Getting Your Rental Car in Las Vegas

Getting Your Rental Car in Las Vegas

Beyond the casinos, Las Vegas offers a lot to see. There's the Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam just a few hours drive from the neon lights of the Strip.Fortunately, since Las Vegas is such a popular destination, there are many Las Vegas car-rental options available. (More car-rental options tend to mean lower car-rental rates.) Look at these handy tips to learn more about how to get a discount rental car in Las Vegas.
General tips for rental cars in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a town that tends to stay open late. So if you plan to arrive at night, there's a good chance you'll be able to pick up your car rental when you get there. Still, it's best to find out whether your car-rental company will be open when you get to Las Vegas. If you'll be arriving after your car-rental company closes, schedule your rental-car pick-up from your Las Vegas hotel or from a nearby hotel. You might even save money on your car rental by picking it up at a location other than the airport.
Also, request a map that shows you how to get from the car-rental location to your hotel. Although it's fairly easy to get around Las Vegas, it can be a little confusing to find your hotel if it's not located on or near the Strip. Most car-rental companies will provide a map and directions to your hotel or resort when you pick up your car rental.
Rental cars at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport

It's easy to pick up your rental car at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport. Hertz, National Car Rental, Payless Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental all have representatives located in the airport's baggage-claim area. Many car-rental companies provide courtesy shuttles to get from the airport to the car-rental pick-up location.

When it's time to return your rental car in Las Vegas, leave enough time to make your flight. Even though the airport is not too far from most car-rental drop-off points, you still have to take a courtesy shuttle to the terminal. That's especially important during busy travel times, which can be almost year-round for Las Vegas, since the city is a center for conventions and sporting events.

Big Car Rental Tips

I started looking for a last-minute car rental for this weekend and next week in the Bay Area. I was shocked when I found prices of more than $780 with Budget, Avis and Hertz for (July 11-20) on my favorite car rental booking site, Orbitz. The cheapest economy fare they had was with Fox for $439 including tax.

What about the $12/day deals I see offered on travel websites? I refuse to pay $500 for a week’s worth of car rental let alone $700 or $800. Maybe this would teach me not to book at the last minute, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

Three car rental booking tips to get a better deal:

1. Booking away from the airport: Many times you can get a cheaper rate if you pick up your car in a local neighborhood versus the airport.

2. Using airline partners: Earlier this summer I got a great deal on a car rental by booking with a Hertz coupon on United. I got a week for $184 out of Las Vegas. Today, Hertz had a 50% off deal for weekend rentals through United. The cheapest rate I could find for the same dates was $672. If I was going to take it just for the weekend, the price was $236 including all taxes and fees. Could I beat $352 for the 10 days?

3. Scouring for deals: I remembered that Enterprise had a 50% off weekend deal and thought that I could break up my trip with two cars. Unfortunately it had expired and I couldn’t find something similar on its website. Priceline has a 30% off deal if you name your own price, but I wasn’t ready to resort to that just yet.

Finally I went to the home of uber-cheap car rental deals — Smarter Travel. I’ve seen $12/day deals with them before so surely, I thought, I could find a rate that was less than $500 for the week. I plugged in my dates and they returned a compact car for $155/week plus two extra days at $25/day. The total price including tax came to $264. I couldn’t remember if I had heard of Ace Rent a Car before, but I had to take the chance. Paying $500 or more for 10 days of car rental was unacceptable.

In this case, price was more important to me than sticking with a favorite car rental brand. But maybe you pick car rental companies based on loyalty? Travel & Deal blogger Susan Derby discusses Choosing a car-rental company — price versus loyalty. Also, the Sourcebook 2008 lists contact info for all the major car rental companies.