Looking for an easy way to slash your car rental price? After booking tens of thousands of car rentals, we have discovered a striking pattern that can potentially lower your price in an instant. The next time you book a trip, try this clever car rental hack.
The Half-Hour Hack
Instead of automatically booking your pickup time to be on the hour — say, 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. — ask for a second quote for the half hour before or after your original time — 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.
Skeptical that this car rental hack can work? Let’s look at a few examples. We ran a quote for a weeklong minivan rental at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), picking up and returning at noon. In this particular case, Alamo and Payless tied for the cheapest of the major car rental brands, delivering a price of $525. Then ran the same quote request at the same airport, for the same car at the same time, but bumped back the pickup and return time to 12:30 p.m. Alamo’s price dropped to $470, while Payless and Enterprise came in at $525. The upshot: If you booked with Alamo, you’d save 10% without breaking a sweat.
For a recent quote at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), we saw a whopping $143 difference in National’s price simply by shifting the pickup and return time by 30 minutes.
Why the Half-Hour Hack Works
These price drops are not a coincidence. Certain car rental brands often price their rentals lower on the half hour than on the hour. Why is this? It has to do with pricing algorithms, automated rate shopping, and catching your competitor unaware to swing more of the business in your direction.
In short, the rental companies are re-shopping each other’s rates constantly and adjusting their pricing to try to get a leg up on the competition. These companies know that some portion of customers will choose to pick up and/or drop off on the half-hour, and in those cases, by offering lower prices, they will win more of business.
Think of car rental pricing like a water spigot. If you are the lowest-priced option in the market, then the spigot is on and reservations are flowing. As soon as one of your competitors undercuts your pricing, even by a small amount, the spigot turns off and the reservations stop flowing. A lot of customers will always choose the lowest-priced option, so there is a lot of wisdom to this strategy.
Is this a geeky hack? Sure, and it’s also the easiest and simplest hack hiding in plain sight. In some cases, you’ll get a significantly better deal.
So the next time you need a rental car, ask us for two quotes — one on the hour and one on the half hour. It won’t cost you a dime to put in the extra quote request and you might just save a bundle.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I rent car in another country?
This is best done by using an international rental agency, such as Hertz or Avis. These companies have offices in Europe and offer services both for long-term and short-term rental.
They provide customer support 24 hours a day, 7 nights a week.
You don’t need to have any prior experience when renting from them. They provide insurance and breakdown protection. All you have to do is know where to find them and when they will be there.
Can I rent an automobile and drive around Europe by renting it?
Yes, you can. You’ll need to book yourself on an organized tour and pay for each day separately. These types of tours can be booked by many companies.
If you are looking for more flexibility, you might want to look into hiring a car through one of the primary travel agents. These agencies often offer a variety of services including car rentals and transfers within the city.
They often partner with local suppliers that specialize in quality vehicles at competitive prices.
Is it possible to drive a car rental between European countries?
Hertz is a good option if driving across Europe. It’s much cheaper than hiring a private driver. You also get great coverage.
You can also rent multiple cars if you need one car for a longer trip.
Statistics
- The perks vary from partner to partner, but you can expect discounts of up to 35 percent on some rentals and the ability to earn anywhere from 50 bonus American AAdvantage miles per day or 500 per rental. (afar.com)
- For canceled trips two days or shorter, a guest is charged 50% of one day’s trip cost. (insider.com)
- Save up to 30% on your rental car in Europe when you book with us today. (autoeurope.com)
- I’d say 70% of the time, we have a hassle-free encounter, but there have been certain companies that we prefer not to use anymore. (theworldpursuit.com)
- For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns 3 percent cash back on purchases at U.S. gas stations (terms apply), and the Citi Premier® Card earns three points per dollar at gas stations, too. (afar.com)
External Links
jdpower.com
sixt.com
kayak.com
alamo.com
How To
How to ensure that I am not charged for pre-existing damage on a rental car
If you take a rental car for a few days, what happens when the vehicle is returned to the rental agency? What happens if your rental car gets scratched? This is a common issue, especially among people renting vehicles from different companies. Customers may be charged even though they didn’t cause any damage when renting their cars. To avoid these charges, you should always ask whether you will be charged for any scratches or dings on the vehicle. These are the steps you can take to ensure that no charges will be made for damage done before renting a car.
- Ask for a copy.
- You should carefully read the description of your car.
- Pay attention to the fine print.
- Ask for a free cleaning service
- Careful about the car’s condition.
- Make sure you don’t leave any items behind in your car
- You should always bring cash when renting a vehicle.
- Keep receipts of all payments.
- You must not allow anyone to touch your car without your consent.
- Never accept a gift offered by the company.
- Do not rent from a dubious agency.
- Keep the contract with you.
- Restore the vehicle to its original condition.
- Give your contact info to the agent;
- Do not use the same company too often
- Notify the seller of any important details such as model, mileage, engine size, color and so on. ;
- Take photos to show the extent of the damage.
- You can clean the car yourself
- Have the car inspected by a third party;
- Never agree not to pay any additional fees
