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Budget Rental Cars:Renting a car should be an easy transaction but that is not always the case. Budget rental car has proven over the years that they try to make the process of renting a vehicle as easy as possible. They are located at almost 1900 locations worldwide and cater to "value minded renters" says their website. As a consumer we think that all the rental car companies are independent entities but Avis actually owns Budget, it's just their discounted brand. Budget also is famous for their rental trucks, but we will focus on the rental car business that you find in airports and off-site locations. Budget offers all types of cars - small, medium, large, SUV, minivan, specialty cars and passenger vans. Prices range from $20 to about $70 a day for most of their rentals. I have found that you can often get a premium car from Budget for about the same price as you would get a full-size car from Hertz or Avis. Budget does offer special deals promoting various locations like California or Florida with weekly rental rates or weekend getaway discounts. Be sure to check their website for the latest prices and offers.
Reserving a Car:Before the Internet you had to call your travel agent or Budget directly to get a rental car, but now you can easily get a reservation within about 1 minute online. Go to Budget.com to get started and enter in your pick-up location (airport code or city) and the dates you'll need the car. You get to choose the size of car you want - economy, compact, intermediate, standard, full-size, convertible, premium, luxury, etc. They offer GPS navigational systems you can rent along with the car so you can easily get through cities and backroads no matter where you are. The brands of vehicles available are Ford, Pontiac, Mercury, etc. Pick from 2-door and 4-door models. When it comes to deciding on the protective coverage they offer for things like Loss Damage Waiver, Supplemental Liability, and Personal Accident and Effects (from $6.95 to $15/day) you should really check with your current automobile insurance policy or your credit card before agreeing to those extra fees. The vast majority of people renting are already covered by their own car insurance or that which automatically comes via your credit card company when renting a car. We say turn down those extras unless you know you aren't covered. As for the question on whether to pay for gas up front or return the car with a full tank - we say return the car with a full tank and be responsible. The option of pre-paying in advance and essentially being able to return the car practically empty without a penalty is a risk since no one wants to drive around on E (empty) even when you are about to go back to the airport. Definitely don't say you will fill the tank and then not do it since Budget (like all rental car companies) will "screw" you over with something close to $6/gallon to do it themselves. You can call their reservations phone number at 800-527-0700 if you would prefer to talk to a live person versus reserving over the web.Budget Rental Car Coupons:Never pay full price when renting a car because there are too many way to reduce the rental fee. With dozens of discounts, codes, and coupons available online or in Entertainment Books you should always get a bargain. There are coupons for 10% off, free weekend days, car upgrades, and special 5-day rental rates. We always go to http://www.mousesavers.com/budget.html for the most up-to-date coupon offers from Budget. Mousesavers delivers the discounts big time with coupon codes or printable promotional rates which can save you lots of money. We found coupons for $25 off a weekly rate, 40% off weekly rates at select airport locations, luxury vehicle upgrade codes. You can also type in "budget rental car coupons" on a search engine like Google and you will find additional results of webpages listing discount codes and savings.Budget Perfect Drive and Fastbreak:One way to save time at the counter when checking in to get your car is to join a frequent renter program with a rental car company. The Budget program is called FastBreak and with it you save time and money. By setting up a RapidRez Number you can also make the renting process even easier. FastBreak is what I would choose as a business traveler or traveling for pleasure. You don't have to wait in line with all those other renters, just get your keys and off you go. I don't understand why more people don't join these frequent renter programs with rental car companies since many of them are FREE. Why waste 30 minutes in line on a busy day when you can get in and out of the airport in about 10 minutes with FastBreak. The new self-service kiosks at many locations are making it even easier than before. You can view the details online for FastBreak HERE.
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