Since the pandemic has hit, the cost of renting a car has gone up substantially. To survive during the early days of the pandemic rental car companies sold much of their inventory since people were not traveling.
So, it is more important than ever to know what to do to get the best rate that you can. Below, I have 15 tips that can help you get the best rate every time.
1. Get a lay of the land use an aggregator site
There are many different sites to use to find costs of rental cars. Some of the ones that I like to use include Carrentals.com, Kayak and Priceline.
Each of these sites allow you to filter different things, such as car type, rental car company, capacity of people, luggage, free cancellation and by price to name a few of them.
This will give you a good indication what rates are for your destination which can help you.
2. Check rental car sites
Once you have checked rates on sites like Kayak and Priceline, go to the rental car companies sites to check rates. They may have a special discount or promotions that you can get a lower rate.
Again book the free cancellation and check back every once in a while to see if rates have dropped.
3. Don’t buy insurance
People often wonder if they need to purchase insurance through the rental car company and for the vast majority of people the answer is no.
First, if you have a car, call your insurance agent and ask them about coverage through your auto policy. Most of the time, your car insurance will extend to rental cars.
If you have car insurance that will cover you with a rental car, paying for the car with a credit card will give you another layer of protection.
Most cards have secondary coverage that covers things like theft and damage and kicks in after other insurance is used up. You will just need to check with your credit card company to get all of the details.
There are other credit cards that have primary coverage. With primary insurance, if you have a claim to make you don’t contact your insurance company, you contact the credit card company to make the claim. Plus, your insurance is not going to go up because of a claim.
Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve have primary coverage. Rentals that are 31 days or less are covered when used by one of these cards.
There are a couple of reasons that you may want to get rental car insurance. The first reason is that you don’t own a car.
The second reason is that you don’t have a credit card with primary insurance. If you have to make a claim with your insurance company, many times your rates will go up.
4. Book early don’t lock in
When booking a rental car, I like to find the best rate months out from when I need the car. I book the car with free cancellation.
I then check in on rates periodically and if the rate drops then I book the new rate then cancel the old one. This has saved me a lot of money over the years.
Many sites offer a pay now feature which is okay to use if you are a few weeks out from needing your rental. Otherwise, I don’t use this option.
5. Book outside of airport when possible
Picking up and dropping off a rental car is very convenient. That convenience comes at a cost. Rental car companies add extra fees at airport locations which will add to your bill. One way to avoid this is by booking a rental car at a location away from the airport.
When booking away from the airport, you have to factor in the cost of getting to and from the airport and see which makes more sense to you.
6. Use memberships and affiliations
Rental car companies partner with other companies to offer discounts when renting a car.
The following list is not exhaustive but are a few that may help you save some money on your next rental.
- AAA
- AARP
- USAA
- Airline Loyalty Program
- Groupon
- Hotel Loyalty Program
- Credit Cards
- Government
- Veteran
7. Don’t pay for extra driver
Most rental car companies will charge you a fee to add an extra driver. There are ways around it so you just need to do your homework ahead of time.
If you rent a car in California, there are no fees to add an extra driver. You can add a spouse for free if you rent a car in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Enterprise, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Fox, Payless, and National allow spouses or domestic partners to drive for free. All other drivers would have to pay a fee.
Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty will waive the fee for a spouse or domestic partner if you belong to their loyalty program.
Having memberships in AAA, AARP, Costco and USAA can get you around paying for an additional driver.
AAA members will get a free authorized driver through Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty. AARP members get an additional driver at Avis and Budget.
USAA members at Hertz get a spouse and adult children that can drive for free. At Avis and Budget, spouses and other USAA members drive for free. Enterprise spouses and family members drive free.
Costco members get an additional driver through Alamo, Avis, Budget and Enterprise. Spouses and domestic partners are already included so another person in your party can be added for free.
We took a family trip out west and we had four couples in all. I booked one rental car and my one daughter booked the other rental car through Costco. Our spouses were automatically added as additional drivers.
We then had one other person from the other couples added as additional drivers in each car. That way each couple had a way to drive the car.
