Tips and Tricks to Save Money on Your Next Car Rental
Renting a car and travel in general doesn’t have to be super expensive! We tend to opt for public transportation, but there are times where renting a car simply makes the most sense. It might be for an epic road trip or that we’re in a location where public transportation options are limited or non-existent. Because of COVID-19 and supply issues, renting a car is more expensive than ever. However, there’s no reason to let a car rental break the bank. Read on for tips, tricks, and hacks to save money on your next car rental.
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If you’re wondering how to travel internationally, or simply vacation nearby and not spend a fortune on airfare or hotels, then we’d like to welcome you to the world of ‘travel hacking’. See what credit cards we carry, and how we take full advantage of the points and miles we’ve earned.
How to Save Money when Renting a Car
We haven’t owned a vehicle since we sold our car in 2016 and set off to travel full-time for a year abroad. That year of full-time travel turned into a lifestyle and we’ve been successful digital nomads that house sit full-time while pursuing FI/RE (financial independence, retire early) for over 5 years.
There’s a freedom that comes with owning just what will fit into our carry-on backpack, not having to worry about maintaining a home we own, and not having a car to worry about. However, that does mean that getting around is a bit more of a challenge.
We typically rely on public transportation, or the generosity of a homeowner who allows us to use their car while we house sit for them, but there are times where renting a car simply makes sense. Like a road trip along some of Ireland’s beautiful coast line or an adventure on the Romanian Transfagarasan highway. And of course, there are cities where public transportation just doesn’t cut it.
So for those times when renting a car is a must, here are some tips, tricks, and hacks for saving money on car rentals. Some are simple and straight forward, some are creative, some take a bit of planning ahead, but all of them can save you money!
Check Out Alternative Sites for the Best Savings
Everyone has their favorite rental car company (Hertz, Avis, Sixt, etc.) but be sure and look around for deals. Don’t just go directly to the rental company websites, check out Travelocity, Costco Travel, AutoSlash, Rentalcars.com, etc.
One thing we like about AutoSlash is that much of the work of coupons and discounts are shown automatically for you when you enter in your memberships (think AAA, USAA, etc.) and discounts (like employer codes) within the search engine. Plus, if your booking drops in price, Autoslash will notify you.
Our tool box is full of resources! From travel hacking to house sitting, digital nomad jobs to privacy and security, financially independent retire early (FI/RE) to entertainment, plus travel hacking (credit cards, miles, points, and rewards), and much much more…
Tips and Tricks in the Rental Process
Pay Attention to Pick-up and Drop-off Times
Pick-up and drop-off times matter because rental cars are charged by the day, specifically 24 hour periods. So, say you land at your destination and pick up your rental vehicle on Monday at 12pm, but your flight home doesn’t take off until Saturday at 5pm. So you drop your car off five days later on Saturday at 3pm. But, instead of being charged for five days, you’ll be charged for six because you had the car for five 24-hour periods PLUS an additional three hours, taking you into day six!
There are a couple of ways to avoid this charge. First, always be aware of your pick-up and drop-off times. Second, rent from a company that gives you a bit of grace, literally, with a ‘grace period' written into their contracts. For example, rent from Hertz and you won’t be charged if you’re between zero and minutes late and only a half-day rental fee will be assessed if you’re 60 to 119 minutes late. Also consider Avis which charges pro-rated late fees or Alamo which gives a 29 minute grace period plus up to two hours at a prorated rate.
But, if you’re like us and want to avoid a tight return window, use your American Express Platinum at Hertz and get a four hour grace period!
Tip: If you end up having a few extra hours to fill at the airport, spend them relaxing in a lounge with a few drinks, a snack, and free Wi-Fi. We always travel with a Priority Pass because it makes our trip much less stressful. Want to try it out first? Get 10 free passes with the Hilton Surpass American Express credit card.
Decline the Free Upgrade
Who doesn’t love a free upgrade? While we’re all about a room upgrade at a hotel, we always decline a free upgrade when renting a car unless there’s a specific need for it.
