You can't... not at the airport!

Renting a car is all about the location. Rent at an airport. Pay more. It's as simple as that. Municipalities love taxing visitors, and rental cars are a great target.

Rent at an airport, you’ll be subsidizing not only the airport, but helping to build a sports stadium you’ll only see on TV. In many cases, it’s actually cheaper to take a shuttle into town and rent from the same company locally.

Think about this example: At the Las Vegas Airport, car rental companies paid the airport $26.5 million in fees last year, and guess where that money came from? You!

Rental car companies need to move entire fleets of cars to meet seasonal demands. Not many cars are needed in Florida during the summer, but starting this month? It's the same in Arizona in the winter and California during the summer.

If you plan properly, you can take advantage of unadvertised “drive away” deals offered by many car rental firms, where they will just about beg you to drive their cars north, south, east or west, depending on demand.

Drive away deals have often included unlimited mileage and as low as $9 a day. But don’t expect the rental car companies to volunteer this, you need to ask.

If you are a member of AAA, CAA, AARP or another large organization, ask about rental car discounts. AARP, for example, offers rental car discounts ranging from 5% - 30%.

Your auto insurance company may also give discounts on rental car rates. You’ll need to telephone them to ask about rental car insurance options; why not ask about discounts at the same time?

Rental car companies routinely offer weekend packages and last-minute deals. Take a few minutes to scan the company’s website for bargains.

If you’re reserving by telephone, ask about special offers for your destination. You may be able to save some money or add to your frequent flyer miles with one of these travel deals.


Hotwire http://www.Hotwire.com

Orbitz http://www.ORBITZ.com/Car

Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com/

Car Rentals http://www.CarRentals.com
Source(s):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15754299/

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