A Trustworthy Tricky Travel Tip

Beating the System on a Rental Car

Since I travel a bit more than the average person, I am often asked for my advice or secrets when it comes to booking travel. I have posted a few other blogs on this topic here and here. So here is another trustworthy tricky travel tip.

One area that is a bit hit-and-miss is booking rental cars at airports. Taxes and fees at airport locations can be significantly higher than at other locations near an airport. I have often scored what I thought was a great deal on a car for $9 a day on Priceline or Hotwire, only to discover that taxes and fees more than doubled or even exceeded the rental rates.

I encountered this recently on a trip I booked to Tampa, Florida. Normally I am able to book decent rates on this itinerary but this time I found I was traveling during the peak “Spring Break” season. Rates were much higher than I was used to. Where I am normally able to book a car for about $50-$75 for a weekend, I was now looking at $150-$200 for a compact car. I checked nearby locations with Enterprise and found that, just a couple miles from the airport, I could score a rental for $75. And Enterprise boasts, “we will pick you up.” So I booked a hotel near the airport with shuttle service. I’d have the hotel shuttle provide transportation from the airport to the hotel, and then have Enterprise pick me up and take me to get the car. On the return I would drop off the car and have them return me to the hotel and then use the hotel shuttle back to the airport. I just saved $100.

Only one snag in my plan: my flight home was an early one. The Enterprise location was not open early enough to get me back to the hotel in time to catch my flight. I would need to go directly from the Enterprise location to the airport. Enterprise wouldn’t likely give me that ride because of policies with their on-airport location (which would cost a lot more to use).  Enter Uber! I would have Uber provide the ride from the Enterprise location to the airport for around $10. Problem solved.

This is not the first time I have used this trick. You just have to make sure your travel plans allow for business hours at the off-airport locations—as they are not open 24 hours a day. (Some off-airport locations will allow you drop off the vehicle after hours and settle up your bill via email.)

So there you have it—my trustworthy tricky travel tip!

If you have a tricky travel tip, I’d love to hear it in the comments below!