How To Save Money On The Occasional Car Rental

Thinking of renting a car once in a while to get around the city or take a vacation? Check out our tips on how to save money on an occasional car rental!

These tips for How To Save Money On The Occasional Car Rental will help the person that lives near public transit and rarely needs a car, as well as the family that has a car but needs something a bit nicer from time to time.  Whether you are renting for the day or a week, these tips will help you to save money when renting a car for temporary use.

Related: Understanding your Car Insurance to Save Money

How To Save Money On The Occasional Car Rental

Use credit card reward programs.  One of the best ways to save money on the occasional car rental is to cash in your credit card rewards points.  Many companies will allow you to cash in your reward points toward a rental.  Others give you a special rate or discount when you use your card reward program to rent a car.  Always ask when looking to rent to make sure you have checked out all options.  AAA to AARP all offer discounts with rentals.

Related: 7 Little Known Credit Card Perks

Rent from a friend or family member.  If you have close friends or family in the area who have an extra vehicle, you can offer to pay them the rental fee, fill up the gas tank and even detail the car before returning in exchange for letting you use it for the day or time you need.

Rent during off days of the week.  Depending on the season as well as the rental company, many places offer lower daily rates for weekdays versus weekends.  Check out the best days to get lowest rates and rent the car on those days instead to save a few extra dollars.

Rent for a full weekend for lower prices.  Sometimes you only need to rent a car for one day, but it is actually cheaper to rent for a full weekend or week.  Check the prices for multiple days versus single days to find out if there is significant savings.  Rent for more than one day if needed.

Skip their insurance and use your own.  If you have a vehicle with insurance on it, but are renting for other reasons then you may want to skip their high cost insurance and instead use your own insurance.  Read the information and compare costs, but always make sure you know a bit more about what is required before blindly signing the rental agreement.

These tips for how to save money on the occasional car rental are easy for anyone to use.  Remember that renting through a car agency or dealership will often require a significant deposit or credit card to secure your rental.  Check in advance and plan accordingly in your budget.

Do you have any other great tips on how to save money on an occasional car rental? Share in the comments!

12 thoughts on “How To Save Money On The Occasional Car Rental”

  1. These are all great tips. We usually end up renting a car once or twice a year, but saving money while doing so is always great.

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