Top 5 Dos and Don'ts of Car Rentals

Most of the time when we travel, we rent a car, but it depends on where we go. Some destinations are easier to get around by car, like Orlando or Los Angeles, and some places are not or it's just more convenient to use public transportation. Of course, there are those destinations we've rented a car in and either wished we hadn't or did a little more research before we went, like Ecuador. It's always smart to know how things work in the city you'll be traveling in. Security and roads without signs aside, here are my top 5 Dos and Don'ts of renting a car.

Do

1. Keep Looking Until the Last Minute because rates can fluctuate wildly. Most of the time you make a reservation and don't have to give a credit card or pay ahead, even with some aggregators such as Hotwire, so it just makes sense to watch for price drops all the way up until the day before you leave. There's no penalty for cancelling and rebooking, so do it if you can save a buck...or $100. It's been known to happen and keep an eye out for promo codes.
2. Reserve the Smallest Car Possible. I almost always book a compact or economy car. There are only two of us and they are comfortable enough. The smaller the car, the cheaper the rates and the less you'll have to pay to fill up at the gas station. A bonus is that the smallest cars usually sell out first, so you get upgraded for free to the next car size available. Note, if you change your mind once you get to the rental counter, you can always upgrade on your own, but you can't downgrade, so pick the smallest size you are comfortable with. Three of my last four rentals were upgraded, since my flight came in in the evening and all the economy cars were gone. Bummer for me, right?
3. Look at All Rental Locations. The airport isn't the only place you can rent a car and sometimes looking offsite can be more affordable. If the hassle is worth it for the price difference, that might make less of a dent in your budget. In fact, the government imposes fees on rental companies at the airport, so those are passed on to the customer. Sometimes it's significant. Sometimes it's just a few cents a day.
4. Check the Weekly Rates. If you'll be traveling for 5 or 6 days, it can sometimes be beneficial to check weekly rates on rental cars, because they come with a price break that may just be cheaper than paying for separate days.  Make sure to check the fine print and see if you will be penalized for bringing the car back early. Most of the time you won't be, but some rental companies have caught on and want to squeeze as much money out of you as possible.
5. Use Ebates for Extra Savings. Ebates gives you cash back on things you're doing everyday, including going on vacation. Sign up for free, then click through them to get to our favorite travel merchants, including a whole list of car rental companies, to get cash back and even current promo codes to save even more.

Don't

1. Take the Prepaid Gas Option. While every once in a great while this is actually a deal, 99.99% of the time it is a total rip-off. Unless I'm in Europe, I should never have to pay $8+ for a gallon of gas. The rate is usually posted and, though it sounds really convenient, it's just another way for them to extract every last cent from your wallet or, more specifically, your credit card. The same principal goes for their GPS system. If you have your own or usually use your phone, bring it with you and save $15 or more per day. If your personal GPS gets stolen, it'll be a lot cheaper to replace.
2. Get the Insurance. If you have a car with insurance at home, it's highly possible you are covered in rental cars. If not, the credit card you are using to rent the car probably protects you. make sure to check all possibilities that you already use before adding an extra $16+ per day to your rental. There's no sense in paying more when you really don't have to, even when that "only bring back the steering wheel" thing sounds awesome. It's designed to.
3. Forget to Sign Up for the Rewards Program. It's free, it's easy and all your rentals give you points towards things like upgrades and free days. Those sounds like fantastic things, but the reason I really do it is for the increased savings. Members get access to special promos and discounts.
4. Rent With Your Debit Card if possible. If you do, the rental company often takes your rental total and a deposit when you pick up your car, leaving you with hundreds of dollars less in your bank account that you probably counted on using on your trip. If you only have a credit card for car rentals, it will still be more convenient than not having one at all.
5. Rent a Car for Your Whole Trip if You Don't Need To. Sometimes you only want a car for certain things. If you have several places you plan to drive to, then plan to do those things on consecutive days, so you only have to rent a car for those days instead of all of them. It seems like common sense, but many people never think about doing it that way and waste money they didn't have to.

Renting a car is not often all that fun, but I enjoy driving other places that aren't at home. Learn the ins and outs of renting before you get to the counter, that way you don't end up being that person who asks 900 questions and making everyone behind you want to run you over with their car. Somehow, I always get stuck behind the three people who've maybe never rented anything before and am reminded of being at the post office and the bank. If you can fill out all your info before you get to your destination, which is an option on some sites, especially if you've rented from them in the past, do so and you'll be in and out as quickly as you can sign the forms and get to the garage. you'll be on your way faster and everyone will be less stressed out. 

