In addition to offering customers opportunities for savings, one-way rental deals serve a practical purpose for companies that offer them: they are designed to get fleets of vehicles from one part of the country to another where demand is higher, whether that's south in the winter, north in the summer or back to airports. Normally when you rent a car you can opt to rent one-way, say, from Los Angeles to San Diego, but you may be assessed a one-way drop off fee. Websites for individual car rental companies yield the best results when searching for this type of deal, but travel search engines such as Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, which usually offer car rental specials, could be consulted on occasion, too.
Advantage Rent-a-Car (tel. 800/777-5524; www.arac.com) has a special running for one-way rentals, starting at $60 with no drop fee and free mileage of up to 500 miles per day. You can pick up and drop off at any two different locations in the United States. All vehicle classes are available for this program, including minivans and SUV class. If you're planning a trip out west, Advantage might be worth looking into -- most of its U.S. locations are eleven states scattered in the southwest and west coast, with heavy concentrations in California and Texas especially.
Alamo (tel. 800/GO-ALAMO; www.alamo.com) has an offer for $20 off one-way rentals. A 24-hour advance reservation is required, and a three-day minimum is also a requirement. You must book and travel by December 14. Taxes are not included. The deal is good for anything from a compact car to a luxury, SUV, minivan or convertible.
Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com) is running a few specials for one-way rentals, including a last-minute special, valid now through November 13 with a booking deadline of October 30. The page includes an exhaustive list of eligible locations for one-way specials, organized by cities and their airport codes, the type of car eligible, and the rate -- which requires a Saturday night rental. The availability seems concentrated in Midwest locations (Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati), along with select locations in Boston, San Jose, Atlanta, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, and more.
Additionally, Hertz is offering $25 off a weekend one-way rental of three days or more on any vehicle, economy-sized and larger, valid through December 31, at participating Hertz corporate locations including both airport and suburban facilities. Advance reservations are required.
National (tel. 800/227-7368; www.nationalcar.com) is offering an e-coupon on its web site for one-way rentals of three days or more. The coupon is valid for any rental -- compact through luxury, minivan, SUV or convertible, for rentals picked up by December 31. The coupon is not valid in New York metro area locations and San Jose, CA, and some blackout dates may apply. You must reserve at least 24 hours in advance. The coupon code is ND9835, and you'll find the special listed in the lower right hand corner of National's homepage. True to its name, the company has locations nationwide.
If you want to take the family and hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday, Cruise America -- (tel. 800/327-7799; www.cruiseamerica.com) which does not deal with cruises on water but those on highways -- is offering a one-way special of up to 50 per cent off in select regions. You can depart from Houston or Austin, Texas and travel to any of the lower 48 states (except Texas and Wyoming), and arrive by November 10. Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Portland are also included, as long as you travel to any lower 48 states (the same states are excluded) and arrive by December 1. Texas-wide departures after November 7 are also eligible traveling to anywhere except Texas or Wyoming, as long as you arrive by December 16. These specials are on a first-come, first-served basis, and normal cancellation rules apply, giving you up to four days before departure to cancel. If you scroll down the page, there is a Rolling into Arizona special for $24 per day (where RVs will be refurbished), and Rolling out of Arizona (after they are refurbished) one-way rental special as well for $48 per day.
Finally, for an overview of car rental specials and deals available at any given moment, consider looking at Breeze Net (e-mail feedback@bnm.com; www.bnm.com) a search engine that allows you to comparison shop deals offered by a number of the companies mentioned here. You can select your search based on location for pick up -- non-airport and airport locations alike -- or by vehicle type -- SUVs, vans, and luxury cars. You can even search for one-way rentals, but you cannot look at an overview of deals -- you have to select your location and dates in order to get prices.
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