In traveling around the Hawaiian Islands this summer, a challenge greater than finding cheap airfare deals is finding any form of reasonable car rental without a catch. Last week we rented a compact car in Honolulu for six days. The cheapest price we originally found was about $80 per day, all-inclusive for a compact car. On checking further as the dates of travel approached, however, we found two better-priced options.
In the end, the best-priced option we could find was Thrifty Car Rental. That deal appeared following repeated scouring of sources, including Discount Hawaii Car Rental, AutoSlash, Kayak, and others.
It was impossible, however, to sign into their Thrifty Blue Chip program. Their website kept giving errors. Jeff called twice to talk with agents about the problem. They were unable to resolve it, and ended up resetting his password to no avail.
When renting a car, the frequent renter program will, in almost all circumstances, let you skip the long line and get to a shorter one, or in many cases, like ours, have no line at all.
At that point, out of sheer frustration, and fearing a very long line at Thrifty, Jeff decided to simply retain the Thrifty reservation for $224 while making another reservation. The next best-priced option was from Avis, where he is a preferred member. That was significantly more and cost a total of $310. Jeff’s strategy was to check the line at Thrifty Car Rental first. If it was workable, he would then cancel Avis. Jeff hoped to not encounter what he actually did, which is shown in the lead photo above.
Sometimes it comes down to how much your limited Hawaii time is worth.
The line at Thrifty was literally out the door and beyond at the Thrifty Honolulu Airport RAC facility. It appeared to be a multi-hour wait with limited staff and perhaps 100 people in front of him. The decision became easy. Wait in line for several hours or go to Avis Preferred and pay more. On arriving at Avis, there was no line at all, and in fact, because he used his Avis Wizard number when making the reservation, his name appeared on a board, and he headed directly to the car.
Here are our own rules for Hawaii car rentals that we offer to you:
Rule #1. Don’t rent until you set up a free frequent renter account with the car rental company and are able to apply it to your reservation. This will significantly reduce your wait time at the airport.
Rule #2. Do not pay in advance for car rentals. If you do, you won’t be able to make changes or take advantage of lower prices.
Rule #3. Keep checking up until the last day to see if you have the best possible car at the best possible price.
Rule #4. Don’t assume that the best deal is always found at the same source. That simply isn’t the case. Each time you make a reservation, check multiple sources instead, such as the ones above. Also, Costco Travel, “sometimes” provides car rentals at low cost as part of Hawaii packages.
Rule #5. If you are staying in Waikiki, for example, decide if you need a car rental the entire time. If you don’t, you can save on the high cost of parking too, plus reduce how many days you pay for a car rental. Also check into the cost of a city rental vs. an airport one. Use TheBus in Honolulu for covering closer distances on days you don’t have a car. On all other islands, we typically suggest renting during your entire stay.
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Aloha,
Last couple of visits,I have gone the Turo route as cheaper
Aloha,
Why didnt you look up local places like Lucky Owl? For local renters they are the best and dont make you wait hours? I suggest them to all visitors as they are usually cheapest as well.
Last time we stayed in Waikiki, we were able to rent a car for just the 2 days we planned to explore the rest of the island, and the pick up location was right on Kalakaua so it was very convenient and cost less because we didn’t rent a car for our entire stay.
We find good deals on priceline. Great for flights cars and lodging
To Beat of Hawaii: You asked where I checked for car prices and I agree I didn’t like paying in advance for a better rate and have never done it before. We booked our trip only a month in advance and I wanted to make sure we had a car. In my experience the closer to your reservation the car prices seem to stay the same or go up. I checked for prices directly on all the car rental companies websites plus Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, kayak etc and Costco. Wisecars had the cheapest rate for a van and I could have cancelled my pre-paid car reservation but I never found a cheaper rate and I checked often. (I was imagining a bunch of charges and credits on my credit card when changing car reservations) I had never used Wisecars before and after booking through them I read a lot of bad reviews but it turned out fine for us.
Hi Kathy.
Glad it worked out. We are always leery of third parties like Wisecars as well.In addition to those you checked, we’d also suggest Discount Hawaii Car Rental and Autoslash.
Aloha.
Thank you BOH!!!
After reading this yesterday, remembered rule #3, and rebooked my standard SUV rental through Enterprise last night for over $600 less than my original booking three months ago. Now $1,030 for 17 days, which I think is outstanding for an SUV. This was $2,144 when I first reserved last year.
The lower prices are absolutely wonderful, but for someone like me who likes to plan all the details, these ever-changing prices make budgeting tough. I would have visited sooner 😉
Hi Jake.
Great! Thanks for letting us know. We can’t even count how much we have saved by doing the same thing over the years.
Aloha.
We arrived from Kona to Kauai and had a car reservation at Budget thru Costco. Waited in line for 25 mins and after being processed noticed there were quite a few people waiting for their rented car. Some have been waiting for over an hour. We were told that our car was being cleaned. After another 30 mins, I walked over to see if the car was even on the lot? It wasn’t!
