (keys with the ticket agent) for our oh-dark-thirty arrival; we dropped it off at the local airport at the end of the week as we flew out. Great customer service and no hassle whatsoever. See if Hertz will let you book a one-way from Albuquerque to Whitefish Amtrak.
 
Wow. Just checking online, Hertz is 3 times the cost of Enterprise . Enterprise seems to have an office in Kalispell, 13 miles away. If I can't get the Hertz cost down, is there a way to get from Kalispell to Whitefish?
 
erinch13 said:
Wow. Just checking online, Hertz is 3 times the cost of Enterprise . Enterprise seems to have an office in Kalispell, 13 miles away. If I can't get the Hertz cost down, is there a way to get from Kalispell to Whitefish?
Click to expand...
I don't know of any, but I would first suggest that you telephone the Hertz office in Whitefish directly at (406) 863-1210 and see if there is anything they can do for you. The worst they can do is say no.

ETA: Also, where are you renting in Albuquerque? At the airport? A few months ago I was investigating a short-term rental in Vancouver BC before our planned Alaska cruise this September. I was able to save more than two thirds of the quoted price by picking up and renting the car at a downtown Hertz location instead of the airport. A lot of airports charge Very Hefty Fees.
 
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erinch13 said:
Wow. Just checking online, Hertz is 3 times the cost of Enterprise . Enterprise seems to have an office in Kalispell, 13 miles away. If I can't get the Hertz cost down, is there a way to get from Kalispell to Whitefish?
Click to expand...
Enterprise will probably drop you off in Whitefish. Part of their service involves picking up and dropping off their customers. Call the Kalispell office and see if they will do this.
 
MikefromCrete said:
erinch13 said:
Wow. Just checking online, Hertz is 3 times the cost of Enterprise . Enterprise seems to have an office in Kalispell, 13 miles away. If I can't get the Hertz cost down, is there a way to get from Kalispell to Whitefish?
Click to expand...
Enterprise will probably drop you off in Whitefish. Part of their service involves picking up and dropping off their customers. Call the Kalispell office and see if they will do this.
Click to expand...
They claim a 10 mile limit for pickup or drop off.

https://enterprise.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8372/~/will-enterprise-pick-me-up%3F

On top of that, they won't do pickups or drop offs at "airport" locations except for airport shuttles. The Enterprise location in Kalispell is listed as an airport offsite location.

https://www.enterprise.com/en/car-rental/locations/us/mt/kalispell-airport-6332.html

You might be able to return, take the airport shuttle to Glacier Park Airport, then a taxi. The airport is closer to Whitefish.

Dollar has a location right at the train station.

https://www.dollar.com/Locations/LocationSearchResults.aspx?searchString=FCAN01&searchRadius=50&searchOption=&pageId=AdvancedLocationSearch
 
I looked at Dollar from Albuquerque, and they have restrictions on one-way destinations (doesn't include Whitefish or Glacier Park Airport), so that might not work. That might have been ideal since they're open 7 days a week from 7 AM to 11 PM.

Pretty much all "neighborhood" car rental locations will do pickup, but you'll need to call in after you make a reservation so that it's entered as a note, then again when you need the service. A lot of employees don't like it though. I've been picked up and dropped off at a Hertz Local Edition when I had my car at a body shop. A tip is generally appreciated.

Budget is the other one in Whitefish. Their issue is that they only open M-F 8 AM to 4 PM. Or one at the station with two hours open in the morning and two hours at night M-Sat. Obviously that's to align with the train schedule.

I think Kalispell has the problem that they all serve the airport, so they won't do door to door drop offs.

I did check out the rates. Over $2000 for a one-way rental from Albuquerque International Sunport to Whitefish Amtrak. I just rented a car with a base rate of $73/week, so that's a bit of sticker shock for me. The price doesn't seem to change much if the pickup is changed to elsewhere in Albuquerque.
 
