Insider Secrets for Affordable Car Hire Options
Price out car rental locations in the city and compare to what you can get at the airport. Make sure you factor in the cost of a taxi or Lyft to and from your car rental location if you rent at a location away from the airport.
And take into account time lost to traffic in a city .
Look at discover car rental site to compare your options and narrow in on the best car rental deal.The least competitive deal might be the one you find on your car-rental company’s site.
On a given day, research showed that the lowest-priced car rental from Advantage, Dollar and the like was at least $5 cheaper than the cheapest premium brand car rental, depending on the city.
That savings multiplies over longer trips.AAA memberships are another great money-saving tool.hey offer 8% and 10% savings .Getting an extra 8 or 10% off the cheapest options out there can make the difference.
Economy cars rentals are typically the cheapest, and therefore the most likely to be booked. You can use this to your advantage.When renting a car, I reserve the smallest, most affordable vehicle possible.
Just don’t book something that’s too small for your party or you could be stuck cramming five people plus luggage into a two-door coupe.
Not exactly the cozy vacation you had in mind, is it?If you plan on collecting frequent-flier miles with your car rental, be aware that you might be charged up to $1 per day for the privilege.
Other junk fees include renting a toll transponder (about $5 a day), a GPS navigation system (use your smartphone instead), and satellite radio (sometimes as much as $8 per day).
Best Car Rental companies often price their vehicles in peculiar ways, too. For example, cars rented at the airport are almost always more expensive because of added taxes and fees. Rent car at an off-airport location and you could save 20 percent or more.
Most rental car companies will charge you a daily fee to add an extra driver. That fee is typically $12 per day with Enterprise and National Car Rental and $13 per day with Budget and Avis, but can vary by location.
There are ways to dodge the fee, though. Some companies, such as Enterprise, waive the additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner, but you both need to have the same address on your driver’s licenses.
Others, including National, will waive the fee for spouses, partners and immediate family members if you enroll in their membership program.
Budget will also waive the fee for co-workers who are traveling together, so long as they rent under their employers’ corporate account.
You can also leverage other memberships, such as USAA, AARP, AAA or Costco to get a free additional driver with select rental car companies.