Avoid airline terminals: Car rental agencies at airport locations often charge “airport location fees” and security taxes that can add significantly to the cost of your rental. The same car that would cost $49 a day at the airport might run for $35 at a downtown or other location. Many off-airport rental agencies within striking distance of the terminal offer free shuttles.

Stay the week: Sometimes weekly rates can be cheaper than three-day rentals, especially at the major rental agencies.

Use the College AWD number with Avis:  B804300  This will ensure that you receive the prenegotiated discount.  Please note that this is a static 10% off rack rate discount.  There may be better rates with another carrier or even a better rate from Avis (depending on the city selected).

Fill’er up: Make sure you never return a rental car with less gas in the tank than when you got it. Fuel surcharges can double and triple the price per gallon you’d pay at a regular gas station.

Don’t trouble with double insurance: Don’t duplicate insurance you already have. The car rental agencies will try to sell you insurance at an additional charge, ranging from liability (sometimes called “liability insurance supplement”) to accident (aka “personal accident insurance) to policies covering personal belongings. You undoubtedly already have health insurance, and probably homeowners’ and auto insurance, so you can often decline them all. The exception to this rule is when renting a car in Ireland or Italy, where the purchase of insurance is mandatory.

“Just say no” to Collision Damage Waivers: When renting on your Wellesley College American Express Corporate Card, you are automatically covered for theft and damage to your rental car.

• To take advantage of this protection, you must decline the Collision/Loss Damage Waiver (CDW / LDW) or similar option offered by the car rental company and charge your rental to your American Express® Corporate Card.
• There is no additional charge for this coverage and you save the daily LDW fee (usually $16 - $23 per day) charged by the car rental company.
• For more information, or to make a claim, call 1-800-243-0198 or collect (905) 475-4822.

    
LOOKING ON THE WEB

Breezenet www.bnm.com offers discounts (up to 25 percent) and savings at the major car companies, regional renters and selected “exotic” car rental agencies. Can search companies by airport location nationally and internationally. Has a section on “Last Minute Specials” and also lists the deals available from several companies.

SideStep www.sidestep.com requires you to download a program, which searches the major car companies, the online bookers, and several smaller agencies for the best rate. It runs along-side other search engines for easy rate comparison.