Car Rental Companies

Choosing from Among All the Car Rental Companies

If you're a frequent traveler, you've certainly been confronted by all of the different advertisements for car rental companies, as well as seen all of their booths set up on your way out of the airport. They all seem to offer the same basic services, so how do you choose between them?

If price is your only concern, than your best bet is to go to one of several travel planning websites that will allow you to choose between the cheapest car rental for the particular days that you are traveling. This is the best way to ensure that you get a good rate.

Certain car rental companies only deal in certain makes and models of cars, so if there's a particular type of car you want, or if you desire certain amenities, such as a convertible, or a pre-installed child safety seat, than your choices are made much more narrow.

Following is a breakdown of several of the major car rental companies and some of the special services that they offer:

Hertz – featuring the "#1 Club" where you can get a free extra rental day simply for joining their membership club at no cost. You can book your reservations directly from the main page of the site, and they also feature car rental outlets in many European countries as well as Canada, Latin America, Austrailia and Asia. This can be a real bonus for the international traveler.

Avis – their motto is "we try harder", and their website seems to prove that statement. Very streamlined and easy to use, their site allows you to search for franchise locations simply by entering the airport code in their search engine. This will instantly let you know if there's an Avis location at the airport you're planning on visiting. Avis also features the "Weekender" package which allows you, if you rent a car for a full week, to receive a free weekend to use at your convenience.

Budget – this company features several handy innovations. Besides renting many different types of cars and SUVs, you can also rent moving trucks. This can be a great problem-solver for someone who needs to move and rent a car at the same time. Budget also features a "frequent renter" program which allows you to accumulate points to discount future rentals. This program also has special discounts for corporations that wish to run all of their company's rentals through Budget.