BCL said:
MikefromCrete said:
erinch13 said:
Wow. Just checking online, Hertz is 3 times the cost of Enterprise . Enterprise seems to have an office in Kalispell, 13 miles away. If I can't get the Hertz cost down, is there a way to get from Kalispell to Whitefish?
Click to expand...
Enterprise will probably drop you off in Whitefish. Part of their service involves picking up and dropping off their customers. Call the Kalispell office and see if they will do this.
Click to expand...
They claim a 10 mile limit for pickup or drop off.
https://enterprise.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8372/~/will-enterprise-pick-me-up%3F

On top of that, they won't do pickups or drop offs at "airport" locations except for airport shuttles. The Enterprise location in Kalispell is listed as an airport offsite location.

https://www.enterprise.com/en/car-rental/locations/us/mt/kalispell-airport-6332.html

You might be able to return, take the airport shuttle to Glacier Park Airport, then a taxi. The airport is closer to Whitefish.

Dollar has a location right at the train station.

https://www.dollar.com/Locations/LocationSearchResults.aspx?searchString=FCAN01&searchRadius=50&searchOption=&pageId=AdvancedLocationSearch
Click to expand...
I can tell you that the airport is not closer to the train station than downtown Kalispell time wise, but I would suggest reserving a taxi, or inquiring with one of the hotels in downtown whitefish about using their airport shuttle without using their lodging. I spent the last two summers in Kalispell, with most of my free time spent at the whitefish train station. I think there might be another company that has a key drop box in the station, but I don't remember who it was for.
 
Make sure you can drop off a one way rental at the non-airport location. I once did a SWC out, CZ return with rental car from Santa Fe to Denver, and none of the rental car companies would let me pick up or return the car at the in-town locations at either end. Had to pay the Lamy Shuttle operator extra to take me to the Santa Fe Airport (it's outside the city limits), and at DIA I had to ride the rental car shuttle back to the Terminal and then pay $11 for the RTD express bus back to Union Station. Fortunately, I had no bags, as I stopped by the station to check them before I drove to the airport. The airport is so far out of town that at one point during the drive, I thought the airport might be located in Kansas!
 
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We did this last December, dropped the car at the Kalispell airport and got an Uber to Whitefish. The cost was $29.23.

Hours (and lack of after-hours returns) and prices seem to force me to use airport car rental locations frequently, even when it doesn't make the most sense geographically.
 
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eee said:
We did this last December, dropped the car at the Kalispell airport and got an Uber to Whitefish. The cost was $29.23.

Hours (and lack of after-hours returns) and prices seem to force me to use airport car rental locations frequently, even when it doesn't make the most sense geographically.
Click to expand...
It all depends. Airports can have the best prices if there's low demand, even if airport fees are factored in. Also - airport fees can vary depending on the airport. I've seen some amazing rates at non-airport locations, and the kicker was that the lack of airport fees (like concession fees). I have a receipt for a non-airport rental at $31/day for two days. The total rate turned out to be $72. I recently rented a car at Seattle Airport at a $73/week rate. We went a bit over (incurring an extra day of airport fees) but the total was about $80 base rate but $171 total. However, other airports can be really cheap, like John Wayne Airport. Once I rented there for $72/week, and the total bill was $120.

The big thing for this rental will be the drop off fee or even if they'll allow a one-way. A lot of rental locations are franchises that aren't company owned, and they don't do one-way rentals. Also - different rental agencies charge for one-ways differently. Some have a single drop-off charge that may make sense for a longer rental. Others roll in the one-way fee into the daily rate, and that can really jack up the total price. I was looking around, and Enterprise looked like it might be the cheapest for a one-way from Albuquerque to Kalispell. Enterprise seems to do a drop-off fee of $550. I mean - if it's $700 less for a two week rental that gets you to the airport location, then it might make sense even if it's going to cost a $45 taxi ride later.
 
