# Rental cars - best travel tip I've seen in a while



## markbernstein (Jul 26, 2012)

We're going to the Palm Beach area in November, flying in to PBI.  My searches for rental cars were turning up a lot of high prices, so I'd been reluctant to book.

Then I remembered a tip I'd read in a travel article.  It said that booking a car to be picked up in town, instead of at the airport, could save money.  I tried it, and it worked beyond my expectations.

After looking at a couple of possibilities, I booked with Enterprise, my current main choice.  Picking up and dropping off a Standard size car (Ford Fusion or similar) at PBI, a week's rental would have cost $527.00 plus fees and taxes.  Booking that same class of car at an in-town office was $229.99 plus fees and taxes, for a grand total a little over $260.  How far will we have to take a cab from and to the airport?  According to Mapquest, 2.24 miles.  (Yes, Enterprise advertises that they pick up and drop off.  In this case, I'm not sure I want to let them know what I'm doing by asking.  )

In a word, wow.  I'm going to remember that tip.


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## brigechols (Jul 26, 2012)

Yes, this is a good travel tip because you are not paying all the taxes and fees assessed for an airport pickup. I have done it before. Consider making a backup plan in case your flight is delayed and the office is closed.


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## Icc5 (Jul 26, 2012)

*Did the same thing once*



markbernstein said:


> We're going to the Palm Beach area in November, flying in to PBI.  My searches for rental cars were turning up a lot of high prices, so I'd been reluctant to book.
> 
> Then I remembered a tip I'd read in a travel article.  It said that booking a car to be picked up in town, instead of at the airport, could save money.  I tried it, and it worked beyond my expectations.
> 
> ...


We did the same in Nashville once and Enterprise never advised us that they close early on the day of the car return.  It was also in a bad part of town.
Luckily I had my cell phone so I could call a cab and I had the internet on my phone to look up cab companies in Nashville since nothing was posted by Enterprise.  Too much of a hassle, back to paying more at airports.
Bart


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## DianneL (Jul 27, 2012)

*Pick up by Enterprise*

I was told by Enterprise that they will pick you up, but cannot do a pickup at the airport.  I don't remember where we were at the time and don't know if this applies to all airports.


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## BevL (Jul 27, 2012)

I have a reservation for an offsite Enterprise for our Palm Springs trip in February.  I figure to cab over with my sis-in-law, get the car and go back to the airport to pick up Greg and my brother-in-law.

About half the price.


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## Rent_Share (Jul 27, 2012)

DianneL said:


> I was told by Enterprise that they will pick you up, but cannot do a pickup at the airport. I don't remember where we were at the time and don't know if this applies to all airports.


 

The parent of enterprise is the same as National/Thrifty honor amongst theives


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## dougp26364 (Jul 27, 2012)

DianneL said:


> I was told by Enterprise that they will pick you up, but cannot do a pickup at the airport.  I don't remember where we were at the time and don't know if this applies to all airports.



Because of city taxes/fee's associated with having a rental car agency at the airport, I doubt they can legally pick you up at the airport without charging those fee's.


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## JeffW (Jul 27, 2012)

It's an option worth considering.  I looked into it last year flying into PHX, where taxes are if I remember, over 50%.   Nearby rental office was less than 2 miles out.   But I elected not to do it for two reasons:

1. We were taking a red eye flight back.  I'm not sure if the office would be open that late (particularly on a weekend), but I also didn't want to have to deal with trying to get a taxi back to the airport.

2. I was travelling with several people with enough luggage that I needed to leverage National's Emerald/Executive aisle service:  you pay for an intermediate, but you can select any car they have out.  Two years ago that was a fulsize car, last year and this year (on trips) it was an SUV.  I felt the airport selection would have a MUCH bigger selection of cars (plus, the off-site locations technically may not have been "E-Aisle" locations)

For 1-2 people with little luggage, getting into a cab off to the rental office to pick up your care, probably not a big deal.  However if you have more people, need to particular vehicle, or are travelling off-hours, sort of have to suck it up and pay the higher on-airport fees.

Jeff


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## dougp26364 (Jul 27, 2012)

JeffW said:


> It's an option worth considering.  I looked into it last year flying into PHX, where taxes are if I remember, over 50%.   Nearby rental office was less than 2 miles out.   But I elected not to do it for two reasons:
> 
> 1. We were taking a red eye flight back.  I'm not sure if the office would be open that late (particularly on a weekend), but I also didn't want to have to deal with trying to get a taxi back to the airport.
> 
> ...



