Summer vacations are almost around the corner and everybody is busy planning and making the arrangements for their trips. Now, while doing that, all of us try to cut costs and find a cheaper deal on things like airfares, accommodations, and budget car rentals. Although, you can’t really control things like airfares and accommodations , cracking a good deal on car rentals might not be as hard as you think.

Never Rent on Airports

You should never rent a car on the airports as those car rental companies might charge you a fortune for things like airport charges, parking tolls, convenience charges etc. The prices on the same cars and facilities would be significantly lower at a non-airport facility. You can fancy a taxi to that non-airport facility and it still might save you a few bucks in your pocket.

Avoid Renting from Big Brands

You might want to avoid renting your car from big brands like Hertz or Avis and look around for independent car rental agencies. Start-ups and independent agencies often introduce themselves with a good discount and customer friendly services to boost their brand value and popularity in the area. Independent car rental agencies like Payless and Fox have lower operating costs and marketing schemes. Thus, these might prove to be of great help to you as their cars are available for 15-30% less than the mainstream websites.

Recommended Read:  How to Buy a Car as a Married Couple

Keep Track of the Rates

Just like the prices of hotels and airfares, the prices of car rental agencies also fluctuate. There are a number of sites available online, by which you can keep track of the prices, availability, and a number of other things related to your bookings. Autoslash.com might prove to be really handy in checking the rates, availability and even coupons for your specified trip date. Autoslash.com currently works with multiple car rental agencies like Payless, Fox Car Rental, Rent-A-Car, among others. You have the option of comparing prices on their website, and even making direct bookings.

Look for Virtual Discounts

One of the biggest advantages of these services becoming digital is that you can get a wide range of virtual discounts. Always check for promotional coupons, card discounts, and frequent-flier collaboration discounts. For instance, you’ll often find virtual discounts on special occasions like Memorial Day, The Super bowl, 4th of July, etc. The best part is you can even club these promotional codes with coupon codes, depending on the website, to avail additional concessions. Many websites also offer special discounts on certain kinds of cards like Master card, Visa or any other cards of some specific banks.

Recommended Read:  5 Tips to Buy Cheap Flight Tickets

Pick up and Drop the Car at the Same Facility

Car rental companies make a butt load of money from changes in the location of pick-up and drop. Picking up and dropping your car at different locations would certainly cost you a hefty amount of money. The companies would charge you extra drop-off fees at the name of convenience, and you could end up paying a significant amount of money just for the change in the location. Thus, you can easily avoid these charges by picking up and dropping off the car at the same location.

Compare the Daily vs. Weekly Rents on The Car

Before renting a car, always check and compare the daily vs. weekly rental on the cars. Car rental companies often drastically raise their prices on some selective days of the week, especially on weekends. You usually get the best deal when you rent a car on a weekly basis, because that way you end up paying the overage prices only for some selective dates and pay according to the weekly rate chart.