Most travelers know how to get great deals on flight bookings, but finding the best rental car deal seems to be an unknown and confusing for most of us. We do not rent car trips that often, but that’s no reason to let the confusion get in the way.
Rent a Car Cheap:
If you have travel plans and need to pick up a vehicle, getting a car on rent can be overwhelming. If you do not plan in advance, you may also pay a high price for a single rental. So, we have mentioned great tips to get the best deal for your next rentals.
1. Try To Avoid car Rental at The Airport
In general, car rental companies charge additional fees at airports where demand is high. locations that are located outside the airport often have cheaper prices. A simple search for car hire in Chicago at the airport compared to the city shows tremendous savings.
Going with mini and macro cars and by comparing pricing with a number of car rental companies, you can save a lot of money. On average, you can save $ 25 or more a day by renting at a location other than the airport.
Make sure you make a plan when flying. In many large cities, there is free or cheap public transport from airports. You can also take an Uber that will cost you money, but you will eventually save money by buying at various car rental locations.
2. Leverage Membership Discounts
If you work in a company, you probably have access to a company code that can provide attractive discounts on popular car rental companies. Brands like Hertz and Alamo also offer discounts for students, and there are also numerous benefits for government employees and AAA members. Before booking, contact the companies of your choice or your human resources department for discounts that apply to you.
Are You a Member of The AAA?
For just $ 52 per year, you have access to a number of benefits, including savings on Hertz car rental. Being a member of Costco is also a quick way to save extra money on a rental.
There are numerous discounts offered by companies on car rentals. These are just a few of the car rental discounts you can get:
- AARP member discount
- AAA member discount
- Hotel loyalty program discount
- Frequent flyer program discount
- Costco member discount when you book through Costco Travel
- Corporate discounts
- Government employee discount
- Military discount
- Veteran discount
And this list is not complete. If you belong to a specific type of organization, check if you receive a discount on rental cars to become a member. You will often be surprised at how much you can save.
3. You Can use Discounts for Employees and Alumni
One of the benefits of hiring a popular company is discounts for people you can get. Unfortunately, many people forget or ignore this advantage. The best way to see if you have car rental discounts is to ask your employer.
Normally your HR department has some information on all the available discounts. You may already know where to find it. There are even websites where you can quickly analyze what your employer can offer as a discount. CorporateShopping.com is a good start to check the available discount.
If you still do not know whether your employer offers discounts, simply contact a car rental agency representative. They can certainly help you explore your reduction options. Likewise, you can access car hire discounts through an alumni association that you belong to, such as your old university or another group. You can also browse online to see which offers are available for the schools you’ve visited or for other clubs you belong to.
4. Avoid Trip insurance
Illustration of people with travel insurance
Your credit card, personal car insurance or travel insurance may cover your vehicle during the rental period. Find it before you rent it and read the fine print. This will save you between $ 15 and $ 25 per day on the cost of your car. Do not forget to prove your insurance coverage. More and more car rental companies demanded this before handing over the keys.
On a website like Insuremyrentalcar.com, you can take out an independent insurance policy that costs a fraction of the price charged by the landlords.
5. Use less Popular Sites
Many new companies who are less popular offer their users lucrative offers to outrank their competitors and you can leverage these opportunities, instead of going for the popular brands you can opt for fewer know sites and get the best discounts. Costco Travel still offers lower rates than the major online agencies and AAA offers deals on Hertz rentals.
Membership is required to access these special offers. If you’re not interested in the company you’re renting, check out the “opaque” sites like Priceline and Hotwire for great discounts. However, do not give the name of the rental agency before making a non-purchase. You can also try AutoSlash.com if you are looking for a coupon database at the best price.
6. Overcome The Rates and Specifics of The Industry
If you want to earn frequent flyer miles with your car rental, please note that the privilege can be charged up to $ 1 per day. Other unwanted charges include renting a toll-based transponder (about $ 5 per day), a GPS navigation system (you can use your smartphone instead) and satellite radio (sometimes up to $ 8). per day).
Leasing companies also often set prices for their vehicles in a particular way. For example, cars rented at the airport are almost always more expensive due to taxes and additional fees. Rent somewhere outside the airport and you could save 20% or more.
7. Use the Honey Chrome Extension
Honey is a free Chrome extension tool that automatically searches for discounts. Just download the extension and activate it. After you have found a rental car that suits you, have Honey do the work for you.
If coupons are available, Honey will add them automatically so you can try them at checkout. There is no guarantee that you can use one, but it’s definitely worth a try.
8. Avoid Age Requirements
If you are under the age of 25, you may be charged additional fees that are discriminatory. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid this. There are several subscriptions that you can use to avoid rates. The above AAA membership can help you avoid fares if you choose Hertz for drivers aged 20 to 24 years.
