Comments on: How Do You Find the Cheapest Rates on Car Rentals?

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:51:13 +0000

I used a combination of Priceline.com and the Entertainment.com website. I used one site for one trip and one site for the other. Overall I saved over $150 on both trips! Thanks for all the advice!

By: evy

evy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:53:38 +0000

Priceline(name your own price) or Costco in my experience offer the best rate. I recently booked a full size car rental(Alamo) in Orlando for $22 a day thru Priceline. I saved $50 total over Costco's best rate.

By: vm

vm — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:04:08 +0000

Thirding AAA. Don't go with their "recommended" car company. Look at their rates for other car companies. I found a rate of $266 for 10 days on our last trip for a small sedan.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:06:09 +0000

To pat myself on the back here, I'm very good at finding the cheapest car rental rates. Here are some tips:

1. Check all locations within transportation range of where you will be. For instance, I saved $100on a 3-day rental by booking a car rental from Alexandria, VA instead of from National airport (which is in Alexandria).

2. Find the cheapest rate on hotwire & another search engine and then underbid it on priceline.

3. Consider renting from a cheap location and driving to your location. This means more driving but you can really save a lot of money by avoiding high cost airports.

4. Last, and this is my all-time best tip. The car rental companies are in cahoots, & have been raising the prices on car rentals lately. They claim this is because they have reduced inventory, but the prices have become ridiculous, so I really do think their price-fixing. So the tip is: avoid the oligopolists. Consider renting from alternative companies to save money. For instance a one week rental in Fl may cost you several hundred dollars, but renting a pickup truck from U-Haul or a moving company will save you hundreds. Alternate companies, e.g., rent-a-wreck could save you hundreds.

By: Mrs. Money

Mrs. Money — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:40:07 +0000

Have you tried AAA, hotwire, or Expedia? Those may be all good places to try. Also call your credit card company and ask if they partner with some company for discounts!

By: me in millions

me in millions — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:08:09 +0000

See if you can get a discount from anything you are affiliated with… AAA, your insurance, etc.

By: Little Miss Moneybags

Little Miss Moneybags — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:31:54 +0000

Priceline's Name Your Own Price–I usually get it for their advertised 40% off.

And think carefully about whether you need to buy their insurance–if you have car insurance, you might already be covered.

By: calgirlfinance

calgirlfinance — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:57:40 +0000

I normally go with priceline or hotwire. I don't care about car points the way I do with hotel/airline points.

By: Megan

Megan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:31:15 +0000

Both my employer and my insurance (geico) offer discounts through their partners. You should check those options to see if you are eligible for their discounts.