Avoid Unnecessary Car Rental Fees

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There are many ways to get discounts on car rentals. However, you will still end up paying more than you intend. With base prices that sometimes only reflect half of the actual cost of the rental, we often don’t know just how expensive the rental will be. Here are some fees to look out for when renting a car.

Ask about charges for dropping off the rental in a different location if you’re using the car for one-way travel. Agencies can slap on a fee of up to $1,500 for dropping off the car in a different location than where you picked it up.

Find out if your car insurance covers rental cars before paying for the agency’s insurance. Upper-level credit cards, like MasterCard Gold, are also often sources of secondary insurance.

Avoid renting a car at the airport if possible. Rental agencies at airports will charge you large airport surcharges that can be avoided if you rent your car in town instead.

Between state and local taxes, additional driver charges, gasoline bills, child seats, and other add-ons, your rental bill will still be higher than the base price quoted, even if you cut all of these corners. Travelocity now offers “total pricing” for car rentals. It will quote you a price within 1 percent of your total charge.