I’m quite often asked how I find the cheapest rental cars. I rarely rent cars because when I travel I’m either taking public transportation or Ubers/Lyfts and because I simply don’t drive a lot when I’m on the road. I’m usually doing work in the hotel, and I tend to walk everywhere. However, when I do rent a car (a couple times a year), I do know it’s generally cheaper to search all the different agencies instead of just one. Of course, searching each site takes a lot of time so I check the online travel agencies, as well.
Until last year, I used to almost always bid for rentals on Priceline. Then last year, I started using AutoSlash, which I really like—but some readers have complained that they don’t like AutoSlash’s format (you have to sign up, put in your info and then wait for them to email you 15-30 minutes later).
If you’re someone that likes to see your car rental options immediately (and want a great price), you should add RentalCars.com to your list of favorites. (Full disclosure: I signed up to their affiliate program so I do get a small commission when you use them, but I would be writing about them either way as they offer a great product. It’s just an added bonus when a company pays you for a referral fee.)
RentalCars.com is part of Booking Holdings Inc. which owns Booking.com, Priceline.com, Kayak.com, Agoda.com, and OpenTable.com. So it’s not surprising that they operate the world’s largest ground transportation platform, which generates over eight million annual bookings across 50,000+ locations in 165+ countries. They don’t charge cancellation fees, you can book now and pay later, and you can book a car within 60 seconds (including one-way rentals).
Have you used RentalCars.com? How do you like them? What’s your secret for getting the cheapest and easiest rental cars?
Many thanks for the tip on using Auto Slash (autoslash.com) for car rentals. I immediately tried it and found a compact rental through Hertz for $464 for an eight day rental on the island of Kauai, Hawaii total cost (included all taxes and fees) which was payable at pick-up with free cancellation plus they’ll do a continuous check to hopefully find lower prices until the pick-up date. While $464 is still way above what was normal in the past before the pandemic, it was still over $200 less than what I’d found anywhere else in a myriad of searches.
I am a big fan of RentalCars.com. I’ve used them for about 4 years now on most of my rentals and feel that I have gotten the best rates. I’m using them soon in Ohio and Hawaii too. Great option!