5 Insider Tips on Renting Cars for Your Next Adventure

Autumn is the perfect time for road trips and renting a vehicle can save gas and prevent needless wear-and-tear. For those of us with wanderlust this can be invaluable. Here are five tips to save money, time, and headaches the next time you need a rental car.

1. Aim for the Sweet Spots – Rule #1 when renting vehicles – not all days cost the same. Week-long rentals generally offer the best bang for your buck. For instance, if you are renting for four or five days a week-long rental could be the same price or just a few dollars more. Likewise, many rental agencies offer specials on weekends. However, expect to pay more on holidays or during local events like concerts or festivals. Similarly, most locations have “peak” seasons for charging premium prices. For instance, rates spike in Phoenix in March for spring training. Having flexibility when planing your next adventure can save you cash.
2. Use Costco Travel – This one is not free as a membership costs $60/yr. However, if you are renting four or five cars annually this can pay for itself. Costco Travel aggregates all the coupons for Enterprise, Avis, Budget,  and Alamo and automatically applies them to your reservation. This saves you countless hours searching the web for the latest coupon codes or deals. While some “discount” companies like National, Fox, and Dollar are not covered – these prices provide a benchmark if you want to search elsewhere for better prices. Hertz is the only major company not covered that has locations away from the airports.
3. Reserve Early and Double Check Later – To secure the best rates try reserving at least three weeks in advance. In fact, I recommend making the reservation as soon as your trip plans are solidified. Earlier is usually better as prices tend to rise as more demand for that date occurs. However, prices also occasionally drop. It may be worth investing 5 to 10 minutes of time to double check prices as your next trip approaches. You could end up saving 50 bucks or more!
4. Coverage Choices – I use American Express when renting cars because it covers my insurance. Make sure you have proper coverage in place without paying the extraordinary prices rental agencies charge. If necessary, call your insurance agent to find out what your policy covers. If you need to purchase coverage have the clerk explain everything as there are multiple levels of coverage including some that you may not need.
5. Watch for Bait-n-Switch – This usually pertains to the class of cars. Because there are so many: economy, compact, intermediate, standard, and full size the differences can be vague. Some cars and SUV’s seem too fit into two categories. Rental companies will occasionally put you in a lower class of vehicle and then try selling you on an upgrade. This “upgrade” is actually what you are paying for in the first place! If necessary, be prepared to pull up the company website which shows and describes the class of vehicles. Additionally, companies will try selling “fake” upgrades. For instance, when renting a Jeep from the airport in Hawaii I was asked by the clerk if I’d like to upgrade to two-door model for $60. I let him explain the benefits and politely refused. When I got my vehicle I was able to choose a two-door one anyways!

If you have any other tips, stories, or if this post was helpful to you I’d love to read them in the comments section below.

Advertisement

A New Trip Report

It was an incredible experience once again returning  to the fascinating and bizarre region of Southwestern Utah and Northern Arizona. There is so much to see and do in the area that it takes diligent research and plenty of time and effort to explore it. Because of the weather and crowds, we modified the second leg of our original itinerary and swapped out iconic locations for one another.  Specifically, the last week of the trip the weather report in the entire region was calling for clear, blue skies and escalating temperatures. Considering this, we opted to explore the slot canyons near Page instead of focusing on wide-angle landscapes at the Grand Canyon.

We started out  just before Memorial Day Weekend at Bryce Canyon NP where it was cold and windy resulting in smaller than average crowds and above average skies. It was fantastic! Next, we drove east to Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument, followed that up with a short trip to Zion NP and afterwards back to the Grand Staircase and the Coyote Buttes/Vermillion Cliffs. In fact, about 90% of the places we visited were for the first time, so we have some awesome new images & experiences to share with you. By the end of our trip, the weather had turned unbearably hot with near record highs in Page,  Arizona and Kanab, Utah.

We spent most of our time backpacking or car camping and for this trip, I believe,  yielded some exceptionally diverse results – photographically speaking. This was the first trip where I did not rely on my wide-angle lens, but instead focused on intimate compositions and abstracts with a longer focal length lens  (my new 70-200 F/2.8). I am looking forward to sharing those images & experiences with you soon.

I will also continue my series on the Top 10 parks to visit in the summertime. Please look for another update before this weekend and I expect to have the new images ready for viewing within the next week or so. Thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to sharing with you soon.