How to Save Money On a Rental Car

Sometimes when you travel, it’s just not practical to take public transportation. Maybe you are covering a lot of ground on your trip or the bus schedule is iffy or you are on a business trip that calls for you to be at specific places at particular times. The problem with renting a car is that it can quickly add up over just a few days.

Following the pandemic, it was really difficult to find a deal, because with no one traveling, most rental companies sold off the majority of their fleets and couldn't bounce back when travel returned. Finally, you can find some good deals, but it does take some know-how and persistence. Here are some of the easiest ways to get the best deal possible.

Book a Ride-Share Car

Need a rental car? Then skip the traditional rental companies if you can. They are still charging vast amounts of money for their shrunken fleets. I have almost exclusively used Turo for the last 5-6 years, but you can also rent through Uber now, too. These are basically Airbnb, but for cars. I've saved half off traditional rental rates this way. If you're looking for a less expensive, but more convenient rental experience from a more traditional company, check out Kyte, where they will bring the car to you.

I'll be renting a car through Turo while we're in France, so it's not just for the U.S. it'll be the first time I've rented through them outside of America, but you can add a second drive for free, as long as they are approved to drive, so one person doesn't have to drive the entire trip by themselves.

If you are looking for a traditional rental company, here are some tips to get deep discounts. 

Book for a week

Weekly rates are sometimes much better than if you booked each day separately and often even more affordable than a four- or five-day rental. Check the fine print to make sure there’s no penalty for returning your car early. If there isn’t, take the weekly rate and then bring your rental back a few days early. It can only help them make more money by having an extra car on-hand. You can also get a discount on Turo cars if you book a week or more.

Reserve the smallest possible car

Yes, you’re on vacation and you want to be comfortable, but think about how much time you’ll actually be spending in the car. Rental companies can’t downgrade your car once it’s booked – only upgrades are acceptable. This means if you reserve a compact or an economy car (which are the most popular) and they don’t have any when you get there, they have to give you the next available size up at the same rate. If all they have at the time is a luxury car, they are obligated to rent it to you. The other upside to renting a smaller car is that it will cost you less in fuel, because you’ll get better gas mileage.

Avoid the inclusive gas option

By far the biggest rip-off when you rent a car is the optional fill-up upon return. While there are some exceptions, it is very common for them to charge you over a dollar more per gallon than what is charged at the pump. On top of that, no matter how much gas you return with, you will be made to pay as if the tank was empty, and at the highly inflated rate. Tell the rep at the desk that you will return the car with a full tank and then ask where the nearest station is, so you can take note to stop there upon your return.

Rent away from the airport

Airports impose a rental fee to car companies, which they then pass onto the customer. If it is possible to rent off-site, compare pricing to see if there is a notable difference. If there is, choose the least expensive option.

Add a second driver

Most rental companies allow you to add a second driver to your rental for no fee once you get to the counter to sign in. If you are married – or live in the same house and say you are spouses – then you can both be on the rental agreement for the same rate as just one.

Get the most out of your rental

You always want to get the most for your money and renting a car is no different. Sign up for reward programs and earn points toward free rentals, upgrades and more when you use each company. You can usually use your frequent flyer membership number to earn miles for each rental you complete as well. Sometimes you have to pay a bit more for your rental this way, but usually it’s less than a dollar per rental day, so you are still coming out ahead. 

Use corporate rates

If the company you work for has a rental car program, get on it, because they rarely make you prove you work there when you rent. I worked for a company that extended their business rates to everyone in the company. I signed up for Budget's Fastbreak at the time and even though I haven't worked for that company in over a decade, I'm still able to get those rates with Budget. On top of that, I can bypass the rental counter and just go straight to my car, because they have all my info on file. That saves us so much time.

Renting a car doesn't have to be a daunting experience. It's fun to drive something new. It's exciting to save money, and you'll be glad to not have to rely on public transportation if you will be traveling around a lot during your stay. A car rental also enables you to take day trips from the city and go on your own schedule. With these tips, you can eliminate the stress of high rental costs, because you'll know the rate you're paying is the best one you could find.

How often do you rent a car when you travel?