Thank you all so much for helping to figure this out. I will start calling, but it looks like based on web costs enterprise will be much cheaper . If they will let us drop it off on sat before the early Sunday departure and then catch a cab into whitefish. Are there any hotels in walking distance of the station?
 
erinch13 said:
Thank you all so much for helping to figure this out. I will start calling, but it looks like based on web costs enterprise will be much cheaper . If they will let us drop it off on sat before the early Sunday departure and then catch a cab into whitefish. Are there any hotels in walking distance of the station?
Click to expand...
Yes there are, and the other hotels in the town and immediate area usually offer a shuttle to the train station, I would suggest the lodge at whitefish lake if you can afford it as it is right on the lake and has a shuttle service to the Amtrak station, as well as having been one of the locations in a recent season of The Bachelor.
 
My wife and I stayed at the Meadow lake Lake Resort a few years ago in November. The resort staff picked us up at the Whitefish station. The next morning Enterprise brought us a car at the resort (Columbia Falls). We had to take the driver back to the Kalispell airport. We were allowed to leave the car at the train station and drop the key in a box.

If there only 2 of you, it might be better to take the car back to ABQ and then fly to Spokane or Kalispell.

The Empire Builder leaves SPK after midnight PT and arrives about 7AM MT in Whitefish.
 
tomfuller said:
My wife and I stayed at the Meadow lake Lake Resort a few years ago in November. The resort staff picked us up at the Whitefish station. The next morning Enterprise brought us a car at the resort (Columbia Falls). We had to take the driver back to the Kalispell airport. We were allowed to leave the car at the train station and drop the key in a box.

If there only 2 of you, it might be better to take the car back to ABQ and then fly to Spokane or Kalispell.

The Empire Builder leaves SPK after midnight PT and arrives about 7AM MT in Whitefish.
Click to expand...
The rental service sounds atypical since it's supposed to be an airport location and too far away. Pickup rides are supposed to be done before the rental paperwork, in a separate car than the actual rental. I guess the manager could approve something different though.

The last time I returned a rental car to a nonairport location, I was waiting for my wife to pick me up. The clerk did tell me that I could just come back in if I needed a ride.
 
One way rentals come with lots of special conditions, so make sure you read the fine print, especially Enterprise. I have had many Enterprise locations be very picky on the fine print costing me extra, just returning to the same location. Also, make sure that Enterprise has EVERY state listed you will be traveling into, otherwise there will be extra fees you didn't plan on. Again check and recheck Enterprise contract. Hertz allows to you go from state to state without listing where you are going. You may find Hertz more expensive, but fewer hassles, which may be worth the additional money.
 
Lonestar648 said:
One way rentals come with lots of special conditions, so make sure you read the fine print, especially Enterprise. I have had many Enterprise locations be very picky on the fine print costing me extra, just returning to the same location. Also, make sure that Enterprise has EVERY state listed you will be traveling into, otherwise there will be extra fees you didn't plan on. Again check and recheck Enterprise contract. Hertz allows to you go from state to state without listing where you are going. You may find Hertz more expensive, but fewer hassles, which may be worth the additional money.
Click to expand...
I checked for Albuquerque to Kalispell, and it's something like $560 for the one-way as a flat fee. I suspect that they're not going to place some sort of onerous restriction that makes it impossible to drive it to the destination. I tried a sample booking from Albuquerque and the only thing I could find about where it could be taken was that Mexico required a $25/day insurance, and that a driver with a Mexican license couldn't take their car into Mexico.

I've never really had a problem with Enterprise before, and I've rented from them a half-dozen times. In Florida the terms did say the car had to stay in-state, but I had no plans to take it elsewhere.

My last car rental wasn't with Enterprise, but when I booked the terms (for SeaTac) said that I could take it in Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho, Northern California, and the southern part of British Columbia (basically the Vancouver area and southern part of Vancouver Island). The rental agreement had a little map, but California or Idaho weren't part of it. I'm not even sure how they could pinpoint if I went over the line in British Columbia since it didn't specify specific cities or districts.
 

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