Hidden rental car fees and other gotchas
(MoneyWatch) Renting a car almost always costs more than you expect. What might look like an attractive daily or weekly rate in a promotion turns into a soul-crushing credit card charge by the time you leave the airport. Which is why when it comes to pricing rental cars, it helps if you know what to look for.
Recently, US News and World Report described a number of common terms and conditions that affect your bottom line when renting a car. Here are the key ones to keep in mind:
- Track frequent flyer miles, avoid expired rewards
- The best credit cards for travel
- Are your frequent flyer miles safe?
Returning a car early can incur unexpected fees. It doesn't seem to make sense that returning a rental car earlier would cost more, but that can easily be the case. The problems happen if you rent a car using a special promotional rate that is valid for a period of time, such as a week. If you decide to return the car sooner, the rental company often has the option of cancelling the promotional rate and charging you the normal fee. If you might return the car sooner than you originally specified, be sure to ask what will happen to your rate -- or don't return it early.
Airport rentals cost more. It turns out that rental agency offices that are in or near an airport cost more. As much as 10 percent more, in fact. If you're using a rental office that's physically separate from the airport, you're not off the hook, either. If the agency offers a shuttle to the airport, they will probably be more expensive than one in town.
Your credit card will have a hold. You might be aware that rental car companies put an authorization hold on your card when you rent a car -- in general as much as $500. What you might not realize is that if you pay using a debit card, the held funds might not make it back into your account for as long as two weeks.
Image courtesy of Flickr user Jonathan Brodsky