Packing A Travel Snack Bag

I am a snack person. No matter where I am, I always have snacks with me, as if I also have a small person in tow, but that small person is me, and "me" gets hangry. Is this also you? If not, that's fine. I also find that when I'm away from home, i snack more often. Like fresh air gives me the munchies. So, it's no surprise that when I'm packing for a trip, my snack bag is one of my most important items. 

I'm headed on an international trip, which means I'll need snacks for the plane and at my destination. I'll absolutely be hitting up the store and/or farmers' market while I'm there, but I also just like to have reliable snacks that I know I like from home. Often, I do find new fun foods while we're out and about. Like, we always try new chips and candy when we travel and each shop trip looks like some weird unboxing haul. Do I need to try 12 different chip flavors while I'm away? No, but it's definitely fun. 

Let's look at what my bag looks like that I'll be adding to my personal item under my seat, so I have access to snicky snacks if I should get hungry in between snack and food services.

Starters

First of all, I always bring a Stasher Bag. At least one, but often several. This one is great, because it has a flat bottom, so if there's something liquidy in it, it won't fall over and spill all over everything. Stasher are great because they are thick, durable, and can be used for everything. Put them in the freezer, the fridge, the dishwasher, the oven, the microwave, and even boiling water. If I'm on a road trip, I often fill several of them with water and freeze them to use as ice packs, and most of the time they are still partially frozen at the end of the day. The seals are amazing, too, but if you have issues with gripping things, they might be a bit too strong for you.

Onto snacks!

As you know, we're going to France. We'll be on the plane for something like 12 hours. Although I'll be sleeping a lot of that and there will be food and drink and snacks served, I sometimes find myself in the need of a little something in between. 

I decided on a variety of things that are easy to eat, satisfy some craving, and are easily packable. I may add something salty to this before I go, but here's what I have right now:

• Yoggies by Nature's Garden - I grabbed a package of these on my way home from my niece's birthday party (yes, she's 4 and so were all the other guests). I thought they might be light and airy, but instead, they are really chewy fruit and yogurt bites. I have them in strawberry and mixed berry. I wanted peach, but nobody seems to have them in stock for not a billion dollars, so I'll have to suffer with these delicious ones. They also have them in a trail mix, which...intriguing. 
• RX Bars in Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter - Aside from the coffee ones they don't make anymore, and the sea salt chocolate ones that always seem to be very expensive or out of stock, these are my favorite bars. They are chewy, but don't stick in your teeth like all the others, and they fill me up for quite a while. They are just a bit sweet as to not be boring. 
• Orville Redenbacher microwave kettle corn - This is an in-the-room snack. We have evenings where we stay in, do laundry, and watch a movie or binge a bit of a show. It's fun to have a little relaxing night and also have an easy snack to go with it. It also satisfies a sweet and salty craving. 
• Trader Joe's peanut butter and jelly snacks - These are a hit or miss at the store. I bought 40 boxes of them (not all at once) and then they disappeared for a year. The other day I went to buy something else and they were back! So, of course, I bought a box. I'll probably go get some more. These are really great at giving you a bit of protein and feeling very comforting. You can buy them on Amazon, but they will cost you twice as much as they do in the store. While crazy, $1.50 per snack isn't the worst deal, especially if they are good.
• Trader Joe's Instant Coffee Packets - Again, this is an in-the-room treat. We've come across times where we were in our room, without coffee, and nowhere to get a decent cup open or nearby. Are these perfect? No, but do I always have them in my pantry? Absolutely. They already have creamer and sugar in them, so you just add hot water and stir. Plus, if you're on a budget and not willing to hit up a coffee shop, then these will certainly do. Again, you can buy them on Amazon for twice the price, but if you don't have a TJs near you, you still can't beat what amounts to $1.15 for a cup of coffee.
• Fancy chocolate - Sometimes you just want a little nibble of some really, really good chocolate. I bought this bar at Dandelion Chocolate for a stupid amount of money, but it's really good, and a little square will do you. You don't have to spend a fortune on ones like OmNom, Raaka, or Theo. Grab a good Cadbury bar or even Moonstruck, and you'll be just as happy to have something a little higher quality.
• Cheapo chocolate - Get yourself a little guilty pleasure that's not expensive. Maybe you love a KitKat or Almond Joy or Oreos (or fake Oreos, in my case). Sometimes some trash food really hits the spot. 
• to be added - I realized that I don't really have much salty/savory options, so I may also add some Nature Valley Sweet & Salty peanut bars. In the past, I've also brought along Vermont Smoke & Cure beef and pork sticks. If I can find them for a reasonable amount, they are easy to pack and great to snack on.

