Hawaii Car Rental | Finding The Best Deals

December 10, 2013 by Beat of Hawaii

Finding Hawaii car rental deals, like airline Hawaii travel deals. is becoming more of a challenge. That is especially true given the recent consolidations in the industry. Here are our updated recommendations:

How I just saved $400 on my next Hawaii car rental

Car rentals for Christmas in Hawaii are the most challenging as you may already know. Rentals are either very costly or can be sold out. I needed a car for four days right before Christmas and faced the harsh reality of rentals averaging $150 per day plus tax. Unwilling to pay that price, and nearly ready to jump to Uber  (which is now in Honolulu), I started scouring. I was able to immediately lower the price by 50% by going to Discount Hawaii Car Rental. the company we first learned about from Beat of Hawaii readers. Fantastic. But I decided to continue checking. Most discount codes I found across a plethora of sites yielded little or no financial results. The deal I then found was $220 all inclusive for four days using the Island Air affiliate code at National. Sold!

Make a Hawaii car rental reservation as soon as you know dates and times (especially during peak holidays)

• Check again closer to arrival to see if rates have gone down.
• Before changing a reservation, keep in mind the same deal you previously obtained may no longer be available.

Check websites that specialize in car rental discount codes and coupons

• Discount Hawaii Car Rental  most often has the best deal. Readers told us about them and we use them frequently ourselves.
• You might try AAA, AARP, Costco, Rentalcarmomma, and Retailmenot.
• Try booking cars via the Island Air website, as sometimes a good deal as in this case (but not always).

If you book on a car rental company s site, start without any codes

• Using a discount code can sometimes increase your price rather than give you a better deal.
• Compare the price with and without your frequent renter number if you should have one.
• Don t get locked in to a prepaid rental in case prices drop later.

Hotwire and Priceline

• Check to see if you can change your reservation if need be.

How to avoid extra fees for addition driver and more

• Fees for an extra driver are permitted in Hawaii. Determine if there will be a charge for this at the point of reservation, rather than getting stuck when picking up your car.
• Some discount contracts, like Costco or Discount Hawaii Car Rental, include an extra driver.
• Ask if the company waives the fee if the other driver is your spouse or domestic partner.
• Frequent renter programs may also include an extra driver.
• Getting airline miles usually incurs an additional charge.

Join the selected rental company s frequent renter program

• This is fast, it doesn t cost you anything, and usually saves time when you pick up the car.

Avoid options you don t want

• Check with your insurance company and your credit card company to determine coverage you may already have. Don t get caught unaware at the counter.
• I don t like the return it empty prepaid fuel option. Just fill the tank yourself and you won t have to pay for fuel you don t actually use.

Pay attention to grace periods and early return policies

• Some companies still give you a 59 minute grace period to return your rental, before the next day s charges begin to accrue.
• Additional hourly charges after the grace period are usually very high.
• Check to be sure that there are no early return fees which could invalidate your rate.

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