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Enterprise CarShare is a new car share service like ZipCar and Hertz On Demand.
I received an email a week ago for National Emerald Club members with a sign-up promotion for New York City that I promptly ignored until today. The offer is:
Join before June 30, 2013, for only a $25 application fee, and you’ll receive one free rental day from Emerald Club® and $50 in driving credits to be used at Enterprise CarShare.* This is an exclusive, limited-time offer for new members.
It does say “before June 30” but it is past midnight into the 30th and still working. I doubt they intended to have it expire until end of the day 6/30.
The generic application link is here, you will then need to put your own Emerald Club number in the application for the “Referring Member/Coupon” field. My targeted offer auto-populated that for me. For applicants who do not have an Emerald Club number and do not want to join for free, the standard offer looks to be putting the name of an Enterprise CarShare member in that field which gives them a $25 credit.
I do not see any requirement that applicant live in the NYC metro area, though it does imply that the driving credits be used in NYC, which may be handy for visitors. There are a number of other cities with quite separate plans and partner companies, each with varying public offers. The FAQ says:
Can I book in another city?
Yes, but depending on your city, additional steps may be required. Please contact us for information.
Translation: it will be a hassle to rent elsewhere.
Like all car sharing services it is critical to understand the program and rates, as well as policies and fees, which are many and steep.
Pay particular to insurance which has been well publicized with respect to other car sharing services for generally offering the statutory minimums which is the case here:
Rates include fuel, physical damage/liability protection and 180 miles per day.
Liability: Enterprise CarShare will extend liability protection up to the state minimum required amount.
Retained Responsibility: Member pays the first $500 of any damage.*
*Optional Collision Damage Waiver: For $8.99/day, you can add Collision Damage Waiver to waive your responsibility for damage to the Enterprise CarShare vehicle if it sustains damage during your rental period. The purchase of Collision Damage Waiver is optional and not required to rent a vehicle. Disclosures, Exceptions & Notices
Note also to consider insurance for the Emerald Club Day. For a one-day rental using the certificate you may invalidate credit card CDW coverage, see one of many discussions of this on FlyerTalk.
I do not have a car and do not have insurance nor am I likely to make use of the CarShare service so I will probably pass this up. I do not like buying points which in effect for me I am paying $25 for a free rental day that I will need to slap on a bunch of insurance. For longer rentals National is generally much more expensive than other options so would not use the cert that way either. I do not want to invite Enterprise to charge my credit card for things and do not want to remember to cancel next year.
For others it could be a great deal and potentially useful service.
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