What do you do to save on rental cars?

[Piglet]

I'm looking to save as much as I can wherever I can.... any tips on cheap rental cars?

 

[pigletto]

If you go to the transportation forum and find the rental car thread for the month you are going, people post the codes and rates they are finding. I always follow that thread for months so that I can see when rates drop. Rates will fluctuate, sometimes daily, and it pays to keep checking. I use carrentalsavers.com to check the rates once or twice a day. Lately my best rates are coming from booking through Costco. You need to be a member though so this won’t work if you don’t have a membership.

 

[Ben E N]

If you are a costco member, they have great savings on rental cars. Costcotravel.com

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

USAA will get you some nice discounts and if you join the rewards program for wherever you're renting from you might be able to get a free day.

 

[Ngwira]

Auto slash.com

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Undercover Tourist gave me a better rate than Costco for this July.

 

[kymom99]

I am renting a car from Vegas. I don't know that I got a great deal but using an AARP discount I got a bit of a saving plus I paid ahead which saved a little more. Also AARP gives a second driver free through Budget.

I don't know that I got a super deal but we will be doing a lot of driving on this trip so I wanted a car that was pretty comfortable.

 

[DLgal]

Wait until the very, very, very last minute. I usually book my rental cars under 48 hours ahead of time. Always find an amazing last minute deal. I always make a "backup" reservation (I use Hertz) just in case, but 99% of the time, I cancel it (there is no penalty to cancel even the same day of pickup).

 

[WeLuvTink!]

Book now, then check daily for a better rate. When you find one (you will), book that and cancel the first. Repeat. You can also see some rental codes and coupons on mousesavers.com.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I would start stalking rental car websites as soon as I was contemplating a trip so I had basis of cost and would know if I was getting a good deal or not. It helps to sign up for the loyalty programs. As a previous poster said, go to the transportation boards. A lot of information there. But, just in my experiences, I rarely found a promo code on a thread that I could use. I'd try it, but it would always come back invalid or expired. We never got the "add-ons" they try to sell you at the counter. Such as insurance. We were covered by both the credit card we used and our car insurance so check with yours, it could be a real money saver. If we found what we thought was a good deal at the time, we would book it ONLY if it was refundable (Usually not a pay up front cost). That way if something better comes along, you can cancel that and re-book the better deal. Just know if you're traveling during a holiday or any other time kids are out of school, it will cost more. I've had the best luck and prices with National. I also like you can just go right to the car and bypass any lines.

 

[miztressuz]

My last few rentals have been from Budget as they were the cheapest we could find. They've worked fine, they're not the best cars around but I've never been stranded and everything worked and got me from point A to point B and back again which is all we need. There's always a bunch of coupons and codes out there, both mousesavers and just online searches. I know some have gotten good deals with the Priceline name your price, but our last one we tried that and they couldn't beat the Budget coupon we had. But knowing people who it's worked for we're willing to try again.

 

[Donnainnj]

Usually Costco or Priceline name your own price

 

[kydisneyfans]

Costco is usually the cheapest for us, plus I'll check some of the airline sites to see if the prices are close. If I can get a car for $5 more but get 2400 bonus miles on SW, I'll go that route.

I've also been finding prices dropping significantly as we get closer to the dates. Our April rental has dropped from $140 to $108 over the past several weeks.

 

[Phatscott25]

E - Rewards surveys. Every quarter both mine and DW's account can get 1100 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points for a total of 8800 per year. It only costs 2750 for a weekly rental. We go to Disney 3x per year and haven't paid for a rental car in 2 years!

 

[bearzabout]

My last few rental rates were using Dollar car rental’s city specials on their website. I book something months ahead of my trip and keep checking up to the day before I leave. My best discounts were found within 5 days before my trip started. I always book the new reservation before canceling my old one. It seems the rates keep dropping up until the day before my trip starts.

In Vegas, I saved $350 on a monthly rental by renting from a Dollar location away from the airport. I used Lyft to get to the location and the car rental company dropped us off at the airport using our rental car after we checked it in. It was so much easier than taking the shuttle back and forth to the official car rental terminal. My last rate was $150/week after all taxes and fees for a full size car.

Remember to take a copy of your insurance certificate with you. They may want to see it as proof of coverage if declining their insurance.

 

[Bbbethei]

Another vote for Costco. I book my initial reservation and then re-check the prices every couple days. I suspect I re-book and cancel the previous reservation 3-4 times for each trip. It only takes a few minutes and has saved me hundreds of dollars.

 

[tvguy]

The rental car companies, just like the airlines and hotels and professional sports teams all use "dynamic pricing". If there are a number of inquiries for a specific date or event, the price is raised, even if those inquiries don't result in a booking. Not sure there are any good discounts if you are booking in a peak time. I am just back from Spring Training in Phoenix, the car rental rates are almost double now what they are before or after spring training. The major rental car companies even ship in cars from out of state during that time period because they made so much money over that month long period. Same with the hotel rates.

 

[kymom99]

I checked Costco and the price I got through budget for a mini van with AARP was about $15 cheaper than the price I saw with Costco.

 

[mom2elal]

We've gotten really good deals last minute through Priceline.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Wait until the very, very, very last minute. I usually book my rental cars under 48 hours ahead of time. Always find an amazing last minute deal. I always make a "backup" reservation (I use Hertz) just in case, but 99% of the time, I cancel it (there is no penalty to cancel even the same day of pickup).

This is terrible advice if you are booking for a busy rental time. Rental agencies often run of cars. Make a reservation at the best price you can find, then check it occasionally to see if prices drop. Prices do NOT always drop at the last minute either.