One-way rentals can be tricky since you may be charged higher for the transaction than for two-way rentals, on a point-by-point comparison. You can save money on a one-way rental when you keep these tips in mind in your next transaction.
Use Discount Coupons and Codes
You will be surprised at the special coupon codes offered by major rental companies, especially when you are more diligent in finding coupons for grocery staples, clothes, and accessories. You can coupon codes for one-way rentals, among other discounts, on coupon websites, aggregator sites, and booking sites. When you have the cheapest rates on hand, you can then check out the car rental companies’ websites for more information and, hopefully, for booking purposes.
Pay in Advance
Many car rental companies, such as Budget and Hertz, actually offer their customers discounts for prepaying for the rental service at the time of reservation instead of at the time of the car’s return. You may even be able to get as much as 35% discount but there’s a catch – the pre-payment can be non-refundable, which means that you will have less leeway in changing your plans.
Take Note of the Season
Yet another way to save on one-way rentals is to consider the movement of the car rental companies’ fleets from one part of the country to the other. Your research will likely yield a mass migration, sort of, such that companies move their fleets from the Northern to the Southern states in winter and then reverse it in spring.
The result: You can take advantage of substantial discounts! For example, a week-long rental from Miami to New York City in April will cost just above $120 but the same package will cost just below $700 in July. If you have kept track of the rates between seasons, you can also see the pattern – and take advantage of it by planning your trips around it.
You may also want to consider a drive-away although it’s not exactly a rental arrangement. Basically, a drive-away is an arrangement wherein a car’s owner pays for a driver to drive his vehicle from Point A to Point B. You may find it a more flexible option when you want to take a low-cost road trip sans the rental arrangement. You will be required to pay for your own board and lodging, tolls, and fuel costs beyond the first full tank.
In many ways, saving money on one-way rentals is similar to renting cars for a two-way trip. You have to plan, compare, and negotiate to get the best deals where you are concerned.
