Travel Tips

Would you like to shave $100, maybe even $200 off of your vacation costs? Of course you would! And here’s how you can do it:

Make your car rental a day (or two) shorter!

This tip won’t work every time for every traveler, but the opportunity is there more often than you might think. If your plan is to fly into town, pick up a car, and head to the hotel, press pause for a moment.

The average cost of a rental car in the U.S. is $99 per day. Why pay that much to pick up a car at the airport only to park it at your hotel for the night? Instead, make sure your hotel has a free airport shuttle that can pick you up when you land. Then take the suttle back to the airport in the morning to pick up your car.

Like that plan? Then try it again on your way home. If you’re flying out early, and planned to spend the last night at an airport-area hotel, do the same thing in reverse. Check in and drop your luggage and family at the hotel, then go return the rental car at the airport. Use that hotel shuttle again to get back to the hotel, and then to the airport again in the morning.

Just like that, you shaved $200 off of your rental car costs! Of course, there are a few things to watch out for. Don’t book a hotel just to drop the car off early, unless you can find one for under $100. Make sure your hotel has a free airport shuttle, as fewer hotels do now. And, of course, your results will depend on your rental rate.

We’d love to hear your tips to save on your rental car! Please share them in the comments below. We’ll re-post the best, so be sure to include your Twitter handle and a link to your blog, if you have one. Or click for more #Travel140 Travel Tips!

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