Car rental deal tips
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Anonymous
| I haven't had to rent a car in a long time. Any thoughts on where to get a good deal? We'll be in Boston over Labor day weekend so pickup and drop off at the airport is key. Should I just do it through Costco? Priceline? |
Anonymous
| I know you said airport pickup was key-but that can make it way more expensive. We just rented a car in Seattle, and airport pickup would have been over $1000 and downtown pickup was $400 ( same car, same company). (This was a longer than a weekend rental so the inconvenience of getting a cab downtown wasnt a big deal.) |
Anonymous
|
My experience has been the opposite--that downtown rentals were very expensive and the deals were all at the airport. In strange cities, I've cabbed to the airport to get the rental car rather than pick it up near the hotel.
It's all about the supply and demand at that location in that city on that day and time, which their computers are constantly adjusting for. In general, be sure to shop both locations. But it sounds like this trip demands that you pick up/drop off at the airport. I've generally found the best deals on priceline. |
Anonymous
| We've received some amazing deals at airport pickup through Priceline. |
Anonymous
| OP here...thanks for the insight. we'll have our 2 year old in tow so we'd like to install her car seat at the airport and be done. I'll check Priceline - Costco is giving me a compact for $62/day. Kind of pricey I thought. |
Anonymous
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Are you a AAA member? If you book through them you can get great rates, especially through Hertz.
I've found that prices with rental companies fluctuate all the time, so it is worthwhile to make a reservation and then check prices on a weekly basis prior to your trip to get the lowest price. |
Anonymous
| Breezenet is a good website to check. Bidding on Priceline is also worth it because they only use the main companies, and sometimes you can get a great deal but you pay upfront. |
Anonymous
| hotwire and costco travel. also search for codes online. |
Anonymous
| Keep checking Costco. My rental for this weekend (midsize, airport pickup) went from $70/day to $13/day (final price after fees/taxes) as we got within a few weeks of the date. The Costco Travel bookings are totally cancellable without penalty, so just keep rebooking whenever the price drops. |
Anonymous
| Kayak.com |
Anonymous
+1 |