Metafares' Deal Hunting Blog

For all the college students up there who are about to finish their exams and already dreaming about  hitting the road during the upcoming summer vacation, Hertz Car Rental comes with and unbeatable offer. In order to encourage the 21 to 25 year olds to rent a car with their company, Hertz has decided to drop the conventional the extra charges for this age category (considered by most car renting companies as the most risky). Hence, deciding to rent your car with Hertz.com will help you save up to $25 per day and drive yourself back home at your own pace.
Considering that the offer is valid at numerous participating locations in USA and Canada, its terms and conditions are more than acceptable. As a young renter who wants to benefits from these considerable discounts, you must be able to pay the car in advance, pick up the rental by mid June and choose any type of vehicle except Corvettes, Shelby Mustangs and all the cars belonging to the Prestige Collection. Bon voyage!

For anyone interested in renting a car for a longer time period, Avis Rent-a-Car has prepared some special coupons, which will be valid through the end of May. Whenever you decide to rent a car for 7 days or more, you get the chance to save $35 out of the initial renting price. But just as any special deal, this offer comes with its specific restrictions: all reservations must be done in advance, a Saturday night kept is mandatory and pick up can be done only at the participating airport locations through US and Canada.

In case you have in mind an even longer renting period, like, let’s say, more than 1 month, Avis offers all customers a $50 coupon. This second offer applies all over the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and has no specification in what concerns its ending date. To check out other Avis specials and coupons, just take a look at Avis’s deals page.

With almost one month till the holiday season is officially on, Dollar Rent-a-Car is ready to reward all those customers that were brave enough to travel in the extra-season with some great partner offers. As most of these offers concern American Express cardholders, booking the car with your credit card becomes mandatory.  Most of the deals are only valid till April 30, but the good news is that, in addition to really great rates, they also come with a free Pass24 highway pass for the respective state (the one where you rented the car).
Thus, one of the best offers comes from Dollar locations in Northern Florida, where card members can get a standard size SUV for as little as $59 per day. If you have in mind a longer renting period, you can just choose the ‘American Express mid-size car special’, which lets you rent a mid-size car for only $168 per week. By accessing the site’s specials page you will be able to see all the ongoing partner offers (including air miles bonuses) as well as all the other coupons and Dollar deals.

Now that we’re halfway through the spring, it could be a great time to surf the net for all kinds of vacation deals, special discounts and delicious ‘extras’. Whether you are planning to rent a car during your holiday or not, it doesn’t harm knowing what extra services you can get for little money. Hertz Rent-a-Car has prepared a nice list of deals and discounts for the upcoming summer.

For example, Hertz’s exclusive navigation system – Never Lost, can be used for free during 2 weekend days, considering you are renting the car form a mid-Atlantic location for at least 3 consecutive days (however, this offer is only valid by the end of this month). Another advantageous ‘extra’ comes when renting a car in Manhattan: you can either get discounted parking in one of Hertz’s 6 parking lots, or rent a car for a whole day and receive a full gas tank for free (it can be quite difficult to say no to such offers like $14 parking or a $74 rate for driving yourself through Manhattan). More on Hertz’s extras? Just check the company’s Extras-Services Daily Deals…

When the sunny California or the buzzing Seattle is calling you, resistance is futile. Rather pack a light suitcase and gently take the mouse in your hand: searching for a budget friendly airfare can be quite a demanding job, and things can get even more complicated when it comes to renting a car. Fortunately, Thrifty is here with some pretty decent West Coast specials.
If you go on line at thrifty.com and access their Domestic Deals section, you will notice that there are several offers connected to the West Coast. For a start, renting a  mid-size car from a Northern California location will have you pay around $29.99 per day – provided you will rent it through May 22. Up in Seattle and Portland areas, a compact car costs only $24.99 per day – ad 50% more and you can get a mid-size SUV. In case you want to travel in style, Thrifty lets you drive through Southern California’s blossoming orchards on the front seat of a convertible for only $40 per day.

