Car Rental Coupons

No matter how much you travel, the process of making your travel arrangements can be confusing and time consuming. As a result, many people will choose the method which they perceive to pose the least resistance. Where do they go? In today's world, many customers are taking to the Internet. So, where to start, what to do? I know; I saw a commercial for Travelocity, Expedia, or Orbitz, so I'll go there.

What is the difference between using an Online Travel Search Site and booking directly using the company's web site? Let's be clear, the online travel sites are great and do everything that they are supposed to do. However, you're here for discounts, so let's take a closer look.

Many car rental companies, hotels, airlines, and other travel service providers participate in large online travel search sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity. These large search sites provide awesome convenience for travelers as they allow you to see real time price quotes which can be easily compared to competitors. Additionally, if a customer chooses to make their travel arrangements through these sites, the traveler is automatically provided with a third party advocate in the event that some facet of their travel experience does not meet their expectations. Moreover, most online travel providers ensure that their advertised prices are equal to base prices quoted directly through the vendor's web site. However, understand that this does not prevent the vendor from offering discounts and coupons which can only be received if a customer books directly through the vendor. In short, online travel search sites provide customers with added convenience, peace of mind, and competitive prices.

Direct booking is when a customer chooses to go directly to the vendor to make his/her travel arrangements. This method of booking will allow customers to take advantage of the discount memberships, coupons, and exclusive offers which are offered at the company's web site or through coupon search sites such as Coupons.com or CouponCabin.com.

Remember that choosing to book directly does not preclude you from using a travel search site to easily compare base prices quotes. If you are a savvy Internet surfer, you can use multiple tabs or windows to search multiple sites simultaneously. If this doesn't suit you, there is Kayak.com. Simply, Kayak is awesome. Kayak puts all of the great benefits of Travel Search Sites and Direct Booking Discounts together in one convenient package. A customer using Kayak can search for their travel needs, compare prices, and then easily link directly to the vendor of their choice to book directly using any coupons and discount memberships to maximize their savings potential.

So now that you know how to maximize your car rental savings potential, the question is where to find those discount offers. To help, I have explored many of the national car rental company's web sites to help you easily find the discount memberships and coupons.

Car Rental Coupons are great, but simply saving 10% here or 5% there isn't really what you are looking for when you are trying to make the cheapest car rental purchase possible. I mean to say that saving $20 off a $200 rental isn't really saving anything if another car rental provider is offering a similar vehicle at the same destination for $150. To start any car rental reservation process, you should do some quick comparison shopping. Once you have narrowed your search to the car rental providers from which you would be comfortable renting, then go directly to their web site to find coupons and discount memberships.

Rent a car coupons can be easily found on the company's web site or through e-mail alerts. The following instructions will help you find car rental coupons at many of the United States Rent a Car companies. To maximize savings and increase convenience, enroll in the company's frequent renter program.

Go to Alamo.com and select red colored "Hot Deals" button from the menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page. All available coupons are provided on this page.

Sign up for Alamo's Quicksilver program for discounts and express car rental service at Alamo and Alamo.com. Select the "quicksilver" option for the main sub menu at the top of the Alamo Rent A Car page. Quicksilver members will receive 10% off eligible Alamo car rentals when reservations are made at Alamo.com using one's Quicksilver member number.

Alamo may provide you with the option to prepay for your rental to save 10% off of the base rate. To receive this discount, reservations must be made 24 hours in advance and cancellation fees or no show fees will apply for reservations which are canceled or not picked up. This is a good discount offer, however we strongly urge you to READ THE FINE PRINT on this discount offer before prepaying your rental.

Go to Avis.com and select "Deals" from the menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page. All available coupons are provided on this page.

Sign up for MY Avis / Wizard program to receive the best discount options with Avis Rent A Car. Click "Register Now" in the upper right of the Avis web page for more information.

Go to Budget.com and select "specials" from the menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page. Once you have arrived at the specials page, follow the on screen instructions to view discounts on weekly, daily, and weekend rentals. There are additional specials which can be viewed using the links in the "specials" menu on the left side of the page.

Sign up for the Budget Rent A Car Frequent Renter program(s) for special discounts and convenience offers. There are 3 levels of the free Budget.com frequent renter program. While all levels are free to you, each step in the program requires you to provide more information than the previous and subsequently provides more convenience and discount opportunities back to you. To view the information on the Budget Frequent renter options, select the "Frequent Renter" option from the main menu at the top of the Budget web page.

Go to Dollar.com and select "Specials" from the main menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page. Once you have arrived at the specials page, use the search box provided under the red label titled "Find a Special" and enter your city or airport code to find coupons and discount offers.

Join the Dollar Express program for convenience and rewards from Dollar Rent A Car. Dollar Express will allow you a choice to earn frequent flyer miles with a participating airline or to earn credit toward a future free car rental day. For information click the "Express" option from the main menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page, then read all of the information (there's a bunch).

Go to Enterprise.com. Enterprise requires customers to sign up for their "Email Extras" program to receive discount coupon offers. Go to Enterprise.com and select the "email extras" option from the left side of the page. Complete the form to register for this service.

Enterprise Rent A Car offers a business rental program and the "Enterprise Plus" individual rental program. Enterprise Plus is a convenience program that provides expedited reservations and rentals. Discount offers are provided to members through the Email Extras program.

Go to E-Zrentacar.com and select "Coupons" from the menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the web page. All available coupons are provided on this page. E-Z Rent-A-Car also has a clever function which will allow you to view and redeem any applicable coupons during the reservation process.

Sign up for the E-Z Money discount club and use coupon code 3D97C to receive an additional 10% off your rental of Full Size Cars, Minivans, and SUV rentals for pick up at: ATL, DFW, DEN, FLL, LAX, MIA, MCO, TPA, and PBI. **Valid Until December 31, 2010.

Go to Hertz.com and select "Special Offers" from the menu on the left side of the page. View all of the offers by using the tabs provide near the top of the screen.

Hertz offers the "#1 Club" for individual membership. There are two levels of the #1 Club; the basic level is free however the #1 Club Gold has a $60 annual membership fee. However, additional benefits and rewards can be earned by Gold level members when they complete minimum numbers of rentals per year. For more information, go to Hertz.com and use the cursor to hover over the #1 Club option on the menu on the left side of the page, then select the "Overview/Join" link which appears to the right.

Go to Nationalcar.com and select "Specials to Go" from the secondary main menu which runs horizontally across the top of the page. All available coupons are provided on this page.

National Car Rental offers the Emerald Club. Membership in the Emerald Club is free. After joining, members can attain higher membership levels by renting multiple times (at least 12) or for large numbers of days (at least 40) in each calendar year. Members of any level can choose to earn frequent flier miles (fees and restrictions may apply) or credits towards free rental days on future National Car Rental transactions. For more information, go to Nationalcar.com and select "Emerald Club" from the secondary main menu which runs horizontally across the top of the page.

Go to Thrifty.com and select "Deals" from the main menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the page. Using the search box provided, search for the location at which you would like to rent. Type in a city or airport code, then select the location from the options which appear below the search box.

Thrifty offers the Blue Chip program. Blue Chip members can choose to earn free rental days with Thrifty or frequent flier miles with participating airlines. For more information, on the Thrifty Car Rental Blue Chip Rewards program, go to Thrifty.com and select "My Blue Chip" from the main menu which runs horizontally across the upper portion of the page.