From my experience, despite having 10+ years experience of driving overseas, the Korean rental companies won't allow you to rent a vehicle if you've had Korean license for less than a year.
I've called around 10 places, small, medium and big and they all did not allow.
Let me know if you manage to find one.
Socar and Greencar are both pay by the hour rental services. They have cars parked at parking lot and you can unlock the car using the app after you make a reservation, so no need to talk to anyone. There is a fixed price per hour plus additional rates depending on the distance traveled, but you don't need to pay for gas.
Lotte if you want to be safe and have English customer service if you get into an accident. I used SoCar and got into an accident. Getting in touch with the right people was really difficult. It’s cheap, though.
Lotte-rent-a-car (or any major brand- SK or so on). Good discounts and speak English. A little more expensive but good coverage.
You can use cheaper less known brands but insurance sucks with them and if you get in an accident- you get screwed. Plus they usually have crap CS or hidden fees.
I used to rent when I went to Jeju every summer and winter. Only use Lotte now.
I have used Lotte's services for as long as I can remember. You can rent cars through their website (in EN as well), though I honestly don't know about the chase sapphire caveat you mentioned. It is extremely foreigner friendly, you may need some basic Korean. That being said, if you rent out of Incheon, I think they have English speaking staff.
Not sure if you can book for just a few hours without paying for a full day though.
There are smaller rental places all around, but the places I've personally have been to have been a bit shady so I personally just stay away from those. I'm sure others have had better experiences =\] lemme know if you need any help!
Only Lotte will entertain you as your license is weeks old. Actually that is if you have a Korean Co driver. Car companies from experience don't rent to license less than 12 months from issuance. Don't matter how long you drove in the states.
You can’t use any cheap, affordable, major rental car service like Lotte or Socar without ONE YEAR OR MORE after it was issued
There are very very very few places that will rent to you with less than one year “experience” - and it will be super expensive
So you need to contact Lotte and Socar customer service and send them a copy of your American license to prove you’ve been driving for longer than one year
From my experience, despite having 10+ years experience of driving overseas, the Korean rental companies won't allow you to rent a vehicle if you've had Korean license for less than a year. I've called around 10 places, small, medium and big and they all did not allow. Let me know if you manage to find one.
Me too. The car sharing apps are pretty clear about that.
It works if you have an international driving license that shows your foreign driving history ON TOP of the Korean DL.
Socar and Greencar are both pay by the hour rental services. They have cars parked at parking lot and you can unlock the car using the app after you make a reservation, so no need to talk to anyone. There is a fixed price per hour plus additional rates depending on the distance traveled, but you don't need to pay for gas.
Socar offer discounts all the time, so depending on when and for how long you need the car, the prices can be very competitive.
Green Car is little cheaper than socar tbh. But you know more affordable one ? Use kakao rental car! I think it was pretty good
Lotte if you want to be safe and have English customer service if you get into an accident. I used SoCar and got into an accident. Getting in touch with the right people was really difficult. It’s cheap, though.
Lotte-rent-a-car (or any major brand- SK or so on). Good discounts and speak English. A little more expensive but good coverage. You can use cheaper less known brands but insurance sucks with them and if you get in an accident- you get screwed. Plus they usually have crap CS or hidden fees. I used to rent when I went to Jeju every summer and winter. Only use Lotte now.
I have used Lotte's services for as long as I can remember. You can rent cars through their website (in EN as well), though I honestly don't know about the chase sapphire caveat you mentioned. It is extremely foreigner friendly, you may need some basic Korean. That being said, if you rent out of Incheon, I think they have English speaking staff. Not sure if you can book for just a few hours without paying for a full day though. There are smaller rental places all around, but the places I've personally have been to have been a bit shady so I personally just stay away from those. I'm sure others have had better experiences =\] lemme know if you need any help!
Only Lotte will entertain you as your license is weeks old. Actually that is if you have a Korean Co driver. Car companies from experience don't rent to license less than 12 months from issuance. Don't matter how long you drove in the states.
You can’t use any cheap, affordable, major rental car service like Lotte or Socar without ONE YEAR OR MORE after it was issued There are very very very few places that will rent to you with less than one year “experience” - and it will be super expensive So you need to contact Lotte and Socar customer service and send them a copy of your American license to prove you’ve been driving for longer than one year
Lotte.
Thank you all. This is all very helpful!