Difference between revisions of "TravelStrategies: *Non-Refundable Car Rentals"
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| − | One of the great things about most car rentals | + | One of the great things about most car rentals is that there is usually no charge to cancel or change your reservation. Even if you simply don’t show up, you won't be charged anything (although cancelling an unneeded reservation is always the polite thing to do). |
However, car rental companies often offer special rates if you are willing to prepay and accept a non-refundable rate. If a prepaid rate is available, you’ll usually get an additional discount of 5-15% on top of whatever discounted rate you were able to find. | However, car rental companies often offer special rates if you are willing to prepay and accept a non-refundable rate. If a prepaid rate is available, you’ll usually get an additional discount of 5-15% on top of whatever discounted rate you were able to find. | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| − | If you are almost certain that you are going on your trip, you might as well take advantage of a lower non-refundable rate. One useful approach is to make a refundable reservation | + | If you are almost certain that you are going on your trip, you might as well take advantage of a lower non-refundable rate. One useful approach is to make a refundable reservation at the time you are first booking your trip. Then, a few days before you leave, when it is more certain you will be travelling, switch to a better prepaid rate (if it is still available). |
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<li>'''Just remember, that if you take advantage of one of these rates, you’ll pay a penalty, or forfeit the entire amount of money you’ve spent, if you need to cancel the trip, or change your reservation'''.</li> | <li>'''Just remember, that if you take advantage of one of these rates, you’ll pay a penalty, or forfeit the entire amount of money you’ve spent, if you need to cancel the trip, or change your reservation'''.</li> | ||
| − | <li>'''If | + | <li>'''If you book a non-refundable rate and car rental prices drop, or if you discover a new deal or fantastic promotion, you won’t be able to take advantage of the lower rates'''. If you delay booking the non-refundable reservation till closer to your trip, you’ll be in a position to take advantage of any better offers, and the odds that you will need to unexpectedly cancel your trip will decrease.</li> |
| − | <li>'''If you are willing to | + | <li>'''If you are willing to book a prepaid non-refundable reservation, you might save even more by booking through [//www.hotwire.com/car/index.jsp Hotwire], or bidding for your car through [//www.priceline.com/rentalcars/ Priceline]'''. You won’t know which car rental company you are booking, until after you’ve made your non-refundable reservation—but it usually doesn’t make too much of a difference which company you wind up renting from. Rates are generally, but not always, lower than what you could get by booking a regular non-refundable rate. {{Link|opaque rentals}}.</li> |
</ul> | </ul> | ||
Revision as of 13:12, 13 March 2019
One of the great things about most car rentals is that there is usually no charge to cancel or change your reservation. Even if you simply don’t show up, you won't be charged anything (although cancelling an unneeded reservation is always the polite thing to do).
However, car rental companies often offer special rates if you are willing to prepay and accept a non-refundable rate. If a prepaid rate is available, you’ll usually get an additional discount of 5-15% on top of whatever discounted rate you were able to find.
If you are almost certain that you are going on your trip, you might as well take advantage of a lower non-refundable rate. One useful approach is to make a refundable reservation at the time you are first booking your trip. Then, a few days before you leave, when it is more certain you will be travelling, switch to a better prepaid rate (if it is still available).
- Just remember, that if you take advantage of one of these rates, you’ll pay a penalty, or forfeit the entire amount of money you’ve spent, if you need to cancel the trip, or change your reservation.
- If you book a non-refundable rate and car rental prices drop, or if you discover a new deal or fantastic promotion, you won’t be able to take advantage of the lower rates. If you delay booking the non-refundable reservation till closer to your trip, you’ll be in a position to take advantage of any better offers, and the odds that you will need to unexpectedly cancel your trip will decrease.
- If you are willing to book a prepaid non-refundable reservation, you might save even more by booking through Hotwire, or bidding for your car through Priceline. You won’t know which car rental company you are booking, until after you’ve made your non-refundable reservation—but it usually doesn’t make too much of a difference which company you wind up renting from. Rates are generally, but not always, lower than what you could get by booking a regular non-refundable rate. Going Blind—Getting a Better Car Rental Rate with Priceline or Hotwire.
TravelStrategies:*Non-Refundable Car Rentals/Main
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