Next time you might want to call and ask about dropping off. While they can't pick you up at the airport I don't think there are rules about dropping off at the airport. We did this in Seattle when we rented a car post cruise for a couple nights before flying home. We rented in town and dropped off at the airport. No extra fee's.


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## flexible (Jul 27, 2012)

DianneL said:


> I was told by Enterprise that they will pick you up, but cannot do a pickup at the airport.  I don't remember where we were at the time and don't know if this applies to all airports.



*Enterprise Rent a Car *has advised us that *they were NOT allowed to pick us up at the airport *we would be flying into *PER AIRPORT RULES*. I can't remember which cities at the moment. But I am nearly sure it would have been after 2006.

Sometimes we figured out how to take a hotel shuttle bus to ANYWHERE off Airport and arrange for Enterprise to pick us up. However, *Last minute PRICELINE deals*, especially in Hawaii have OFTEN turned out to be a FRACTION of the cost of advance reservations. We have had MANY reservations for 21 days or more in several Hawaiian islands for $9 per day. 

Enterprise often has *MILEAGE LIMITS on FREE PICK UP and drop off*. I think that caused us to cancel a reservation in Hawaii once because the mileage from the closest hotel NEAR the airport to the nearest Enterprise Rent a Car office would have caused us more to get to/from their office.

JMHO, Enterprise is OK but *YOU need to know what QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK because they might not tell you "If you knew what we knew, you wouldn't bother to call us."* *Sort of like timeshare salesmen who paint a BLUE SKY with easy exchanges to the moon, venus etc but don't mention the small print.*

Enterprise was scheduled to pick us up at the PORT our Princess Cruise arrived in Dublin. When they were not there, a taxi driver let us use his cell phone. ENTERPRISE said they were waiting for us BUT at the wrong port EVEN though we had told them the correct port.


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## JudyH (Jul 27, 2012)

I do this with Budget at Albuquerque all the time.  Cab to Budget is $25, car is half the airport price, and you can return it at the airport.


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## Rent_Share (Jul 27, 2012)

JudyH said:


> I do this with Budget at Albuquerque all the time. Cab to Budget is $25, car is half the airport price, and you can return it at the airport.


 
Be sure you ask and confirm in writing, drop off fees can be outrageous


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## x3 skier (Jul 27, 2012)

When I fly back home for a visit from my winter 12 week timeshares in Steamboat Springs, I rent a car from Avis at the airport and drop it off at a station that is about a mile from my house. When I leave the house, I rent from the nearby station and drop off at the airport. 

The two rentals combined are about 50% of the taxi fare. I can keep the car for 24 hours for the same price so drop off at the in-town location is no problem, just go there when they are open.

I also get miles for the rental as well. I usually apply then to a FF account I do not use much to keep them from expiring.

Cheers


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## JudiZ (Jul 28, 2012)

Thank you for this advice. I checked and was able to take both Mark and Judy's advice! I changed my rental to an off site pick up ($35 cab fare to a Wyndham Resort down the street from ours) and an airport drop off. Airp[ort drop off was $1.50 different than pick-up location. 

It is literally $200 less for the rental - from $388 to $188. Counting the cab fare, $165 not spent. Since we are arriving in the middle of the day, I feel a bit more comfortable with this than I would with a late evening arrival. Many thanks for the travel tips. 

Judi


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## Ken555 (Jul 28, 2012)

Off airport pickup is a great option at times. I've recently started looking into a SUV rental in Denver for December for a ski trip. It's been a few years since I rented in Denver, and prices are twice what they were renting at the airport (all in ~$1000-1200 for a week). Alternatively, pickup in Denver is about $500, and it's only slightly higher to drop off at the airport. I figure a $50 cab ride is easily justifiable given these numbers.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 28, 2012)

Enterprise prices are good off-airport from Santa Ana or LAX, but there is bus stop half a mile from the airport that will take us directly to Disney, so we are doing that next time.  I know Disneyland has their own shuttle service, which has a cost, but we are staying at Peacock Suites.


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## jules54 (Jul 29, 2012)

I am looking for rental cars in San Francisco and I am finding this does not apply. The in town locations and much higher. Perhaps it is because we are renting over labor day and some locations are not open in town for drop off.


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## LisaH (Jul 29, 2012)

jules54 said:


> I am looking for rental cars in San Francisco and I am finding this does not apply. The in town locations and much higher. Perhaps it is because we are renting over labor day and some locations are not open in town for drop off.



Which in-town location? Try the city of Burlingame. It's the closest to the airport where rental car offices are located and in general cheaper than SFO.