The cost of a car rental isn’t just the per day rental price, it’s also the gasoline you’ll be using along the way. So we opt out of lower MPG cars (think a large sedan or SUV) and ask for the most fuel efficient car possible. We’ve even gone as far as to have rented the most efficient car, get offered a free upgrade at the counter (because that level of car was no longer available) and then negotiate a free tank of gas or a lower rental fee because we’d be spending more on gas.
When choosing a car be sure to keep in mind the size of the car can accommodate everyone you’re traveling with and their luggage.
Tip: Looking for the least expensive gas station along your route? Download GasBuddy from your app store and get peer reported gas prices to find the best deal nearby.
Use a Discount Code
Most rental car companies have discounted rates or free features for corporations, alumni, universities, and memberships. Of course, we don’t recommend using a code you aren’t eligible for, but think outside of the box. Here are a few organizations that offer discounts that you may be able to use:
AARP
AAA
Costco members
Military discounts
USAA
Union member discounts
University/Alumni
Employer
For example, sign up for a AAA membership and receive 20% off Hertz rentals, waived fees for driver under 25, unlimited miles on most rentals, and discounts on fuel costs. This could easily offset the cost of the membership and seeing the discount at checkout is simple through the AAA Hertz portal.
If you’re active military or veteran, or a spouse or child of an active military person you can enroll with USAA and get discounts at Hertz. Using the USAA Hertz portal will get many of your fees waived, like the under 25 driver fee and you’ll save up to 25% on your rental. Plus, you’ll still be able to earn Hertz points for the rental!
Change Currency and Website Location
Try playing around with the currency and localization of the rental site you’re using. While not common, we’ve seen deals when booking something on the local French site that were not offered on the United States site.
Watch Out for Tolls
Make sure to ask at the rental counter how tolls are handled and what your options are for paying them. Often times rental companies will charge you a convenience fee for having an electronic toll pass in the car on top of the cost of the toll.
If you do a bit of research ahead of time, you might find it’s cheaper to purchase an electronic toll pass directly from the city than paying the convenience fee from the rental car company.
Or, you might even be able to get a toll pass for free. For example, if you’re flying into the Orlando, Florida area you can pick one up for free at the airport!
Drive Away Deals
One-way rentals can become a problem for rental car companies. What do they do when they have way too many cars in a popular summer destination? Well, just like a cruise repositioning deal (get a cheap one way cruise when you sail a ship that’s moving from one location to another), car rental companies offer ‘drive away’ deals.
Rather than pay someone to redisperse rental cars, they’ll offer you an inexpensive rental for you to do it for them. This means you need to be flexible with your road trip and plan your itinerary around the deal, but it could mean HUGE savings.
Keep in mind that drive away deals are not typically advertised so you’ll need to ask the rental car company about them.
RV Relocation Deals
RV relocation deals are similar to rental car drive away deals (above), but for RVs instead. Deals generally get posted two to three weeks in advance and can be as low as one dollar a day! If you want to plan further in advance, you may be able to find a deal a month or two out, but you’ll pay around $20-$30 a day for it. Keep an eye out for deals with extra perks, like money towards a tank or two of gas!
Here are a few places to find RV relocation deals around the world:
Jucy (Australia and New Zealand)
iMoova (United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe)
Spaceship Rentals (Europe)
Wicked Campers (United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands)
Cruise America (United States)
Apollo RV (United States)
CanaDream (Canada)
Fraser Way (Canada)
El Monte RV (United States)
Road Bear RV (United States)
London, San Francisco, Paris, New York City, Athens and more?! Trusted Housesitters has allowed us to travel the world on a budget, but more importantly given us an opportunity to make new friends and have cute and cuddly companions along the way. Sign up and start your next great adventure!
Under 25?
If you’re under 25 years of age paying the additional fee can be tough to swallow. However, there are a few ways to go about avoiding it. First, many membership programs like USAA and AAA offer rental car discounts and waived fees, including the 25 and under fee.
Second, rent from Hopper where you not only avoid the 25 and under fee, but most fees aren’t charged.
Avoid Add-Ons
Read everything on the page when you’re booking. It’s easy to miss something like a fee for a GPS or other add-ons you don’t need. And, be critical about what add-ons you truly need because it’s easy for the small fees to add up to a large rental bill.
