Cheapest rentals
- Thread starter thedrills
- Start date
I find car rental places (in general) have horrendous reviews. My rule of thumb would be to make sure you're prepared - this includes having the rate handy and saying no to the upgrades/insurances/etc.
With that said, I've used Advantage and they do the "tough" sell - but in the end I've had a solid experiences. Probably the most frustrating part is waiting in line opposed to being able to get right in the car (ala Hertz, Avis). I wouldn't do it to save a few $, but for example, I'm going to SAT for 8 days this spring and need a mid-size SUV. Advantage rate was around $300 and cheapest from a legit (I think it was Hertz) was $600.
With that said, I've used Advantage and they do the "tough" sell - but in the end I've had a solid experiences. Probably the most frustrating part is waiting in line opposed to being able to get right in the car (ala Hertz, Avis). I wouldn't do it to save a few $, but for example, I'm going to SAT for 8 days this spring and need a mid-size SUV. Advantage rate was around $300 and cheapest from a legit (I think it was Hertz) was $600.
My closest Avis location is shared with Budget. So you're getting the same cars but paying less!
You didn't say for how long you need the car and whether it's midweek or weekend, but my main advice is to avoid airports and other venues where there's a concession fee.
Next are enterprise/alamo/national discover certificates and enterprise $10/day weekend deal.
Also, Hertz just launched a promotion of 550 bonus points for every two 2-day rentals.
newtoca
Level 2 Member
Can you please expand on this, I know discover cash back can be redeemed for Alamo / Enterprise / National at 20 > 40, I am not aware of any 10/weekday deal.
weekend deal. No weekdays.
No idea what locations are participating, but I've been taking advantage of this for months and I live in a major city.
User2016
Level 2 Member
Try https://www.autoslash.com/
If they find a cheaper option , they will notify you and you can then rebook the car.
Note : I'm in not way affiliated to the company mentioned above. I have been using them for a while and pretty impressed with the options they come up with.
If they find a cheaper option , they will notify you and you can then rebook the car.
Note : I'm in not way affiliated to the company mentioned above. I have been using them for a while and pretty impressed with the options they come up with.
heavenlyjane
Level 2 Member
Costco was terrible when I tried to book a car in Ottawa this week. I feel like the are hit and miss.
Generally I go for AutoSlash but they are losing brands from their inventory so their value is dropping. I have several general discounts at my disposal becuase I have AARP and a federal government employee, so that helps.
This may be a little late to the party, but I booked a rental through UR and it was about $200+ cheaper than if I booked through National directly even booking an SUV over the Emerald Aisle. When we got to LAX I inquired about and SUV upgrade, they told me to look in the EA and if nothing suited me then come back inside and they could give me a deal. However when I went outside an employee told me to just pick from the Executive Aisle and it would be the same price as what I booked. It was and I was able to get a Limited Ford Explorer with no upcharge for the price that I booked on UR. Very pleased with that.
El Turk
Level 14 Insurance Salesman
You don't need to reserve through autoslash. You can make a reservation, give autoslash the confirmation number, and they'll rebook as prices decline. They managed to get a nearly $1000 booking we had down to $400 over the course of a month or so.
Dig around for Avis corporate codes and pair with HK rate for unlimited milage. There's some good ones out there... I don't want to spoil anything on the forum, but I regularly rent for $35/day up to full-size with upgrades avail. for a few bucks more; though I tend to prefer compact for economic/environmental reasons. I'm Avis Preferred and rent regularly enough in SF that I'm often offered premium upgrades (most recently Mustang convertible) at no added cost. Spend some time on Google and see what you can find in the way of corporate rates.