In case you’ll be traveling to southwestern USA within the 2 months or so, chances are very high for you to be directed through Phoenix airport (the biggest air hub in the area). This should be the case, it could be a great idea to just rent a car and head directly towards your destination, rather than taking another flight. Avis Rent-a-Car comes with a great offer for any of those looking for a one-way rental in Arizona.
As part if their Arizona one-way specials, you could get a car for as little as $16 per day and drive your way through the dessert. Your final destination can be each one of the participating locations from Arizona, Nevada or California. Between March 26 and April 30, you can benefit from all these incredibly cheap fares: $17 per day for a compact car, $22 for an SUV. However, these prices can increase dramatically once the peak season starts: during June, the price of a subcompact car rises up to $87.95. For more details on this particular deal or Avis coupons and discounts, visit the company’s site at avis.com.

When you find yourself in a big city like New York and you have a plane to catch, the safest thing to do is to reserve half of the day for getting transferred to the airport, checking in, going through security and all those boring steps that are part of the flying routine. Although in such a big city there are usually lots of ways to get to the airport, other variables like traffic, a considerable distance between the city center and the airport or an overbooked flight can make your journey become a living nightmare. Of course, you can always take the cab, but even in this case there is the risk to be overcharged.
For budget travelers or anyone who travels in a small group, a very smart solution would be to rent a car through Hartz Rent-a-Car’s “Drive-ur-self  to the Airport” deal. This way, you can drive yourself from Manhattan to one of NYC’s three airports, travel at your own pace and, of course, get to save some money. Thus, the price of a subcompact Sedan starts at only $14.99 (this flat rate is valid for a one way drive to La Guardia airport, for a maximum rental period of 2.5 hr); adding some extra 13$ will take you to JFK.

If your weekend plans have suffered a sudden twist and you find yourself in the position of renting a car, the last thing to do would be to start worrying about your budget. In many cases, it is much easier if you just take a last minute offer: you will save both money and time.
For example, Alamo Rent-a-Car features some pretty decent last minute deals on its site. In selected locations such as Cleveland, Boston, Billings or Portland, the price of a compact car on a weekend day can start at only 17.95$. If saving some extra bucks is your major concern, then the best you could do is choose a compact during a weekend day (the above mentioned rate is valid for airport locations in cities like Baltimore, Detroit or Omaha). Weekday rates are a little bit higher (somewhere between 30$ and 40$), however you can choose to rent the car for the whole week and pay a total of $140.  For updates on this offer, don’t hesitate to check out Alamo’s last minute deals section.

There is no need to wait for the spring meltdown in order to visit your Canadian friends. Just take advantage of the Dollar Rent-a-Car Canada Specials and you’ll be able to surprise them with an early spring visit sooner than you think. The car renting company has decided to shrink down prices for mini-van rentals at a number of participating locations all over Canada.
Just pick up your car through March 16 and you can benefit from the special rate starting at $39 per day. In case you’ll be needing the car for more than 5 days, you will be able to qualify for the weekly rate, which starts at an incredible 199$/week.  If you feel more comfortable driving a mid-size car, than you should consider Dollar’s weekly rates for this category, which is available for only $139 per week till April 30. (Offer is also valid for Ottawa, where weekly rates start at 142$). For more info concerning on-going Dollar deals and discount coupons, visit their site at dollar.com.

In case you are planning to travel South within the next few days, than maybe it would be a good idea to check out some last minute offers from E-Z Rent-a-Car. The company is currently offering some pretty advantageous coupons, which can reduce the initial prices down to 20$ per day.
The best offer comes from the E-Z agencies in Atlanta, where the price of a rental car starts at 19$ per day, provided you book the car online and pick it up between the 4th and 6th of March, 2010 (special coupon code is needed when making the reservation). Same convenient rates can be found at the Fort Lauderdale agencies, where prices start at 20$ and are valid through March 10. As for Orlando, Florida, the minimal fee is 24$ per day (still a bargain) and applies on a minimum 4 day rental basis (this condition is valid for all of the above mentioned deals). To find out more about E-Z car rental details, just visit the site’s coupons section.