Also, when you pick up the car, be sure to do a thorough inspection and mark down all damage, make note of the fuel and have someone from the rental company sign or initial it. We’ve made it a habit to take pictures (or a video) of the condition of the car, especially damage. We also note the fuel gauge level. At the end of the day, if the rental car company thinks we caused the damage or didn’t fill up the gas to the same level, it’s their word against ours, unless we have a photo/video.
Tip: Play it safe and keep your pictures/video for at least three months. Thankfully it’s never happened to us, but it’s not unheard of for the rental car company to contact you with a claim months after you’ve returned the car.
Waive the Rental Car Insurance
Use a credit card that includes primary collision damage waiver (CDW) like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and save $10-$20 a day. Plus, if you use the right credit card, you won’t have to file with your personal car insurance company and pay the deductible or incur future rate changes. Just be aware of exclusions on the coverage, like exotic, expensive, antique, show, etc. vehicles and that usually the coverage is only valid on rentals of 31 days or less.
If you’re not already using a credit card that has primary CDW insurance coverage included, you may want to checkout Amex’s premium car rental coverage as you’ll pay a $20-$25 flat rate for the entire rental period, instead of per day from the car rental company.
Another option to try is to book a rate for non-United States and Canadian residents, which should automatically include full CDW/LDW often at rates that are less. To do this, when booking make sure the country or residency that you select on the rental company’s website is non-US. This usually only works when booking directly with the rental car company.
Plan Ahead
Renting Internationally? Learn to Drive a Manual Transmission
It’s rare to find a manual transmission car for rent in the United States, but abroad is another story. Not only are stick shifts the standard but you’ll pay a hefty convenience fee for an automatic transmission when renting. We highly recommend taking a few lessons and learning to drive stick because it could literally save you hundreds of dollars per rental!
Flexible Dates
Being flexible with your rental dates could mean big savings. If you have the flexibility, see what it costs to rent a car during the week, or maybe it’s cheaper on the weekend. Or maybe the following week is less expensive because a big conference is in town the same week.
Reserve Your Rental Car Early
Reserve as early and as far in advance as possible to get the best prices. And, because many places don’t charge you to cancel the reservation you can book even if you aren’t sure what your exact travel dates will be. Hedge a bit and book a few options, lock in the cheaper price of booking early, and then cancel the dates you don’t need once you’ve confirmed your travel plans. Just be sure to read cancellation policy before booking.
Don’t Rent a Car for Your Entire Trip
Consider not renting a car for some of your trip. For example, there’s no reason to rent a car if you’re staying in New York City and you can probably get away with only renting a car for the few days you’ll be going to Upstate New York. But even then, there’s the train or buses like Flixbus or Megabus only cost a few bucks.
Non-Traditional Rental Companies
Lyft Rentals
Lyft rentals are usually fulfilled by Sixt, which generally have equivalent pricing. But in some cities, Lyft operates their own rental services which offer very competitive pricing. On top of a lower price, you also won’t pay extra for gas or tolls and you’ll get discounts on longer term rentals. To top it off, rent from Lyft and get two $20 Lyft credits which you can use to get to and from the airport.
Peer-to-Peer Rentals
If you need a rental car for only in-town use (i.e. not a one-way trip) try a service like Turo where you’ll rent person to person. Just like Airbnb (vs. a traditional hotel), peer-to-peer rental services enable everyday people to rent out their car, home, etc. that might otherwise sit unused to tourists and business travelers. It’s a win-win because the owner makes a few extra dollars and you save money because the prices are typically noticeably cheaper.
Peer-to-Peer options:
Getaround (United States, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium or United Kingdom)
Turo (United States, Canada, United Kingdom)
Ali’I Rental Cars (Hawaii, now partnered with Turo)
RVshare (United States)
Outdoorsy (United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Spain)
Ride Shares and Car Shares
If you’re just looking to go from point A to point B, consider a ride share. You’ve probably already heard of Lyft and Uber, but we’re not talking about them. Instead, try a service like BlaBlaCar (based in the United Kingdom) to plug in where you’re at and where you want to go and see if anyone else is taking the same trip and catch a ride with them. It’s a great way to save money on what would be an expensive one way car rental, and you might even meet a great travel companion.