What are your tips for renting a car, in general or more affordably? 

How Far Can Your Dollar Go?

Being a budget traveler can be hard, since saving money is not always that easy or convenient. Of course, if you are flexible, you can easily find a destination that fits the amount of money you can spend. I try to intersperse my vacations so that we go somewhere moderately-priced or budget-friendly several years in a row in order to save for larger and more expensive trips, like those to London or Disney World. Even though we had a lot of trouble in Ecuador, it was super affordable, educational and still one of the best trips we've ever taken. In fact, aside from the airfare, the two weeks we spent there were cheaper than the week we spent in Los Angeles going to Disneyland and other Southern California attractions. So, where should you go if you don't have a giant budget? Check out what a dollar can buy you in other parts of the world. I think Columbia and the Philippines might be added to my list after seeing this.

Pretty eye-opening, wouldn't you say? After seeing this, where would you think about spending your next dollar and vacation?

10 Ways to Save Money on Airfare

Airfare can be quite expensive, depending on where you're going or when, but there are ways to save, making your vacation easier to fit into you budget. It can be pretty discouraging when you search for airfare and see sky-high prices. It doesn't have to be that way, though. You can find rock-bottom deals if you know how. Here are my top 10 ways to save.

1. Get airfare alerts - NOW - As soon as you know where you want to go, set up airfare alerts, like from Airfare Watchdog, FareCompare and Expedia. If you want to go to a place where only a few airlines fly in, set up fare alerts with those airlines, too. For example, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines cover the majority of Hawaii-bound flights and often have the best deals.
2. Check regional airlines - These smaller airlines might offer lower rates, because they have fewer routes and need to compete with the big guys. This is a perfect way to make short trips for less or make a side trip. Some regional airlines include Peninsula Airlines, Mokulele Airlines, West Coast Airlines and Ozark Airlines. The same thing goes for budget airlines, like easyjet, which we used to fly from London to Paris for less than $200 for two of us.
3. Be flexible about what season you travel in - Every destination has an on-season and an off-season. Know when it's cheaper to visit there and you'll be able to book the best times for the most affordable flights.
4. Travel mid-week - Tuesday and Wednesday are the least popular days to fly for people, so generally airlines look to drop their rates, even if just by a little, on these days to encourage people to fly then instead of on the weekend. Of course, Saturday is also a "slow" day and can have equally budget-friendly flights.
5. Book mid-week - Most people look for airfare on the weekend, when they have extra time to spare. Take advantage of sales that run from Tuesday-Thursday and book mid-week instead. Those booking Friday-Monday will only find the most expensive rates, except for the odd typo rates found in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
6. Choose "flexible dates" when it's available when looking for tickets - Tuesday and Wednesday aren't always the best days to fly. Be flexible when you sarch and you might find a great rate a few days before or after you wanted to go or come back. Isn't it worth changing up your days if that's the case?
7. Fly into or out of a different/nearby city - Smaller hubs are less busy and because of that, they often lower their rates to get people to fly through them instead. Two ways I've saved this way is by flying into Oakland (OAK) instead of San Francisco (SFO) or flying into Ontario (ONT) instead of Los Angeles (LAX). Choose "nearby airports" on your search and see if this might work for you.
8. Book a promotional package deal - Sometimes it's just cheaper to bundle your whole trip. I've often found deals that included air, car and hotel for the same price or less than just airfare. In that case, I was able to save money by only having to book one thing and then just worried about food and what to do at my destination. It doesn't always work that way, but it's worth looking into.
9. Bid for low rates on Priceline - If you aren't picky about which airline you fly on or what time of day you fly, then choose your dates and what you're willing to pay and set your bid. Airlines will compete to see if they can match your bid and if they agree, your airfare will be booked, your card will be charged and details will be sent to you via email.
10. Book overseas flights 6-8 weeks in advance - Flying domestically has different rules than flying internationally. Domestic flights have the best deals, generally, 3-6 weeks in advance. The magic number is 42 days, but again, that's not a hard and fast rule. If you're traveling internationally, you'll want to book further out to get the best rates, and that's 6-8 weeks out. I know this can be difficult for people like me who want to book as soon as possible, but that doesn't mean that deals can't be found further out.

So, those are some of my best tips. If you want to save, you have to be flexible. If you have kids and think you can only travel during holidays, call the school and see if it's possible to take them out and bring homework with them. You just want to make sure you let them know with plenty of time to spare, so they can actually put together all the work for them to keep up with. Do you have tips on how you saved on airfare in general or on specific destinations?