When you take a trip out of town, one of the expenses you have to keep in mind is your car rental. However, you don’t have to break the bank just to rent a decent ride to get you around town! Today we’re going to help you save big on your next car rental. Save your money so you can afford to do more fun things on your trip or vacation! Trust us when we say you’re going to be thankful you read this list the next time you travel out of town.
Tips for Saving Big on Your Next Car Rental
The Basics
Most major car rental companies offer coupons for their services that you’d be remiss to not take advantage of. If you’re anything like us, you love finding great deals lurking around the internet. Use some search engine mastery or a plug-in like Honey before you fork over any cash for the next car rental you pay for. There are many sites that collect coupons and codes from many of the biggest car rental companies, so saving money could be a few short clicks away.
Another basic thing you can try is to simply ask for a discount. You’d be surprised at how many companies offer discounts for various organizational affiliations. For example, if you’re in the military or a retired veteran you may get a discount. Many places offer discounts for AAA members, or AARP members. It never hurts to ask what kind of discounts you can get! The worst that could happen is they simply tell you that they don’t have any discount programs.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Another discount you might find could come through your frequent flyer miles. If you’re a member of a frequent flyer program, such as through your credit card company, you might be eligible for discounts on rental cars using your miles. Sometimes frequent flyers don’t even realize these savings are available through their rewards program! Additionally, your rental company may be able to offer you miles in return for renting through them. As always, it never hurts to ask!
Rental Car Loyalty Program
Much like with frequent flyer programs, it might be a good idea to look into a car rental loyalty program if you’re out of town and renting cars rather often. Many of these loyalty programs are free to join and give you tons of benefits for sticking with your favorite rental company. Often these programs will allow you to store up points the more you use the company in question for car rentals.
Once you have so many points, these programs typically allow you to cash them in for upgrades to your rental, or even outright free rentals. While these programs might not occur to you right away when you’re thinking of savings, they’re a stellar way to keep extra cash in your wallet. After all, if you’re often out and renting cars, then you might as well get rewarded for it!
Shop for the Best Price
Make sure you do some research beforehand if you plan on heading out for a vacation or distant trip. After all, it can be difficult to find the best price on a car rental when you’re standing in the airport. Instead of getting caught out like that, do your research at home before you set foot on the plane.
Many websites, like Kayak and other price aggregators, allow you to see a number of car rental prices side-by-side. This allows you to pick and choose which prices look the most appealing to you. This ensures that you not only get the best deal, but it also means you know what you’re in for when you land in a distant airport.
While you’re online, you should also consider prepaying for your car rental. A lot of people don’t realize that you can save as much as twenty percent if you opt to prepay for your rental car before you go to pick it up in person. This requires a bit of planning ahead on your part, but it will save you a decent chunk of change.
Consider Avoiding the Airport
When it comes to car rentals, you should consider avoiding picking up in the airport. While it is very convenient to step off of the plane and get your rental car right away, it could be costing you as much as thirty percent more. If you take a cab into town and rent from there, instead, you could likely save a lot of money (even considering the cab fare).
