Last summer, my partner and I flew to North Carolina for a friend’s wedding. When we arrived at the Avis counter to pick up our rental car, I asked if I could add her as an additional driver, and was told it would cost $35.

As the woman behind the counter ran my credit card, she casually drawled, “Yep. It’s thirty-five dollars unless you’re co-workers, spouses or domestic partners.” My partner and I exchanged a look and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: “Is it worth thirty-five dollars to convince someone that we’re gay? In public? In a red state?”

Thriftiness got the best of me and I blurted out, “We’re a couple!” “Okay, then,” the woman smiled, “let me cancel that charge.”

While my awkward self-outing saved me $35 (and brought my relationship with the Avis woman to whole new level of honesty), it probably would have been easier for me to know the company’s policy before I arrived. Not interested in having your own Very Special Episode of Blossom at a rental car counter? Check out the list below for details on the additional driver policies at some of the nation’s largest rental car companies.

Avis & Budget

When it comes to adding your partner as an additional driver, it doesn’t get much easier than Avis. According to Alice Pereira, Manager of Public Relations for the Avis Budget Group (which owns Avis), “Domestic partners are included, no questions asked.” In fact, Avis is the official car rental choice of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Avis’ gay-friendly policy applies to all of their corporate-owned and operated locations. A small percentage of locations are owned by licensees, however, and the policy may vary at these locations.

How do you know if a rental location is owned by the corporation or by a licensee? “Call the location,” Pereira says. “For the most part our licensees do follow our policy but it’s best to call to be sure.”

To reserve a car, and to learn about Avis’ domestic partner policy, visit www.avis.com/prouder.

Budget Rent-A-Car is also owned by the Avis Budget Group and Pereira says that there are, “no additional driver fees for domestic partners on the Budget side [of the company] either.” According to Pereira, Budget’s additional driver policy, with respect to domestic partners, is the same as Avis’.

Learn more, or rent a car, at www.Budget.com.

Enterprise

Enterprise Rent-A-Car also waives the additional driver fee for domestic partners. “This is standard throughout the company at all locations,” according to Lisa Martini, Manager of Public Relations for Enterprise.

For more, visit www.enterprise.com.

Dollar & Thrifty

Dollar Rent-A-Car and Thrifty (both owned by the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.) charge additional driver fees for opposite- and same-sex partners. According to Chris Payne, spokesperson for Dollar Thrifty, “Our policy is that additional drivers identified as a life partner will be treated as a spouse.” When asked why Dollar Thrifty has a policy on same-sex partners when there is no discount involved, Payne replied, “We just want to make sure it’s a non-issue for us….A customer’s a customer and we just treat everyone the same.”

Visit Dollar and Thrifty online at www.dollar.com and www.thrifty.com.

Hertz

Unfortunately, the Hertz corporate office did not return multiple calls for this article. According to the company’s reservation line, however, Hertz charges a daily fee for each additional driver, regardless of their relationship to the renter. This policy is consistent across the country, although the amount of the fee varies from state to state (for example, it’s $3 per day in New York and $11 per day in Illinois). The only exception is for Hertz Gold Members, who may add an opposite- or same-sex partner to their rental agreement free of charge.

Check out www.hertz.com for more information.
What if..?

It’s wedding season again, and my partner and I have yet another out-of-state wedding to attend. Last week, we called around to rental car companies, checking availability and comparing prices. The calls were routine until, during one call, my partner’s brow furrowed.

“Budget just told me I can add a husband for free, but not a domestic partner,” she said as she hung up.

“That can’t be right,” I said. Having spoken recently with Pereira, I knew that was inconsistent with the Avis Budget Group’s policy.

I called Budget’s toll free number and was also told that I could not add a domestic partner to my rental agreement for free. I asked a few follow up questions and the agent ultimately admitted that she wasn’t entirely sure what the company’s policy was.

Finally, I asked to speak to a manager, who assured me that I could add my partner to my rental agreement without an additional fee. Ultimately, I got the right answer – but it took three conversations to get it.

I spoke with Pereira about my experience with Budget’s reservation line. She reiterated that, at Budget, “domestic partners are treated as spouses.”

So what if, as in my case, a traveler knows that a company’s official policy is the same for opposite- and same-sex partners, but the agent they speak with doesn’t comply? “They should ask to speak to a supervisor,” Pereira says, “because that’s the policy.”

Travelers who are AAA members can call AAA Headquarters in Orlando, FL for help with customer service issues. According to AAA Director of Public Relations, Mike Pina, AAA’s Member Services Department is happy to intervene to resolve conflicts between members and travel service providers. “Our policy,” says Pina, “is that everyone receives equal treatment…and we would certainly encourage our partners not to discriminate.”

To contact AAA Headquarters, call 407-444-7000.

You can be your own advocate, though, by knowing a company’s official policy before you make your reservation. As illustrated above, calls to a company’s reservation line can yield a variety of responses, both correct and incorrect. For the most accurate information, call the rental company’s corporate office.