Renting a car in the States is essentially no different from renting a car in Europe.
There is nothing unusual in the documents, the package is standard:
- A driver’s license and a co-driver’s license.
- Driver’s ID (passport).
- A credit card in the name of the primary driver.
- Voucher, if booked online.
When renting a car in America, I recommend paying attention to the following conditions:
- Minimum age of the driver, for a “young driver” (18-24 years old depending on the company), you may have to pay extra
- Driving experience (as a rule, experience must be at least 1 year).
- Mileage Limit. The mileage limit is often set at 600 miles, anything above that needs to be paid extra (50-80 cents per mile).
- Fuel. Standard conditions for gasoline are “Full – Full”, i.e. you get the car with a full tank and return it with a full one.
- Going out of the country. It may be prohibited or you have to pay extra for it.
- Excess (or non-refundable amount of insurance). Most cars in the U.S. are sold with full insurance. The deductible is 0.
- Deposit. Since most cars do not have a deductible, the deposit is minimal. Cash is not accepted, the deposit is frozen on the card.