My wife walked over to Alamo and they not only had cars available, they had a better rate. We cancelled and went with Alamo as did our friends. Saw a few other customers do the same.
Renting a car in Hawaii has become challenging. Before I would reserve a car then keep looking back and keep changing reservations whenever I saw a lower price. It was like a game. Now to get the cheapest price you are forced to make a reservation with a deposit. We were a month out from our trip to Bis Island and paid $550 (Thrifty) for a van for one week with “wisecars” and I never saw a lower price. Our van did not come with a spare tire. There was a tire fix it kit that got us 300 yards down the road. Do not count on Thrifty to answer the phone. Luckily we had AAA roadside service that fixed the tire good enough for us to take back to the airport and we avoided having to pay for a tow. Thanks AAA.
Hi Kathy.
Thanks for sharing that. Do you recall which sources you checked when trying to find a lower price this last time? We can’t emphasize enough that the best deal may not be where we expect it. And we are simply adverse to prepaying for car rentals.
Aloha.
This post has raised an interesting question for me.
Firstly to the topic of car rental. I always book as far ahead as possible many times with multiple companies. I then check rate regularly on line. National will update your rental price if it goes down whereas Hertz make you cancel and rebook having wiped your cookies clean or use a different browser. With pay at counter as long as you provide 24 hours notice you have nothing to lose.
Specifically I rent from Enterprise, National and Hertz and am elite member with each. I gave up on Thrifty and Dollar after multiple bad experiences. You get what you pay for.
So to the interesting question…..
We think it is normal to have a pay at counter for rental cars and on check in at hotels. There are options to pay in advance locking you into a price. Pay later travel later gives the most flexibility and the savings on prepay are not that great. Logically , why then do we accept the Pay Now Travel later model of Airlines? The reason is historic and goes back to pre deregulation when airlines colluded but why can you not make a reservation without ticketing within 1 day to 1 week depending on airline? Some foreign carriers do permit this but I have never seen in USA. I wonder if anyone can share experience of pay later fly later?
For car rentals, I would suggest using Turo. It’s so easy (at least at LIH). They provide a shuttle which takes passengers to/from the airport to the Turo lot (by Target). Shuttle runs every 20 minutes, it’s free and dependable. Turo is so much cheaper. We charge $50/day for a Volkswagen Tiguan (SUV). We’ve never had a bad guest.
It’s worth a try, inquire if your employer has negotiated rate(s) that may be used for leisure/personal travel. Some companies have even negotiated that the corporate discount(s) may be used by their retirees.
The one caveat, collision/loss damage coverage is almost never included in the corporate rate when used for leisure/personal use. Some large companies have different corporate rate codes established to differentiate between corporate and personal use.
Use a credit card to pay for the rental that provides Primaru collision/loss damage waiver. A few credit cards in the marketplace continue to offer primary coverage.
Option ‘N’: Rent a U-Haul truck. If you’re not driving high miles spending $19.95/day is a good deal, even with per mile fees.
BTW – I haven’t been able to get my Thrify frequent renter account to work for months. I’ve contacted them + they don’t acknowlege that there is an issue, just offer to make the reservation with them. I decided to pay maybe $10 more for Enterprise via Costco.
Last visit to Maui on 5/28. Probably made + cancelled about 10 reservations, the price coming down each time. Ended up with about $350 for 12 days from Enterprise via Costco. Price had started at over $950 a few months prior to trip – checking frequently saved $600 maybe more.
Enterprise counter was busy helping someone and we were 1st in line. They waved us over to National counter with no one being helped. So wait time was maybe 30 seconds.
I won’t bother with Thrifty anymore – long lines + non-functional website for BlueChip.
I check rental rates most mornings as it closer to the trip – takes just 5 min. And I have typically kept shaving $15-25 each time. Over a couple of months, savings in the hundreds.
With what I’ve heard about Hertz I would be reluctant to do business with them. They accuse people of stealing when they rent a car legitimately. I don’t know if the other car rental agencies do this. I have never rented a car in Hawaii. I use shuttles and tour buses/vans. As mentioned The Bus is a great choice in Waikiki and practically all of Oahu. It is wheelchair accessible, convenient and inexpensive.
I’ve used Hertz for many, many years – and I have not been pulled over or arrested when renting one of their vehicles. Maybe as I’m a PC (President’s Cub) member – but I haven’t experienced any of those problems as reported in the media.
If I need to extend my rental, I contact a live Hertz representative and note their Agent ID in case something were to happen – such as the rental was not extended.
As all business travelers have smartphones, I also take quick pictures around the vehicle to note (for my records) any damage or large/significant scratches. I also take a picture of the license plate – noting the expiration date of the plate.