Extras

I use a lot of reusable items, and try to use more zipper bags that are multi-use. As I said, I usually bring Stashers, but I sometimes bring something slimmer for my day bag to keep all my things corralled. I used to bring a bunch of gallon size Ziploc bags, and sometimes I still bring one or two, but often I bring things like these sandwich bags. They can also go into the dishwasher, freezer, and fridge, but they take up less space and are convenient for a lot of things, like hair accessories, makeup, power cables, games, and even change. Just fold it/them up and stuff it in a pocket or in with your snacks. Easy peasy!

And there you go! A whole snack bag for every part of your trip.  Squish all the air out and put it in your personal item. When you get to your destination, pull it out of your bag and toss it on the counter. Now you have a place to find all your snacks and you can pull stuff out as you go and keep your daily snack bag that you keep with you while sightseeing stocked with goodies, so you never get hangry. 

Will we eat it all? Maybe. If not, we'll have free snacks for the ride home. Stay tuned for when I show you how I pack my whole personal item. 

Tell me your favorite travel snacks in the comments!

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Why I'll Never Use AI to Plan a Trip

If you know me at all, you know I love to plan a trip. I enjoy finding new things and figuring out how to piece an intinerary together like a puzzle. I know a lot of people aren't like that and there's growing popularity of using AI to plan trips, which seems convenient, but can lead to a worse trip than one where you just show up and wing it. 

Now, even if I didn't love planning every aspect of my trip, I am more than a little skeptical about using AI for anything. First of all, AI is terrible for the environment. Each time you ask it to do anything for you, it creates a ton of heat, which takes the equivalent of six bottles of water (70+ oz) to cool down the server. At some point, if we continue to use it more and more, whole communities will be facing water shortages, and water becomes increasingly necessary with global warming making our summers hotter and hotter and drought conditions being much more common. 

Museum that was highly recommended, but closed on the day we arrived

If the environmental impacts don't concern you, and they absolutely should, then know that AI can never preplace real life research. There have been so many cases where people have relied solely on AI to plan their trip and getting there only to find out that places aren't open while they are there are permanently closed. I used a travel AI site months ago to see what it would give me as ideas on what to do at a destination and it had more exposition than actual suggestions, and what suggestions it did find me, which I tried multiple times, were the most basic activities that I could have easily Googled and also found more interesting options in not much more time. 

Tip: If you are using Chrome and also detest the AI search results on Google, you can download the extension "Hide Google AI Overview" and you'll only get regular results.

This travel writer put ChatGPT to the test with specific prompts, only to learn that the AI could not understand even the most basic things like maybe getting to the attraction before closing time or not planning something when she was supposed to be on her flight home. The stat that OpenAI can only achieve 10% success on a complex travel itinerary is not surprising (to me) and also means a lot of disappointment. 

With AI being so prevalent right now, there are a lot of companies using it as well. Those travel photos of your hotel or view from your window may be AI-generated. If you can't tell the shiny quality of the photos apart from real photos, that can be a real problem, especially when the hotel doesn't look anything like those images and you've paid a lot of hard-earned money to stay there. I always check to see actual customer photos and reviews for every place I stay. 

Not that pretty, but real hotel photo

You might even get fooled into thinking a place is cooler than it is, because so many people are also posting AI images of destinations on social media. It can be tough to tell if something is real or not, but the best way to do that is to Google image search it to see if there are any actual travel sites posting about it, not influencers. You can also tell by how the lines usually don't match up, parts of things are missing, and the pure absurdity of elements. 

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of having my time wasted, getting stranded, or only going to the most basic of tourist sites. If I have to spend a bunch of time trying to correct AI's mistakes on my trip, it's not worth it. I might as well have just spent that time before I go to make sure my trip is the best it can be while I'm on it. 

I don't think technology will ever replace real people, especially when I know that I may need to take a nap when I arrive and I'll want more than 10 minutes to enjoy an attraction. If I see some discrepancies, I can cross-reference sites or even call the company to confirm their hours or that they're even open at all. I use Google Maps and blog recommendations has a starting point for my trips.

Have you used AI to try to plan a trip? What was your result?