Cheapest rentals

thedrills

Level 2 Member
Im looking to rent a car but not looking to break the bank. Is there anyone who has GREAT experiences with the lower cost providers. The reviews that Im looking at seem to he horrendous.
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
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.
 

thedrills

Level 2 Member
Its tough to decide. Im really hoping the the avis vouchers go back on sale before my next trip or that I can find someone who will sell me a few. Im avis preferred and Ive only had amazing experiences with AVIS.
 

raenye

Lever 2 Membel
Its tough to decide. Im really hoping the the avis vouchers go back on sale before my next trip or that I can find someone who will sell me a few. Im avis preferred and Ive only had amazing experiences with AVIS.
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.
 

thedrills

Level 2 Member
What are enterprise/alamo/national discover certificates?
Also I dont travel over the weekend. Im usually flying Sunday and thursday
 

oopl

Silver Member
The best bet for cheapest car rental is to use autoslash.com
I'll usually compare any mileage promos with autoslash and see if the price/mile for the promo is worth it.
 

newtoca

Level 2 Member
Next are enterprise/alamo/national discover certificates and enterprise $10/day weekend deal.
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.
 

newtoca

Level 2 Member
I did some searching about those $9.99 weekend rental, isn't that program limited to very few locations, and the rentals can't be picked from an airport either.
 

raenye

Lever 2 Membel
I did some searching about those $9.99 weekend rental, isn't that program limited to very few locations, and the rentals can't be picked from an airport either.
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.
 

torkay

Level 2 Member
I've heard really rave reviews from ppl using Costco travel to book thier rentals at the best rates
 

heavenlyjane

Level 2 Member
I've heard really rave reviews from ppl using Costco travel to book thier rentals at the best rates
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.
 

DanG

New Member
I just checked autoslash for a trip to San Francisco this October and they only had a single car rental agency available (Sixt)
 

DanG

New Member
The Discover Deals worked the best for me. I had Executive membership via an Amex Plat...but since that is separate from the CCs, i booked through Discover Deals (to get the one free weekend) and still get the Executive Emerald Aisle w/o having to book through Amex.
 

Jmendoza

New Member
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
I just checked autoslash for a trip to San Francisco this October and they only had a single car rental agency available (Sixt)
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.
 

JivyIvy

Level 2 Member
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.
 
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