Cheap Last Minute Car Rentals Deals & Strategies

Getting cheap last minute car rentals is often ignored; instead most people spend hours on getting airfare and hotel. Your rental car bill could end up becoming the most expensive part of your last minute holidays.

In fact, gasoline is now so expensive that in some cases it may actually be, for the first time in many years, cheaper to fly than to drive to getaway. Anyway, here are 5 Proven Strategies to keep your last minute car rentals bill from stripping your wallet:

1. Avoid Airport Car Rental
Forget about getting cheap last minute car rental deals at the airport. According to a study by Travelocity.com , you can expect to pay an extra 24.4% in fees and taxes when renting a car at a major U.S. airport. Here's the top 10 airports with the largest difference between daily rental rate and the final price:

Ranking of Airport Fee Added to Rental Cars

1. Houston Bush Intercontinental 72%

2. Dallas/Ft. Worth International 61%

3. Austin Bergstrom 56%

4. Cleveland Hopkins 52%

5. Houston Hobby 52%

6. Kansas City 48%

7. Phoenix 48%

8. San Antonio 44%

9. El Paso 43%

10. Albuquerque 42%

You should never get off the plane and go straight to the airport rental car counter. Instead, arrange to have the hotel or a friend pick you up and then rent a car from a rental car agency outside of the airport.

But if you really need to rent from the airport, phone the rental car company first, rather than just walking up to it, because that call may you qualify as an "advance reservation" which should save you some money.

2. Use Car Rentals Coupons
You can also get the price of your last minute car rental down by using coupons from the Entertainment Coupon Book.

Discount coupons are available for major car rental agencies, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National. You can easily knock off another 5-10% from your total last minute car rental bill unlike some other bogus car rental coupons that offer savings off only on inflated rates.

3. Opt Out Of Rental Car Insurance
Do not allow the rental car agents to scare you into car insurance extras you do not need. Check your credit card or personal automobile policy agreements and you will likely find that you are protected when driving a rental car.

Even then, though, your credit card may not cover rentals abroad or certain rental cars, such as SUVs, trucks, vans, campers and luxury cars.

4. Rental Car Refueling
If your rental car had a full tank when you first picked it up, make sure it does when you bring it back. Rental Car companies usually charge more to fill up the tank than a regular gas station does.

5. Unsold Car Rentals Inventories
Last minute cancellation happens quite often for car rentals, Hotwire.com and Kayak would be able to provide you with a list of these inventories, at very steep discounted rates. Do check it out. Do your research now, save yourself a lot of money, maybe a whole lot of money later.

Last Minute Car Deals by Hertz

Do not overpay.  Come to Thrifty.com.  Book Smart.

Rental Car Companies Fighting, Evolving for Customers
...Budget Rent a Car is trying to lure travelers with weekly "Last Minute" rates that start at $13.99 per day on its Web site, www.budget.com. Hertz has similar "Last Minute" programs on its site, www.hertz.com...