Road Tripping in the USA!

[TW]Fox;29488383 said:
Why would you need to do that if you have a Clarity? Just take cash out of an ATM. In one go if it charges you. Much cheaper.
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I'm going to be applying for a mortgage in the coming months and so want to avoid anything that will negatively impact my credit score. While withdrawing on a credit card is an incredibly minor thing, the research that I've done indicates that it will show up for a prospective lender, and I guess I've gotten myself into the mindset of not wanting to risk it?

Money Saving Expert said:
Q: I'm about to apply for a mortgage, though. Surely it pays to be cautious?

A: Caution's always good, and while we know of many people who've been granted mortgages with these cash withdrawals on their file, you may want to avoid withdrawing cash on a credit card for at least three months before applying, as the mortgage is just so much more important.
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Linkedy link
 
Honeymoon booked, Heathrow to Toronto, then San fran, drive to Vegas then 2 weeks in Acapulco.

All that we still need to do now is sort hotels out for Vegas, San Fran, somewhere or two in the middle and the car. Had lots of suggestions from friends for either the Golden Nugget or the Wynn, the latter being twice the price for the time we want.

Gonna be one hell of a month!
 
Redgie said:
I'm going to be applying for a mortgage in the coming months and so want to avoid anything that will negatively impact my credit score. While withdrawing on a credit card is an incredibly minor thing, the research that I've done indicates that it will show up for a prospective lender, and I guess I've gotten myself into the mindset of not wanting to risk it?



Linkedy link
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If you dont want to use a credit card get a pre-paid card. Ive been using a CaxtonFX card, you just put money onto the card as/when you need it, works like a credit card at point of sale and can take cash out from ATMs too. No charge for anything and the rates are pretty good. Although not quite as good as a Clarity card.
 
Trucks out here are trimmed out to the same standard as a regular car. Going from the basic, to the premium, which is all leathered up, with gps, and top notch chrome trimmed cup holders :D

Joe T is correct, its what the kids to the grown men all want to drive and even some women who want to be looked upon at tough as their male counterparts. Only a small percentage of owners are actually in construction. Personally i don't see why myself. I personally prefer a fast good in corners, European car, but that's just me. I wasn't born or raised here. So my views are biased. Americans are happy to go fast in a straight line, and that's where it ends for them, which may explain their love for crappy motorsports.
 
[TW]Fox;29467883 said:
Olly lives in the US so would have seen this question in the same light as we'd have seen 'Hi, I'm coming to the UK on holiday and would really like to pay a huge pile of money to rent a vehicle like a Ford Transit LWB', hence his reply :D The ones I've seen on rental lots have had no rear deck cover either so there is very little luggage space as you can't use the rear deck for storage.

The reality is that as others have said you'll get a far better deal on a far better car by renting a fullsize SUV which will probably land you a Chevrolet Tahoe or a GMC Yukon. It'll be massive, it'll probably have black paint, it'll have a V8 under the bonnet and it'll be just as American as that F150.
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It's not remotely like for like with a transit. The larger ones maybe, but as already mentioned the 150 and 1500 sized pickups are essentially designed (and used by many) as family cars, basically an SUV with the back cut out.

Agree with you on the alternatives though, I'm guessing the pickups available on to rent will be designed for work vehicle needs and probably be the lowest spec, rather than spec most people get for family driving. And if it doesn't have a toneau cover then there's nowhere to put standard luggage. If it has a cap then it'll probably look exactly the same as a suburban or SUV as well. :p

Oh, and don't expect them to sound like a V8 sports car. They only do that if they have an aftermarket exhaust, which the hire cars almost certainly won't. The engine will be no louder than a standard 4 pot in an average sized car, unless you're revving constantly, and that gives you a corresponding increase in fuel consumption...
 
hurfdurf said:
Most people who use them day to day have them for other reasons as well, sans the other reason, they wouldn't have one.
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Generally if you actually need a pickup for building work/proper stuff you'll probably get an F250 or 350.

