A few times a year, mostly in spring and fall car rental agencies run specials in order to relocate their fleets to where customers will need their vehicles. We've rounded up some of this season's emerging deals.
Alamo (tel. 800/GO-ALAMO; www.alamo.com) has a number of specials -- click on the website's "hot deals" link --including a 20% off weekly rates with an e-coupon you can use for online bookings, good for a compact through luxury vehicle, minivan, convertible or SUV, in the United States, for minimum five-day rentals picked up b y March 31. There's also a special for $20 off a one-way rental of three days or more, valid for compact through luxury, a minivan, SUV or convertible for rentals picked up by May 31, only at participating U.S. locations, which is not easy to tell by reading the fine print, so you'd have to go through the booking process to determine applicability.
Avis (tel. 888/777-AVIS; www.avis.com) just announced one-way deals from Florida starting at just $12.95 a day to select U.S destinations. You can pick up from Daytona Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, Tampa, Jacksonville among other places and can take them to destinations such as New York, Chicago, Albany, Kansas City, Cleveland, Nashville, New Orleans and more. The price is good for sub-compact, but you can rent a compact for $13.95, an intermediate for $14.95; standard for $16.95, $18.95 for a full-size car. You can even pile everyone in the car and rent a minivan for $19.95 a day. The special is valid for rentals starting on April 9 running through June 15, depending on availability.
Budget Rent-a-Car (tel. 800/527-0700; www.budget.com) is offering a similar deal for Florida departures, with economy cars priced at $12.95, compact as low as $13.95, and full size as low as $18.95 for weekly one-day minimum rentals. The special is valid for pick-up April 9-June 15 at specific Florida airport locations and must be dropped off at participating Budget locations in U.S., except for Las Vegas, California, and Florida. You can't rent for more than a week but you can rent for a day
Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com) goes even one better, if you don't mind driving in what my mother refers to as a "roller skate" -- a.k.a. an economy car. You can drive out of Florida for as little as a $1 a day, valid for travel out of select Florida airports (Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Meyers, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Miami) to points north. It's valid for pick up April 8 through June 30. Participating corporate and airport drop-off locales include Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburg, Raleigh, Kansas City, Chicago, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Tulsa, Detroit, New York (either Newark, JFK or LaGuardia, or locations in Manhattan) and Salt Lake City, among others. The $1 rate is good only on economy cars for a daily rental if you've booked in January. For March bookings, economy cars for a daily rental cost $3. (Reading the fine print is always important). Other car types are available, from a midsize daily rental from $9.99 to full-size for $14.99, also for a daily rental. You can also opt for a weekly rental.
If you click on "specials to go" on the web site for National (tel. 800/227-7368; www.nationalcar.com) you'll see a dizzying array of offers, including one for $25 off a one-way rental of three days or more, good for compact through luxury vehicles, minivan, SUV or convertible. You must pick up the rental by May 31 and request coupon ID ND9835JJP and book at least 24 hours in advance. The promotion is not valid in San Jose, California. National is also running a one-day, one-way special from Newark airport to New York City for $25 per day -- this is a great deal valid for economy through full size cars. The special's terms include a pick-up on Thursday from 1pm through 11:59Pm and return by pick-up time on Friday. Or, travel from New York City to the Newark Airport, picking up the car Sunday from 2pm onward and returning by pickup time on Monday.
Talk with fellow Frommer's travelers on our Car Rental Message Boards today.
