Step 1: There are many comparison sites that show rates for multiple companies at once. We prefer Travelocity or Orbitz because they show many companies and many rates. Enter your times and location then review your rates. Sometimes there is a clear price leader, other times four or five companies may have similar prices. We try and select two or three companies to focus on, based on the rates at the selected location.
Step 2: Begin the search for discounts and coupons. You should have narrowed your search down by company, now start narrowing down the discount and coupon codes. First stop, visit http://www.carrentalsavers.com and review the wide range of car rental coupons and car rental discounts.
Step 3: Review and understand discount codes and coupons. Corporate or contract ID's are offered by car rental companies to external companies or organizations. These are negotiated contracts designed to give specific benefits to employees of that company or members of the organization. Does your company offer an employee rate? Are you a member of an association such as AAA? Do you have a VISA? Many groups give discounts to their customers/members in the form of a corporate or contract ID. These ID's, at a minimum, generally will save you 10% plus on your rental. They can often be combined with coupons to get an even better rate. Often you can use these ID's without being a member of the association but there can be a risk. There are publicly available ID's, so I would look for these. For example, Walmart codes can be used by anyone. These ID's also often work during busy periods when coupons are blacked out.
Almost every car rental company offers some type of coupon that can help you save money on your car rental. Coupon codes vary from free days, car class upgrades, money off, to percentage off. We recommend you print coupons when possible but with the advent of ecoupons many do not need to be printed out. For our coupons that require printing we provide links when available. Coupons are often blacked out at the busiest times so they may not work on your rental even though the coupon has not expired. They also may be blacked out at certain locations only. You can often combine contract ID’s with coupons so look at those possibilities. Select the ones most relevant to your trip then head directly to the car rental companies’ site.
Step 4: Book directly at the car rental companies’ website as soon as possible. You should now have some coupon or discount codes and the next step involves finding the best ones for your rental. Booking for longer than a week, look for percentage off discounts. Booking a midsize or larger, look for upgrade coupons. Need an additional driver, find a code that includes one for free. Matching the codes and coupons to your particular reservation can really help you save money. When booking directly with the car rental company you can modify any time and there are no cancellation fees.
Step 5: Re-check your rates. Remember, there are no cancellation fees, so if you find a better rate take advantage. You also should check for last minute specials within two weeks of your rental.
Sound like too much work? Let us do the research for you. Our team of car rental specialists will find you a great rate plus, re-book if your rate goes down. Just visit http://www.carrentalsavers.com/
For more details on the booking service please visit our FAQs at http://www.CarRentalSavers.com/