It worked out great and it did not cost any money to have three drivers for each car.
8. Checkout Costco
If you are a member of Costco, not only can you get an authorized driver for free that I mentioned before but you can sometimes find the best overall deals for the rental car.
So, if you are a member and looking for a rental car this is one of the first places that you should look.
9. Fill the tank yourself
Rental car companies can charge 133% to 142% the cost of gas if they fill up the tank when you return the car. They can also fill it up for the average cost of gas for the area and a flat rate of $10.
So, to save money make sure to give yourself some time and fill the tank up before you drop off the car.
10. Book cheapest economy car
Most of the time the cheapest car that you can rent is an economy car. As long as you don’t need a larger vehicle for family members and luggage, booking the economy car will be the cheapest way to go.
Sometimes when you go to pick up an economy car there won’t be any available. You will be automatically upgraded without paying for it. Even if they do have the economy car on the lot, you still have a nice car to drive.
11. Don’t bother with upgrades
Rental car companies will try to get you to purchase upgraded items, such as GPS, toll passes, car seats and satellite radio.
For GPS, you have your smartphone that you can use to do all the navigating that you will need.
You can skip toll passes since you can bring some cash to pay the tolls. The rental car company charges a per day fee which can be pricey.
If you were able to bring your own car seat it will save you money but if you couldn’t then you obviously want to get the seat.
You can stream your favorite music through your phone so you can skip the cost of satellite radio.
12. Compare weekly and daily rates
The prices for rental cars change all the time and there is no rhyme or reason to them. There are times when renting a car for a week is actually cheaper than renting it for 3 or 4 days.
So, if you need the car for less than a week it is worth your time to see the difference between daily versus weekly rate.
You want to make sure to read the fine print of the rental car company if you rent the car for a week and return it early. They may try to hit you with extra fees in some cases.
13. Don’t pay for the 25 under fee
If you are under 25 and you want to rent a car you can do it but it is going to cost you extra. The fee for most rental car companies is going to range from $25 to $30 per day. This can add up fast.
There are a number of different ways around this fee. If you have a AAA membership and you rent the car through Hertz the fee will be waived. You will need to rent the car through the AAA page on Hertz’s site.
Some employers and universities have partnerships with rental car companies with one of the perks being waving the underage fee. You will need to check with your university or employer to see if they have car rental discounts.
USAA members that are under 25 and are currently in some form of military schooling like a trade school or military academy can get the under 25 fee eliminated. This can be done at Hertz, Avis and Budget.
Silvercar is a rental car company that is run through Audi and does not charge extra for being under 25. They are not located in every city so you will have to check out their website to see the places where they are available.
You will find them at Audi dealerships and off site locations away from the airport. The cost of the cars on average run a little higher than other rental car companies. You will have to crunch the numbers factoring in the fee for being under 25 at the other companies.
14. Use Autoslash
Autoslash is a great site for helping to look for rental cars. Through the site you enter what you are looking for in a rental car. They also allow you to add membership discounts like AAA, AARP or Costco.
They will email you with options which you can book right away or for later. If you do the later option, they will track rates for your criteria and will inform you when rates drop. That way you can cancel the original rental and sign up for the new lower rate.
I just recently used the tracking feature with Autoslash. I was informed of the new lower price. It saved me $30.
The service is free which makes it that much better.
15. Checkout Turo and Lyft
Turo is the Airbnb of rental cars. You book a car through an individual. The offerings are usually diverse in the kind of car you can rent. Prices are very competitive with the big brands and some can even be picked up at the airport which is convenient.
Lyft is offering rental cars through their app. Their prices are usually as low or lower than other rental car companies. They don’t charge extra for tolls or gas. Plus, they offer cheaper rates for longer rentals.
They also offer two $20 Lyft credits that can be used to get to and from the car when you are through your rental.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many ways of trying to find the best deal on a rental car. As with flights, it can seem daunting at times. Again, I suggest using the methods that you have the most comfort with and stick with them.
If down the road, you feel like trying one of the other methods, go for it. You may find out that the new method saved you money on your next rental car.