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## tiel (Jul 29, 2012)

For our trip to AZ this spring, we originally made a reservation off-airport.  It was MUCH cheaper than anything we could find at PHX, even when we included the shuttle fare to a nearby hotel.  But we kept checking the rates as our departure approached, and we found one ON-airport that was MUCH cheaper than our off-airport rate.  So I would advise you take the best rate you can which makes sense for your departure/arrival times, but keep looking until your departure...you just may find a better rate!


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## isisdave (Jul 29, 2012)

Sometimes I combine two rentals, for example when arriving in Kauai at 10pm: rent a full-size at the airport (you know they'll be open if your plane is late) for one day to get us all and our luggage to the timeshare, then something smaller from an off-airport vendor.


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## LadyBeBop (Jul 29, 2012)

Will this work at Orlando/WDW?

Would it be cheaper to rent a car at the airport, at the Disney TTC, at one of the hotels close to Disney or another place in Orlando?

Transportation to and from the rental place is not an issue.  There's a group of us driving down in one car, and there's a couple flying in.  We'll probably need two cars.


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## mjm1 (Jul 29, 2012)

LadyBeBop said:


> Will this work at Orlando/WDW?
> 
> Would it be cheaper to rent a car at the airport, at the Disney TTC, at one of the hotels close to Disney or another place in Orlando?
> 
> Transportation to and from the rental place is not an issue.  There's a group of us driving down in one car, and there's a couple flying in.  We'll probably need two cars.



I have the same question regarding a location near Marriott Cypress Harbour.  We will be there late next April and the rates at the airport are a lot higher than I thought.  This may be an option for us as well.  Thanks for any insights.


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## JudyH (Jul 29, 2012)

In Albuquerque, Budget tells us to drop back at the airport.

I would guess these off airport sites only have daytime hours.


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## Luvstotravel (Jul 30, 2012)

mjm1 said:


> I have the same question regarding a location near Marriott Cypress Harbour.  We will be there late next April and the rates at the airport are a lot higher than I thought.  This may be an option for us as well.  Thanks for any insights.



I went to the Avis, Dollar and Budget sites, and priced a car for a week in Dec.  I kept the dates the same, and just typed "Orlando" in the "location" box.

Each time, I was given a choice of locations from a drop-down box, that presumably shows all their Orlando locations.  First I chose random Orlando locations OTHER than the MCO one. I have no idea where those locations are, other than they're NOT at the airport!

I memorized the price, them searched again, this time keeping everything the same, except this time I picked MCO (airport) as the location.

Results?  Over $100 more if using MCO!!  I'll happily leave the airport, take a cab to the cheaper location, and get my car there!  It may even save us time-it seems like the entire plane always heads for the car rental and I'm at the end of a very long line every time I need a car rental!

Now, I need to research where the other chains' locations are.  I want to pick a location that's ON THE WAY to my hotel!


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## mjm1 (Jul 30, 2012)

Luvstotravel said:


> I went to the Avis, Dollar and Budget sites, and priced a car for a week in Dec.  I kept the dates the same, and just typed "Orlando" in the "location" box.
> 
> Each time, I was given a choice of locations from a drop-down box, that presumably shows all their Orlando locations.  First I chose random Orlando locations OTHER than the MCO one. I have no idea where those locations are, other than they're NOT at the airport!
> 
> ...



Thanks for the additional information.  I will definitely check these options out.  We have a lot of time before we go in April and the prices will undoubtedly change.


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## infoleather (Aug 7, 2012)

I do not want to deal with trying to get a taxi back to the airport.


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## Talent312 (Aug 7, 2012)

The best option for Orlando, IMO, is to transfer to your hotel and rent from a nearby (city) lot.
Enterprise's rates are reasonable and their "pick you up" service is useful.

However, their car-class labels tend to get you one step down from the majors.
IOW, their "standard" = Avis' "compact."


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## JudyS (Aug 7, 2012)

markbernstein said:


> ....
> Then I remembered a tip I'd read in a travel article.  It said that booking a car to be picked up in town, instead of at the airport, could save money.  I tried it, and it worked beyond my expectations.....


This works in most cities, but I don't think t works in all cities. In the really crowded cities, like NYC, taxes and surcharges may be just as high as at the airport, plus the rental agency may charge extra because of the high cost of parking the cars. This may be why Jules54 found that rentals were more expensive in downtown San Francisco than at the airport.

Also, there are a number of important caveats that have been mentioned on this thread, such as that off-airport locations often have limited hours and may be closed if your flight is delayed.


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## JaxonSmith (May 24, 2014)

The website has very useful travel tips which would help a lot of tourists to enjoy a wallet-friendly trip. Great job by all contributors.


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