Tips On How To Save Money Booking A Rental Car

Looking for ways to save a pretty penny when booking your next rental car? In this guide we will show you all the ways you can save money booking a rental car. Whether you have a membership where you can get an extra percentage off, you have credit card points or just looking to avoid those extra costs the companies always tack on, we are here to help.

Jake and I almost prefer renting a car rather than flying if we will be traveling for an extended period of time. Renting a car allows us to bring everything we want and take our time getting to our destination. When you fly, you might miss some amazing wonders along your route. But if you rent a car, you can make fun pit stops along your road trip and even avoid booking a hotel if you get a car that you can sleep in. 

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Tips On How To Save Money Booking A Rental Car

I would consider ourselves to be frugal travelers, so we use all these tips on how to save money booking a rental car to get the best deal on renting a car!

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Book during the weekdays:

One tip on how to save money booking a rental car is to book your travel plans on the weekdays. We have found Tuesday to be the best day to search for anything travel related. People tend to search for travel plans on the weekend when they are not busy with their workday. Therefore, prices for travel tend to go up Friday-Sunday. So searching during the weekdays offers a better opportunity for cheaper prices on a rental car. 

But that is not to say you can snag a good deal on the weekend. Our best advice is to continuously look until you find a reasonable price for that specific trip.

Prices generally go up as you get closer to the date of your trip, but not always!  So don’t be afraid to hold out for a better price if you still have plenty of time until your trip.

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Free Cancellations:

Many different rental car companies have free-cancellations if you cancel outside 24 hours of the car rental date and time. Therefore, if you think you find a good deal on a rental car, book the car and continue checking for the best price up to 24 hours before the trip. You can always cancel the first booking for the better deal. 

Use websites like Autoslash to continuously track your rental car to see if a better deal pops up. 

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Choose “Dealers Choice” or “Manager Special”:

A little hidden tip when booking a rental car, is you can often choose “dealers choice” or “manager special”. This is what some rental car companies do to pawn off the cars that aren’t necessarily getting rented as often.

Jake and I got super lucky when we rented a car for a cross-country road trip. The “dealers choice” was a small economy car that got great gas mileage. An economy car was exactly what we wanted but when we selected economy car versus “dealers choice”  when booking our rental car, the price jumped up $100+. So we were willing to take the gamble on the car selected for us.

But this can be a very risky choice because you can sometimes get stuck with a bulky gas-guzzling truck or van. But you will probably still come out on top if you have to pay a little extra in gas with a larger vehicle instead of paying the extra $100+ for the specific car choice. Plus if the vehicle is bigger, then you might be able to sleep comfortably in the car instead of having to get a hotel room.

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Use An Incognito Browser:

One important thing to consider when searching how to save money booking a rental car, is to use an incognito browser. Because oftentimes these websites can use cookies and they know generally what you are searching for and the prices might magically bump up if you don’t book right away. 

Therefore, searching in an incognito browser will allow you to safely search for the best prices without magically bumping up the price the next time you go to search again. 

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Credit Card Points:

One huge way you can save money on a rental car is by using credit card points. Jake and I buy almost everything with our credit cards so we can get travel points from all our purchases. Therefore, we are getting “free points” when we make our everyday purchases. Then, you are essentially booking a rental car at no additional cost to you! In my opinion, it’s a win-win! 

Some of our favorite travel credit cards are:

Capital One VentureOne:

• You get 20,000 points if you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
• Plus, 1.25 points on every purchase.
• And no annual fee. 

Chase Sapphire:

• You get 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months.
• Plus, 2x points on dining and travel.
• There is an annual fee of $95. 

Citi AAdvantage:

• You get 50,000 points if you spend $2,500 in the first 3 months.
• Plus 2x points on gas, dining, and American Airline purchases.
• There is an annual fee of $99.

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Search Through Budget Travel Websites:

There are TONS of great budget websites that will search for the best deals from a bunch of different rental companies at once. Unless you are a ride or die brand person, we highly suggest keeping an open mind when booking with a specific rental car company.

We personally find some of the best deals for rental cars on Kayak. But we also compare rental car prices on Expedia and Booking.

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Compare Rental Prices For Weekly & Monthly Rentals:

One helpful tip on how to save money booking a rental car is to look up different dates for renting the car. Sometimes there is a better deal for renting the car for a week versus 5 days. Or if you rent the car for a month versus 25 days, etc. 

But what if you don’t need it for that long? You can always return a car early. So if there is a better deal to book the car for longer and it will save you money, then why not book the better deal?!

For example, when Jake and I were booking our rental car from Denver to Boston, renting the car for 28 days was almost $200 cheaper than booking it for 27 days. We ended up doing the trip in 27 days, so we just returned the car a day early, but saved $200 with just modifying the exact dates to find the best deal. 

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Don’t Pay For The Additional Insurance:

So you find the best deal per day on your rental car and then you find out it is $10 extra per day for the insurance. One thing people don’t know is if you have regular car insurance, (as you should if you drive a vehicle) it usually covers rental cars already. So adding the extra car insurance from the rental car company is just a waste of money. 

Check with your car insurance company to see if you are covered under a rental car, because it is usually covered at no additional cost. 

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Avoid Renting A Car From The Airport:

It’s obvious that rental car companies are saturated around airports because that is mainly where people need to rent one. But there are usually rental car companies outside the airport that will rent a car to you for a cheaper price. 

But if you are renting a car from the airport after a flight, then you will want to factor in the cost it might take you to get a ride from the airport to the rental car company. Sometimes companies offer complimentary shuttle services, or there is free transportation from the airport to the city. But if you have to rent an Uber/ Lyft or Taxi it might not be worth tacking on that cost and inconvenience just to save a few dollars. So weigh your options with renting a car if you are already at the airport. 

So a tip when searching for a rental car, is to just put the city in the browser and click “all locations” versus clicking the specific airport.

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Avoid Paying The Price For Multiple Drivers:

One way rental car companies can make you pay extra is if there are multiple drivers. Unless you are married, because then you often get an extra driver for free. But if you aren’t married then it is usually a hefty price to add an additional driver (sometimes $10+ extra per day). So we suggest one of you biting the bullet and just being the driver for the duration of your trip.

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Look For Extra Discounts:

Some advantages of being part of certain clubs/affiliations/memberships is you might get an extra discount on booking a rental car. For example if you are a member of the military or a veteran, you tend to get an extra discount off the full-price. Or if you are an AARP or AAA member you might be able to get an extra discount on your rental car. 

Or if you are a member of warehouse clubs such as BJ’s, Costco, Sam’s Club, etc, their website usually offers deals off travel. And of course having a membership can get you killer deals on gas along your road trip!

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Avoid The Extra Fancy Stuff:

Some Rental Car Companies will push having the top of the line navigation system, premium leather seats or the rear view backup camera, etc. You don’t need those when renting a car. One of the easiest ways to save money booking a rental car is to just get the economy choice. And cars now-a-days are much nicer than they used to be, so chances are you will still be getting a “fancy” newer car anyways. 

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Takeaway | Tips On How To Save Money Booking A Rental Car:

I am always up for saving money for just about anything! More money saved means more money to travel on another trip in the future. So we hope you find these tips on how to save money booking a rental car helpful and you save hundreds if not thousands of dollars when booking your next rental car. Happy Adventuring!

Book your next rental car with Booking.com or Kayak.

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