This is what happens when I rent from Avis for the first time in over 10 years!

Greetings from yet another soon-to-be-fun-filled week of Reserve duty 🙂

Today has to have been the best flying experience I’ve had in a very long time.  Perhaps since the trip TO Disneyworld in late 2009.

0.) I fly in my uniform (that’s for another blog post) so Delta didn’t charge me for a checked suitcase.
1.) Free WiFi at Pensacola Airport.  Worked on my first-ever guest blog post for a friend, which is coming soon!
2.) Despite arriving staring at a 45 minute delay when I arrived at the gate for my Pensacola-to-Memphis leg of my trip, for the first time in my life I experienced an “un-delay” of 30 minutes of that!
3.) I arrived in Memphis at Gate A6, the next leg of my trip was at Gate A7!
4.) I arrived in Omaha 20 minutes early.

So by about 3:30pm I had my suitcase from baggage claim and was at the Avis desk to pick up my rental car.  Everything was as I reserved, but then I was asked to initial this “Fast Fuel” charge clause in my rental contract.

I read the clause.  I don’t have the contract with me as I’m writing this (it’s in the rental car out in the parking lot), but it reads something like this:

“If you drive fewer than 75 miles, save time and do not refill the tank. Avis will automatically add a $13.99 charge to the rental for fuel.”

To NOT get that charge added to your rental costs, you have to present a receipt showing that you filled the car so that the fuel gauge needle isn’t at the bottom of “F”, it’s at the top of the “F” or something like that.

I vented at the poor Avis clerk for a few minutes about the principle of assessing a charge that the customer has to work at to not have charged, i.e. making sure said customer obtains and presents the fuel receipt.  I called the charge “pure evil” and was on my way.  It wasn’t her fault.

Apparently this charge started up in September 2007 (back when it was only $10.50), and I know I haven’t rented from Avis since then.

I’m sure for those who have rented from Avis routinely, this is old news.  Perhaps you know the routine and present the receipt every time…or you always drive more than 75 miles just to ease the hassle.

Chances are, I won’t be driving more than 75 miles, although a trip or two to Trader Joe’s might do the trick to put me over the edge…