Another Great Hint
Whilst on a holiday car hire is a great way of getting around at a great price.
This morning whilst fervently looking for ways to save money and generally sort my finances out, I came across this great section on cheap car hire (Money Saving Expert).
They suggest whilst negotiating a price:
Name Your Own Price. Save up to 30%.
The website Priceline* offers a ‘name your price’ function, which can often undercut the top deals. Rather than doing a search, you enter the pick up, date details, and the price you’re willing to pay, so if you’re looking for dirt cheap hire it’s worth a try, though obviously you’re booking blind. The catch? Once you enter your details, you’re commited to booking if the offer is accepted and the payment will automatically be taken from your card.
Are you also booking a flight and/or hotel?
A number of specialist cheap travel brokers give discounts if you book car hire alongside a flight, hotel or both. The main one is Expedia* though just because they’re at a discount doesn’t automatically make it cheapest (see the Cheap Flights and Cheap Hotels guides).
Consider a ‘flydrive’
For trips to the US, especially Florida, it’s worth looking at a ‘flydrive’ package holiday deal, which means you get the flight and car hire all wrapped together from a tour operator (see Cheap Package Holidays).
Try for cashback on top.
Having found your cheap car hire company, check whether it’s listed on a specialist cashback website. These are companies which share a cut of the affiliate link revenue they receive if you click from them through to other websites. Doing this could cut your cost by a further 5%. If you’re new to these sites, first read the Top Cashback Sites guide for a full explanation, and then to find the best paying cashback site for your hire companies use the Cashback Sites Maximiser.
Use overseas websites.
If you’re heading to an English speaking country, or are fluent in the lingo, Google to see if that country’s car hire sites are cheaper. It will usually be priced in that country’s currency, so use the Travel Money Maximiser to calculate the actual cost.
Check BAAand your airline’s website.
BAA, the official airports’ website and airline websites like Easyjet and Ryanair ocasionally offer special discounts, so once you’ve done a comparison check the site to see if it’s beatable.
Haggle with individual branches.
If you speak the language, or they speak yours, call up specific branches and try to haggle. This is especially powerful for longer trips or more expensive cars – just try a little polite chutzpah. Ask again at the desk when you pick up the car. The bigger companies in particular are likely to upgrade for a cheaper price.
Look for online vouchers.
Sign up to newsletters of the car hire comparison services and car hire companies directly. They often send promotional discounts that will shave an extra few quid off the price. Also have a look at the Discount Codes & Vouchers board of this site.
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Hopefully this information will be useful!!