Basically if you want a family car that can tow stuff on occasion, or just need something with some space in the back you can make a mess in you get an F150, if you want to haul stuff in the bed you get an F250, and if you want to enlarge your penis (or actually need to carry and tow huge loads - like a farmer) you get an F350.

You can also enlarge your penis by jacking any of the above up 6-18" and putting huge tyres and flared wheel arches in... :p
 
Girlfriend's best friend has decided to get married in Vegas next year rather than the UK (:rolleyes:). Her uncle lives in Florida and we were intending to visit in '17/'18 anyway so now we're planning on killing 2 birds with one stone.

Is Vegas>Florida a route to even consider driving over the course of 3-5 days?

I'll be 25 at the time, is this likely to cause an issue in terms of extra fees etc?
 
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I'd fly. Driving in 3-5 days means you are basically just going to drive straight there. It isnt enough time to explore some of the areas you'll drive through. There will be significant one-way fees.

Consider flying to Pheonix or Los Angeles and renting from there and then driving - shorter distance and the route covers more interesting scenery and is a better use of time.
 
Looking at doing some of west coast next year and then driving through to Vegas, just had my first look though and places I had heard of are really spread out

If I was to fly into LAX or SFO and then spend around a week seeing and doing stuff and then finish in Vegas for a few days and fly out of there what would be a very basic plan ( we have done GC and Hoover so no need to include those)

I will read through thread for info when I have a basic outline
 
Fly into SFO, couple days in SF. Spend 3-4 days driving PCH south to LA (Carmel/Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara), a day in Santa Monica/Hollywood then out to Vegas for the rest. If you only have a week then do the best part :p (and stop in SB for a beer with me :p )
 
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[TW]Fox;29539239 said:
I'd fly. Driving in 3-5 days means you are basically just going to drive straight there. It isnt enough time to explore some of the areas you'll drive through. There will be significant one-way fees.

Consider flying to Pheonix or Los Angeles and renting from there and then driving - shorter distance and the route covers more interesting scenery and is a better use of time.
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Thanks Fox. Did think it wouldn't be worthwhile.

Assume you mean flying to LA/PHX and driving to LV (or vice versa) then flying on to Florida? That sounds like a decent plan.

Flying to America seems like a bit of a dark art, I know the OP is 5 years old now but flights for £450 seem very reasonable. Any tips for when is best to look at booking and are there any particular ways to go about booking multi-city single flights?
 
Book UK to Los Angeles and then Florida to UK as one open-jaw return. This means with an airline that flies to both locations (Or has codeshare partners that do).

You can use Kayak for this, but the reality is you'll end up with somebody like Virgin Atlantic so check them direct too. It shouldn't be that expensive either do to this either.

Book the internal flight to Florida separately.

I tend to find the best prices 3-6 months before travel.
 
There are currently some truely ridiculous fares on flying direct to Florida from the UK with Thomson (we're talking £1-£200 returns). They're mostly geared at selling family holiday packages but if your itinerary includes Florida it'd be worth a look!

Thomas Cook Airlines are also useful as they fly direct from a few UK spots to LAX and their return, open-jaw and direct fares aren't much different in price (if you can get their website to work).
 
Unfortunately we have to travel in school holidays and the Florida part of the trip is almost certainly going to be the week after we want to be in Vegas so it will be the return part of the trip.

Checked Thomas Cook and there are no flights in April anyway :( In fact it doesn't look like there are any direct flights to LAX in April at all from anywhere except London which is always an enjoyable 4+ hours added on to the journey!
 
Skillmister said:
Unfortunately we have to travel in school holidays and the Florida part of the trip is almost certainly going to be the week after we want to be in Vegas so it will be the return part of the trip.

Checked Thomas Cook and there are no flights in April anyway :( In fact it doesn't look like there are any direct flights to LAX in April at all from anywhere except London which is always an enjoyable 4+ hours added on to the journey!
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Hmm looks like they're not releasing regular flights that far ahead which is strange. They've only started flying MAN-LAX in the last few weeks, I'd be surprised if they were binning it off already. Might be worth keeping an eye on!
 
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