What will I need to know to reserve my Rental Car?

The name of the person that will be picking up the car.
Credit card type, number and expiration date of the card to be billed.
Location where you’ll be picking up and returning the car.
Date and time you’ll be picking up and returning the car.
Size of the car you want to reserve.
Any special requests, such as smoking/nonsmoking, child seat or model preference.
Any discounts or coupons that you are planning to apply to the rental.
If you have it, some Rental Car Companies like to have your flight information. That way they can keep track of delayed flights.
Make sure you get a confirmation number when you do make your reservations.

What size car do I really need?

Reserving the appropriate size car in advance is a good way to budget.
Many will tell you to reserve the smallest class and hope for a free upgrade, but this can be risky. If the smaller car is available, and you need the bigger car, you might be in trouble. The larger vehicles might all be booked or the upgrade charge may be considerably more costly than if you had reserved the larger car in the first place. This is especially true during peak rental times, when many car and van classes are sold out.
Remember by law every passenger must have a seat belt available to him or her so you can’t put five in a four-passenger car.
Remember trunk space. The smaller car may hold all your passengers, but don’t forget the luggage, golf clubs and souvenirs you’ll want to bring back home. Convertibles are great, but they do have very small trunks.

How can I decrease the chance that the Rental Car Company will break my reservation?

Just like the hotels, the Rental Car Companies must cover the costs of all those rude people who reserve cars, don’t cancel and never show up. This means that at certain times, especially during holidays and other peak travel times, they may get caught overbooking and have to break some reservations. Here’s a few ways to keep you at the top of the list for available cars.

See if the reservation center will guarantee your reservation. Some do offer this service and they will usually have a much bigger penalty for themselves if they don’t have a car for you. However, to get this guarantee you are usually charged a fee if you don’t show or cancel within a certain time frame.
Confirm your reservation. Make sure everything is correct and they are aware you’re coming.
Update your reservation. If you’re going to be late, call to let them know.
Rent often from the same company. Some reservation lists show high volume renters, and management will know that you are not the type of customer they want to lose.
Join their Premium Clubs. These groups include their high volume renters and their big corporate accounts. If it comes down to who gets the last few cars, you probably won’t be seeing the Premium Club members waiting around.
If you really fear that your chances of getting burned are high, you might call the location directly and speak with a manager. Let them know you will be there at a certain time and you want to make sure you’ll have a car waiting. If you’ve made that extra effort and they know you’ll be looking for them, most managers will also make an extra effort to have a car for you. If you do call and they do produce, don’t forget to thank them for their efforts.

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