Having a really hard time finding a good deal on a one way car rental.
Need a car one way from Denver to Las Vegas for three weeks, June 24-July 15. Budget has one of the better rates at $1217... that's a lot of money right now.
Have tried many combinations including renting the car for a day at the airport and exchanging it the next en route to avoid the brunt of the airport fees, but the premium for renting for one day pretty much matches the airport fees for the three week rental. Lots of coupons, including Costco's, seem not to apply.
Any advice on getting a good one way rental? I'll be happy to do the searching.
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That's definitely going to be pricy. What size car? When using the car just to get from A to B, it's often cheaper to do a short-term 1-way rental and a longer-term local one. That's about the only "secret" I can give you. You can't really take advantage of Last Minutes Specials. Otherwise it's all, as you know, trial and error and keeping at it constantly, hoping something lower pops up. As it certainly could- I've seen some pretty unexpected surprises. If you post what you've tried so far and the quotes, someone else might take a shot at it for you. Did you try Alamo? How about Hertz with the Car and Truck code? Are you trying the "iffy" codes as well? (I certainly understand if you prefer not to!)
One way rental to/from Vegas are usually expensive.... Another option is to search another airport (LAX too far for you?)
If your main interest is to camp at the mentioned national parks, just fly to LAS (vegas) and rental a car from there? The parks you mentioned are all within 4 hours drive from LAS. (I did something similar last year, but stayed in motels/hotels instead).
Don't forget to get the All-parks 1-year pass. This will get you in all national-parks for 1 year for everyone in your car.
I am in a similar situation but need it for a shorter time. Want a one way from Phoenix to Las Vegas on Sept 15-17. If I find a good discount I will post it on here but so far no luck.
Yes, four free tickets have been acquired. They're actually a being bumped benefit from Christmas time visiting the grandparents in FL... something I never thought would actually be worthwhile but like, wow, saved over 1K in airfare.
Genius, hope to hear from you! There's gotta be something good out there.
I have also found that National is the best for one-ways.
Enterprise sometimes allows one-ways if you call them and discuss it. Their site won't allow it to be booked online.
I had luck once with calling National (I'm in the Emerald Aisle or whatever it is, but that probably isn't necessary) up and asking customer service to help me find the cheapest rate (with any and all available codes) given my parameters, and the woman did a great job finding one that I hadn't found.
Goodness, for $1217, can't you just buy a new GM car these days?
What about the rental car companies that aren't marketed so heavily, like rent-a-wreck or dollar or similar?
You could also try to go to a United Kingdom travel site and see what prices you get there for your rental car. Sometimes the prices given to UK customers for US travel are much lower. You don't have to be living in the UK to use their travel-booking sites. (As far as I know.) If you go that route, you might have to pay the small fee on your credit card for buying something in british pounds that is converted from dollars. There is also the question of the insurance - I don't know if they let you decline it or not (since they assume you live outside the US and you wouldn't have American car insurance that would cover an American rental). Try Expedia.co.uk, Hotwire.co.uk, and others. (The UK Priceline is something different than here, so I won't recommend that.)
I don't know how far a straight drive that would be (I'm imagining a couple of days?), but could one of your family members just drive the vehicle back from Las Vegas to colorado at the end of your vacation, dropping everyone else off at the airport and then gunning it back to CO?) That is probably a ridiculous suggestion, but it's one way to avoid the one-way dropoff fees.
$1168 including tax at Thrifty and Dollar for full size SUV.
Search for some coupons and save more. Pick-UpWednesday, June 24 10:00 AM
DENVER AIRPORT, CO, USA (DEN) 23586 EAST 78TH AVE DENVER INTL APO - IN TERMINAL DENVER, CO 80249 Drop-OffWednesday, July 15 4:00 PM
LAS VEGAS AIRPORT, NV, USA (LAS) 7135 GILESPIE STREET GILESPIE AND WARM SPRING ROAD LAS VEGAS, NV 89119 VendorThriftyCar TypeStandard SUV Jeep Grand Cherokee or Similar * image represents sample car - actual may differ
FeaturesAutomatic Air Conditioning Unlimited Mileage
Rate Information 22 Days @ $25.54/day$561.84Estimated Taxes and Fees $606.98Total Price=$1,168.82 Local Policy Information General Rental Rules
option #1 find some one drive the car back and return it to where you picked it up in denver. use uship.com or something like that.
option#2 take the bus yourself and bring the renatl car back for family or whatever. when you get through simply return the car where you picked it up from. only cost extra (other then reantal car cost at local rate) is bus fare and fuel for driving the car back
Thanks, hoosier895. That class must be on sale now as it's the least expensive available on any class through the kayak.com site.
I booked it, searched around for a coupon and found the best to be 10%. But on the confirmation page it mentions an "extra driver fee" of $9.99 per day. Called them about it, and it DOES apply to a spouse! That adds $220 to the cost. Darn it. Asked about something to include the spouse (coupons, links through AAA etc) and there was no way around it.
Google maps has it as 11 hours and 750 miles of driving to return the car to the renting location. I think that would offset any savings.
Still looking for a way around their additional driver fee. I can't drive at night and don't expect my spouse to do all the driving.
Added: Budget and Avis don't charge extra for a spouse. Appears that Alamo, Dollar, National and Thrifty do.
I'm right in the middle of this same dilemma. Phoenix to Las Vegas, 7/10-7/14. I was looking at an intermediate SUV since I think we'll need 6 cylinders to visit the 3 canyons. So far Thrifty has the best price at about $47/day, but adding the tax + $98 drop off fee is as much as the rental! I looded at Priceline but couldn't figure out how to bid on a one-way rental online.
For the national park pass - it's $25 into the Grand Canyon and $25 into Zion, but the annual pass is $80. If we're just entering the 2 parks, am I missing something by not buying the annual pass?
1) Search kayak.com cars tab frequently. Right now, just a few hours after being generously posted by hoosier895, the deal on the SUV mentioned went to $2,650 from $1,168!
2) We'll be at the same parks as you, and more. For us, the $80 pass is a good deal and supports a good cause. For you, entering two parks just pay the fees at $25 each park. Each pass is good for seven days. Unless of course you'll want the option to visit another park or foresee visiting more parks in the next year. The $80 pass is valid for one year at any park.
3) I believe Priceline only does one way rentals, and links to other sites for one way.
4) Your post mentions "we". After you make a reservation be sure to call and inquire about any additional driver fee(s) which might be applicable to your spouse or other family member driving the car.
Some roads in that area are reported to be rough, especially after brief torrential summer thunderstorms. Although I think it's the vehicle height, not the cylinders, that makes a difference. "High clearance vehicle" is mentioned frequently in the tour books.
National does NOT charge your spouse if you are EC, or if you book thru Costco.(you must be a member- they have been known to check) Alamo gives you a a free driver- I believe it's almost anyone- with WalMart and Costco.
Alamo starts at $2000, National is mighty high even through Costco.
Posted above that Budget and Avis don't charge extra for a spouse. Appears that Alamo, Dollar, National and Thrifty do with exceptions for going through Costco etc.
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