You definitely should do it ahead of time as just walking up to book a car is going to cost you more. I don't usually see too many discounts, but often if you sign up with a specific car company, there may be an occasional perk. I find just using orbitz is easy enough. When you book, I'd recommend NOT doing a "pay now" option. The majority of car companies allow you to cancel with no fees. I have had many trips to Vegas where I will lock in on a price a month prior and then check back in a few times. One trip the price dropped $50 from the time I originally booked until the final booking. In general, rental cars in Vegas are much cheaper than other cities. I'm heading out on Friday and have a 3 day booking for $97 right now (booked a month ago for $125 and just rebooked this morning at the new price).
And if no one mentioned this, don't pay for insurance as your standard car insurance will cover you and often, depending on the credit card you use, there may be additional coverage (that's one of the biggest ripoffs in the industry). And read the contract to make sure there are no add-ons they didn't tell you about (i.e. roadside assistance). The price on orbitz should be your bottom line price.
Booking directly is often cheaper. Budget currently has 30% off + 10% Amazon GC offer.
https://www.budget.com/en/offers/us-offers
https://www.budget.com/en/offers/us-offers
Just always remember to look at the bottom line price. Search engines like orbitz will give you the most variety and taxes and fees are included in the price you see (you can always go to an individual site if you want to compare before doing the complete booking). Often times, you do need to click through to see taxes and fees on individual rental car companies as the first amount you see is typically not your bottom line price. I've been to Vegas so often that I find the rental car companies to be homogeneous, so I'm just looking for the best price. About the only thing I ever saw that I felt was helpful with an individual company was the ability to do a fast checkout (used to use that with Payless). But then, I would find their price wasn't the best and I would also have to lock in and not make the changes I mentioned above. I guess it depends on what's important to you. I seldom arrive at times that are all that busy so the wait isn't really long. If I was the type of guy that went on really busy weekends and arrived on Friday afternoons, that added perk of being able to go directly to a car might mean more to me.
Figure out what hotel you will be at and pick up your car on the second day. That saves you one rental day and all of the airport related fees. If you are on the strip, there are plenty of Enterprise offices (for instance) that will pick you up and take you to the car. (check to ensure they are still offering that with Covid). A lot of the larger properties have a rental office onsite, but check status for it being open or not. Also keep in mind that UBER and Lyft rides are challenging right now as many drivers have yet to return since they are making about three times the money in unemployment.
Oh one other thing Keyman,
Fox, NU, and Sixt are not located at McCarran Rental Car Lot. You have to take a 2nd bus to get to their locations (which is why the first two tend to be a little less expensive). Sixt rents out the fancier cars. And if you're coming in late, make sure you check the hours (I know, Hertz, for example closes earlier than many of the others).
Fox, NU, and Sixt are not located at McCarran Rental Car Lot. You have to take a 2nd bus to get to their locations (which is why the first two tend to be a little less expensive). Sixt rents out the fancier cars. And if you're coming in late, make sure you check the hours (I know, Hertz, for example closes earlier than many of the others).
More info for you (kinda thought this myself about renting at a hotel).....
Las Vegas may be known for its cheap hotels, but the same can't be said for rental cars. One big reason is that Nevada has the highest rental car taxes and fees in the nation and Las Vegas has its own set of extra surcharges for car renters.
Rent a car in Vegas and you can expect to pay a minimum of 18.85 percent in taxes and fees, on top of the rental rate. That breaks down as a 10-percent surcharge on rental cars in Nevada; a 6.85-percent state sales tax; and an additional 2-percent county sales tax in Clark County.
Car Rental Fees at the Las Vegas Airport
And that's just the beginning. If you pick up your rental car at McCarran International Airport (LAS), there will be even more surcharges, including a Concession Recovery Fee and Customer Facility Charge.
Car Rental Fees at Las Vegas Hotels
Major resort hotels in Las Vegas often offer an on-site rental car service, but watch out—the fees imposed on rental cars at Vegas hotels wildly exceed even the abusive fees at the airport. Rental car companies' fee structures often note the possibility of hotel kickbacks as "Hotel Concession/Commission Fee Recovery (HCFR)". At the Hertz location at the Palazzo tower of the Venetian Hotel in Vegas, we've seen this fee climb as high as an astounding 32 percent.
Ouch. There's a 32% fee for renting a car from the Palazzo rental car desk.
This isn't an isolated scenario. All the major rental car companies have partnerships with Vegas' big resort hotels and they all charge fees for the privilege of renting on-site. There's a 28-percent Concession Recovery Fee when you rent from the Dollar car rental desk at the Treasure Island, a Radisson Hotel. The Enterprise rental desk at the Tropicana charges a 20-percent "Facility Recovery Fee."
Avis has a stronghold in many of the MGM hotels and charges $7 per rental day as a "Customer Recoupment Fee."
Las Vegas may be known for its cheap hotels, but the same can't be said for rental cars. One big reason is that Nevada has the highest rental car taxes and fees in the nation and Las Vegas has its own set of extra surcharges for car renters.
