Be sure to read the fine print of the rental to make sure you are not affected by any additional charges for the early return Transportation of the car. And never tell the company that you plan to return the car sooner, otherwise they will try to charge you extra.
Making sure you have rental car insurance is a must if you opt for rental cars. I like the idea of using the card provided by insurance because most people forget to do it. You can save a lot of money and be insured in case of small or large damages. To reduce your rate, ask for discounts for large national organizations, loyalty programs, and credit card programs you may belong to. (Those offered through AAA can be very good.) If you are employed by a company that often rents cars, they may have a negotiated rate. Fortunately, many excellent credit cards offer bonus points at gas stations.
Some rental companies will drop off the car at your hotel – for a fee. I like the way you said to bring your own GPS to save money. My husband and I plan to travel with our family in a few weeks, and we want to rent a car for the trip, and we wanted to know some tips so we can plan our budget well.
Keep in mind that many companies charge extra for returning the car to another city. Taking a car from an airport or train station in the city usually costs more than picking up downtown. (Airport/train station fees only apply to your pickup, not your drop-off.) If you don’t need a car right after you arrive, look for a cheaper rental with a pickup price in the center.
It’s frustrating that I can book really good deals on flights and find all sorts of things, but the world of car rental looks like the Wild West or a weird 3rd world. A trick I used to try to match the status through credit cards and other programs to get a better status with the 3 big rental companies in order to get faster service and upgrades. Also, I try to avoid renting at the airport, as taxes and fees are much higher. Often you can take a taxi to get to a nearby office outside the airport and usually rent the car much cheaper.