How to Improve A Monthly Car Rental Plan
Get your money’s worth out of a monthly car rental plan with these helpful tips
3 Min Read
3 Min ReadWhen moving to a new city, you will likely opt not to bring your vehicle with you. This means that you may need to rent a car for a few months while you get settled. The process of renting a vehicle, particularly for foreign nationals, can sometimes be a difficult and expensive one. Luckily, here are a few ways that you can utilize to maximize your monthly car rental plan.
Use Airbnb for vehicles
Similar to how Blueground is a great alternative to getting a hotel room, there are also many alternative options to using the typical car rental agencies. The process of using these alternative companies is a lot like Airbnb, except for vehicles. Instead of renting from a car rental agency, you will instead rent someone’s personal vehicle.
Some of the most common examples of these companies include Turo and Getaround. Both of these companies offer hundreds of thousands of vehicles all across the country. The main benefits of using these companies, rather than typical car agencies, are that you do not have to worry about dealing with the huge corporate machine or paying the expensive prices that they have.
Sign up for a loyalty program
If you opt to go with a car rental agency, consider joining their loyalty rewards program. This can minimize the price. Virtually every car agency will have some type of loyalty program that is designed to reward their repeat customers with various benefits.
These loyalty programs do not do much for an infrequent renter. However, for someone who is going to be doing a monthly car rental, these rewards could add up pretty fast.
This could result in significant discounts or even free rentals after a short while. Even by simply joining the loyalty program, most car agencies will give you access to smaller benefits. These usually include the possibility of getting free upgrades. In addition, loyalty program members often get preferential treatments at the check-in counter and customer service center.
Pay with credit cards that have rental benefits
Not all credit cards are made equal, especially when it comes to renting a vehicle. That long list of perks and benefits that you get when first signing up for a credit card is quite important. Take note of the car rental agencies with which you can earn the most payback or bonus points.
For example, many credit cards have specific car rental agencies that they can reward the user with discounts or free insurance. When dealing with a monthly car rental, even the slightest discount and coverage of insurance can add up to a significant amount.
That is why it is important to look at the cardholder’s terms for any credit card before paying for your monthly car rental plan.
Get the vehicle away from the airport
The airport is by far the most popular location for individuals to rent cars. However, it is because of this that it is also the most expensive location to do so. It is quite common for individuals to be forced to pay an increased fee when renting from the airport, which could be as much as 30 percent in some places. If you do not mind taking public transportation or taxi to a location that is a few minutes away from the airport, then you could end up saving yourself a fair chunk of change in the long run.
Pay ahead of time
Many individuals choose not to pay for their rental car until they pick it up in person. However, car rental agencies also offer the choice to prepay in advance. By doing so, you often get rewarded with a slight daily discount on the vehicle. With monthly car rentals, even a $5 a day discount could result in you saving well over $100 in total.
Car rentals are not the only area in which you can save yourself some money and maximize your experience of being in a new city. For those individuals who are in need of short-term housing in a new city, they can simply take advantage of the excellent apartments offered by Blueground. With no shortage of beautifully furnished apartments to choose from, the Blueground Guest App allows guests who have a booking to easily fill out the lease, and pay their rent all online. The best part? The apartments are fully furnished, fully equipped and can be rented for 30 days or longer.