Or, if sharing a ride isn’t your thing, consider car share services like ZipCar that let you rent a car by the hour, or by the day. What makes this different than Hertz or Sixt you ask? Companies like ZipCar use a car share model that lets you find a car nearby, drive it to where you want to go, and then leave it there for the next person. Think of Lime or Bird scooter rentals, but hopefully no one is leaving the car parked in the middle of the sidewalk!
Rent a Car from a Dealership
A little known fact is that you can often rent a car from a dealership, which could save you money from higher priced rental companies. Try searching for ‘dealership car rentals’ in your favorite search engine.
Rent a Moving Van or Truck
If you’re just looking to get around and aren’t worried about how fancy your car is, or you simply can’t find a car available to rent during your vacation, rent a truck or van from U-Haul, Home Depot, or Lowes.
Don’t miss our Ultimate Gear and Packing Lists! Whether you’re traveling long-term or going on a short vacation, we'll show you how to travel with a single carry-on. We share our packing lists (his and hers!), packing tips, and our favorite gear. Plus, we discuss what we don’t carry and why!
Earn Cashback and Miles for Your Rental
Get Cashback
First, no one should ever buy anything online without checking to see if there’s a deal through a cashback portal, this includes renting a car.
Here’s why, cashback portals offer a flat dollar amount or a percentage back for online purchases (and sometimes even at brick and mortar stores!) if you click through a ‘portal’ (a link). In other words, you purchase something you were already going to buy but get cashback to do so. We can’t argue with that!
To make our cashback accounts easier to manage and to have our payouts be quicker (cashback portals have minimum payout amounts) we focus on four of the top cashback portals.
Mr. Rebates - Sign up through our link and get a $5 bonus!
BeFrugal - Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
Rakuten (formerly eBates)- Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
TopCashback - Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
Earn Rental Car Points
If you don’t already have a membership, be sure to sign up for the rewards program with the company you’re renting from. You’ll earn points for your rental and possibly get discounts, coupons, and other deals by being a member.
Earn Airline Miles
Do you have elite status with an airline? Consider booking through the airline’s portal and earn miles with your rental. Just keep in mind that you won’t be able to double dip, so no earning miles at the rental company as well as the airline.
Don’t Forget about Credit Card Perks for Rentals
We’re all about travel hacking and credit card perks are a great part of that. Take a look at the cards you have to see what car rental perks they offer. If none of your cards work, apply for one of these cards that offer great rental car perks and discounts:
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a suite of car rental discounts, including:
20% off Silvercar rentals
Up to 30% off Avis
Up to 25% off National rentals
The Platinum Card from American Express
Complimentary vehicle upgrades
Four-hour grace period for rental returns
10% bonus Hertz Gold Rewards points
Free additional driver (spouse or domestic partner)
15% off published car rental rates
Up to a 25% discount when using code AWDA756900; get a one-level upgrade when using code UUNA007
Emerald Club Executive elite status
Choice of full-size or better cars from the Executive area at the reserved mid-size rate
Reward choices and one free rental day with seven rental credits
No fee for a second driver
Guaranteed upgrades
World Elite Mastercards
(Mastercard-issued credit card with “World Elite” printed on the back) (IHG Rewards Club Premier, Citi Prestige® Card, Citi Premier® Card and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.)
Sixt Platinum elite status
Savings of up to 15% on Sixt rent a car/rent a truck worldwide
A complimentary upgrade to the next highest car group subject to availability
Preferred reservation priority
Access to special Sixt Platinum counters/parking lots at select airports/stations
$100 discount on your first car rental booking with ROLZO
Enterprise and Alamo
Up to a 5% discount
Up to a 25% discount
United Club Infinite Card
Top-tier Hertz President’s Circle elite status
Confirmed one-car-class upgrades at participating locations
Choose any vehicle in the President’s Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge
No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the U.S.
Hertz Valet terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times a year
25% bonus on Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points
675 Rewards Points after every 15 qualifying rentals