I have had about three rentals where the plates were expired. In one case, I asked to change to a different vehicle. The other two cases, I just selected a different vehicle within the lot, with current tabs on the plates (at most Hertz locations, you may now select your vehicle based on what category you booked right at the pick-up area). Just show your license to the agent at the gate – and you’re on your way! No stopping in a long line at the counter.
Hertz is really designed for the business traveler – but as has been suggested, always obtain (in advance) a frequent renter number – this way your profile, license and credit card information are already in their system which expedites you and your family receiving your vehicle faster than other travelers. Also, inquire if the rate you’re using allows additional drivers at no charge.
I know for sure with Hertz, if you’re an AAA member, additional drivers may be added to the rental agreement at no additional charge.
I get “itchy” if I don’t have a rental car handy – even if I don’t use it – and I’m also paying parking fees at most hotels/condos within Oahu. So, I choose to have a rental car on hand.
Carol, I have used Hertz regularly over the last 40 years and never been accused of anything. They did annoy me over July 4th where I could not make a points booking for 10 days so I had to return Chicago (150 miles each way) check in check out and drive back for 3 days. Still follow the rules and have a print out and no issues. I find Hertz staff go the extra mile as do National. Hertz’s weak point is terrible IT.
I’m glad you and Petra didn’t have any problems with Hertz. The only rental car company I have used is Enterprise when my car would be being repaired. That’s been awhile back.
I am currently waiting for a reply from Hertz. I rented a car (and paid for it, shows up on my credit card statement) the beginning of July for an arrival in late August. It does not show up on their website, nor does it when I enter the reservation number but I did get an email from them confirming the reservation when I made it. All I can say is what I told them in yesterday’s email – it had better be there when I arrive.
Aloha. Costco has a big rental car site with “low cost finder” all over the US. Not just for some packages but for any rental car need.. often is less than anything else..
Do you use Turo? I am considering it.
I’ve used Turo. Better price and more car selections to choose from.
The only time I have prepaid for a rental is when there is free cancellation. Usually that has to be done at least 48 hours ahead so it can be a bit tricky.
Thanks for all the great information I get from your newsletter.
Hi Diana.
Thanks. Yes refundable reservations are another good suggestion.
Aloha.
We used Dollar Car Rental a couple months ago on our trip, picking up the car at HNL. It was part of a package with the round-trip airfare from ORD. If I remember correctly the rate was about $40/day for a Nissan Rogue.
Dollar shares the rental counter with Thrifty at that location. I was looking at the photo to see if I was in it, because I remember the line being like that. There were 3-4 agents covering 2 car rental companies, & I stood in line for well over an hour.
Also in Honolulu, look for prices at locations away from HNL. We found a remarkably lower price at an Enterprise location a few miles from the airport and definitely cheaper than Enterprise at the airport. More than covered the Uber cost to get there.
We do all of our car rentals through Costco, always a great prices & if the price drops, can rebook, without penalty. Also, allows our frequent car rental # to be entered.
BOH,
Rule #5. This is us. We stay in Waikiki and have for decades. So, we don’t need a car every day. We take the shuttle from HNL to Waikiki and rent our car, as needed, locally.
Over the years, we’ve stayed in Maui, Kauai, Hawaii and one other (so long ago I forgot the name). But we prefer Oahu – it has it all: remote parts and the big city.
Aloha
Is peer to peer car lending not a thing? Oh wait…. Turo is being pushed out of all the airports by the big cringy 😬 car rental old boys….
Oh well, glad thier profits go off island at least!
Thank you for another informative article. I would also suggest to be sure to apply any promotion or affinity group (such as AAA or AARP, and airlines also have discount codes)codes when pricing the rental.
Hi Jon.
Thanks. Add that one to the list.
Aloha.
Since I head to Maui once a quarter, I exclusively use Kihei Rent A Car. Upon arrival in Kahului (OGG) I phone them as I deplane and head for baggage claim. After grabbing my bag I walk about 50 yards to a lot where I get picked up by one of their late model sprinter vans after a short wait and drive to Kihei to rent the vehicle. This allows for avoidance of having to shlep to the car rental facility at the airport by way of the trolley to join the other cattle in waiting to rent from the national RAC desks. Kihei rentals are used models, 2016, 2017 and 2018 at present. The rates are super affordable and reserving online is a breeze. My next foray to Maui in September for 18 days will cost me $660. Their vehicles are clean, dependable and have great AC. I like supporting this family business as well.
Aloha Rob and Jeff
I’m am currently on mainland visiting family and used Autoslash to rent a car.
Can you link a frequent renter account when using this site?
I didn’t think I could but never really looked too hard at it.
Mahalo
Hi Chris.
From our recent experience, yes. We were able to do that. It might depend on what vendor is selected.
Aloha.
EconoBookings has cars $20 less per day than the price on Priceline. There is no line at Sixt on Maui but always at Thrifty.