Hidden fees. . .does the buck stop here?

While booking a Hertz rental car for an upcoming road trip from Santa Barbara, California to Las Vegas, Nevada we were pleased to see that we would earn Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles.

As we read further we learned they do award points . . .for a price. Persons renting cars in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are subject to a frequent flyer surcharge of 75-cents a day up to $5.25 per rental in order to be awarded those points. Now admittedly the amount it isn't astronomical. . .but let's see, don't they call those programs 'award' or 'loyalty' programs? Maybe they should be called Pay-for-Points programs?

With auto reserved (likely without those points), the research turned to accommodations. We are considering a stay near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area some 20 minutes outside Las Vegas. So, using our favorite site, Expedia, we found several possibilities including what seemed to be a good deal at the high-end Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa. Rooms rates were listed at $130 a night; admittedly, that's for a view toward The Strip, not of those nearby striking red rocks, but still, an okay price for this glitzy hotel. Reading through the rules we found it's $130 plus hotel fees of $24.99 a night, bringing the real price to $155 a night. Had they just said so, we may have booked it. Their additional 'fee' killed the deal.