For corporate customers, with a USAA membership, you save less than 25 for drivers aged 18 to 24 years. Try not to book with your name. If there are other people in the group of over 25, ask them if they would be willing to rent the car on their behalf. If everyone divides the costs, everyone benefits.
Read More: Can You Rent A Car With A Debit Card? It Depends
9. Find Out About Current Actions
Businesses often use promotions as a marketing tool to attract new customers and beat the competition. If you have already reached the end of the purchase process, you can not inform a car company about special offers.
Do not forget to ask what the current actions are. If you do not ask, they will not tell you. Some promotions can even help you avoid hidden and unclear charges. For example, you can get a free child seat if the right action is active.
10. Compare Weekly and Daily Rates
Most people assume that the weekly price is always cheaper than the daily price, which is not always the case. If you are traveling for 3 or 4 days, it is sometimes better to book a car for a week and then return it early.
Then check before booking if the weekly rate is cheaper than the daily rate. Be sure to read the small print of the rent to make sure that you will not be charged any additional fees for the expected return of the vehicle. And never tell the company that you want to pre-fabricate the car, otherwise, you may have to charge more.
11. Say No to Addons
In addition to insurance, car rental companies try to sell you many “updates” and other items you do not need. Here are some updates you always have to say no:
GPS: Your phone already has excellent integrated navigation applications.
Satellite Radio: just use your phone to listen to music.
Toll Passes: rarely worth the try. Simply raise money if you pay a toll that does not accept credit cards.
12. Book Economy Cars
At every step of the renting process, the company will try to sell it to a more elegant car model. You should never accept these offers and always choose the “Economy” car when booking, even if they prefer a more beautiful car. If you book a sedan or luxury car their rent also goes high.
So, if you are looking for a budget renting option it is always advised to go with micro and prime car options.
13. Carry a Single Driver
While driving on a long journey can have negative consequences. Therefore, it is understandable that you want to add an extra driver to your rent to share the miles. However, the cost of doing so is considered. Adding a driver to your rental can cost you $ 12 more per day.
If you need to have an additional driver, see if you ask the landlord to waive this fee. Many companies automatically resign if the extra driver is your spouse or partner. You can also benefit from free prices when you book your rental through Costco Travel.
14. Get The Best Deal On Gas
Besides the rental cost of the car itself, fuel is the most expensive part of a car. Therefore, it is worth taking the time to find the best deals on gas.
Finding my favorite tool for the cheapest gas is an application called Gasbuddy. All I have to do is open the application to see the best current gas offers near me.
You’ll be surprised how much you can save sometimes by driving a few extra kilometers. If you do not want to download the application, you can also use the website GasBuddy to find the same information.
15. Book With Your Credit Card Points
The only thing better than saving money on your car is to get free. This is possible if you book a rental car with your airline miles or credit card points.
That does not always make sense financially. In many cases, you will get better value from your points with after air travel or hotel stays. But if you make a long trip, you should book your rental car with points through big savings.
16. Use peer-to-peer Car Rental
When people think about car rental, they usually think of a company that has a fleet of vehicles. Until recently, this was the only way to rent a car. Now though, a variety of car rental companies has been an interesting alternative to traditional car rental.
So, what does the rental car peer-to-peer mean? Instead of hiring a company, you rent the car to a natural person. Markets like Turo and Getaround allow car owners to register their rental vehicles, like what Airbnb does for homes.
You can book your rental directly from the application and then recover from the owner. Many owners even deliver the car at extra cost. When you’re done with the car, just return it to the owner.
This whole process is not only more convenient than the normal car rental; It is also less expensive in many cases. If you are interested in renting a car using this method, we recommend these two sites:
- Turo
- Getaround
17. Get a Free one-way rental
One-way rentals are notoriously expensive as the companies often charge to cover the cost of returning the vehicle to which he belongs. But what if you really do business with the company in which it should be?
This is the premise of Transfercar, which lists the vehicles that need to be transported from one destination to another. If you’re ready to drive, you can connect a car or a camper at an extremely low price or even for free.
For example, the Australian version of the site is currently announcing a compact motorhome with an automatic transmission that will be driving from Perth to Broome in the coming weeks.
You can drive it up to eight days for free, including insurance. In the US, you can travel for free from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for four days, including insurance.
Bottom Line
Now you have all the knowledge you need to book a cheap rental car for your next trip. So you have more money for fun things. What you think is the best way to rent and a car and your opinion in the comments section below.
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Great article post. I was looking for the best ways to rent a car and i got this blog. Really i got the best ideas from this blog. thanks for sharing this great stuff!