Rent a car in Vegas and you can expect to pay a minimum of 18.85 percent in taxes and fees, on top of the rental rate. That breaks down as a 10-percent surcharge on rental cars in Nevada; a 6.85-percent state sales tax; and an additional 2-percent county sales tax in Clark County.
Car Rental Fees at the Las Vegas Airport
And that's just the beginning. If you pick up your rental car at McCarran International Airport (LAS), there will be even more surcharges, including a Concession Recovery Fee and Customer Facility Charge.
Car Rental Fees at Las Vegas Hotels
Major resort hotels in Las Vegas often offer an on-site rental car service, but watch out—the fees imposed on rental cars at Vegas hotels wildly exceed even the abusive fees at the airport. Rental car companies' fee structures often note the possibility of hotel kickbacks as "Hotel Concession/Commission Fee Recovery (HCFR)". At the Hertz location at the Palazzo tower of the Venetian Hotel in Vegas, we've seen this fee climb as high as an astounding 32 percent.
Ouch. There's a 32% fee for renting a car from the Palazzo rental car desk.
Avis has a stronghold in many of the MGM hotels and charges $7 per rental day as a "Customer Recoupment Fee."
Here's Enterprise for one day. Mid-sized SUV for $38.83 + $10.47 taxes and fees. That's it for a total of $49.30. (off-airport pick-up)
There is an office just west of the Palms although you could probably find one close to your hotel. Based on the info posted above, using the onsite hotel option probably is not a good idea. The cabs have introduced flat rate pricing (see below). Last time I flew home, two UBER's canceled before picking me up at the airport so i took a cab.
Flat Rate Pricing = Closet to airport = $19
Heart of the Strip = $23
The STRAT = $27
I don't know any of the definitions to quote a specific hotel and also didn't see a downtown rate posted.
There is an office just west of the Palms although you could probably find one close to your hotel. Based on the info posted above, using the onsite hotel option probably is not a good idea. The cabs have introduced flat rate pricing (see below). Last time I flew home, two UBER's canceled before picking me up at the airport so i took a cab.
Flat Rate Pricing = Closet to airport = $19
Heart of the Strip = $23
The STRAT = $27
I don't know any of the definitions to quote a specific hotel and also didn't see a downtown rate posted.
I was hoping you were on to something so I did an apples-to-apples on the car I booked at the airport vs the hotel rental car and it was $80 more plus I'd have to pay r/t fare to the airport. If I went for an SUV it was $42 per day total with no r/t fare to the airport. What date were you looking at to get your price at Enterprise? The Enterprise you were looking at would have cost me $55 more plus r/t fare to airport.
Oh and to clarify...
The $80 was for my 3 days so roughly $27 more per day plus having to pay the r/t to the airport (Enterprise would been $18 more plus r/t to airport).
About the only time I've known anyone doing a rental near their hotel that worked out better financially is if they were there for say 3 days and needed a rental for a day for a road trip.
I've got a mid-size for 3 days for $97 total right now. Doing the one day thing in my comparison would have cost me $46 for the flat rate you quoted r/t to airport and a one day rental fee of $50, so $96. So I would save a buck and have a car for two less days.
The $80 was for my 3 days so roughly $27 more per day plus having to pay the r/t to the airport (Enterprise would been $18 more plus r/t to airport).
About the only time I've known anyone doing a rental near their hotel that worked out better financially is if they were there for say 3 days and needed a rental for a day for a road trip.
I've got a mid-size for 3 days for $97 total right now. Doing the one day thing in my comparison would have cost me $46 for the flat rate you quoted r/t to airport and a one day rental fee of $50, so $96. So I would save a buck and have a car for two less days.
Oh one other thing Keyman,
Fox, NU, and Sixt are not located at McCarran Rental Car Lot. You have to take a 2nd bus to get to their locations (which is why the first two tend to be a little less expensive). Sixt rents out the fancier cars. And if you're coming in late, make sure you check the hours (I know, Hertz, for example closes earlier than many of the others).
The two you mentioned,Sixt,and NU,i really don't know much about cause i tend to look at the well known company's.I have heard of FOX,but i like the ones that are on the airport,it just makes it easier.
Agree. One short bus ride (7-8 min) is fine, but I don't want to take another bus after that. In addition, even though in general I consider the rental cars homogeneous, Fox does not do a good job of maintaining their cars in Vegas. Before I realized they weren't at the airport rental car center, I rented with them one time and that car was crap.
Thanks Bob.
It was $97, but the comparable off airport was $150 + taxi fare. And yeah, being a member of one of the majors will definitely net you some additional benefits (the best perk for me was the avoiding the check-in and just walking right to my car), but certainly one can get discounted rates and free rentals as the points accumulate. When I started renting cars in Vegas some 15+ years ago, I would check off site and airport rentals. I typically always found better deals at the airport...perhaps it's the competition thing of having all the lots at one place, IDK. And the price at the hotels was always outrageous to me (as stated in the article above).
