Should you pay now or later when renting a car?

“I never prepay for a car rental. Never,” Clark says. Once you prepay for a rental car, it becomes much more difficult to get your money back if you change your mind or find a better deal. Additionally, many car rental companies charge a cancellation fee to get out of your agreement.



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But when it comes to rental cars, this might surprise you: The best time to rent a car is last minute, when they tend to be cheaper. That's according to a NerdWallet analysis conducted in March 2022 of 360 rental car prices from eight major car rental companies in the United States.

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Hertz offers two payment options: pay now or pay later. You'll save money by paying up front, but you'll also be subjected to cancellation fees. Paying later allows you to pay at the counter when you pick up your vehicle, but it costs more.

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Major rental car companies—including Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz—all permit rentals on a debit card. But it's important to read the fine print. While most companies accept debit cards, they look for specific types of cards and require you to take additional steps that can make the process more time-consuming.

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Hotels typically apply a pending charge on your card when you arrive, as do rental car companies. This pending charge holds space on your card to ensure there will be funds to cover at least some of the eventual charges for your hotel or car. This isn't a completed, or posted, transaction.

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Through 2023 at least, limited vehicle availability will continue. However, most experts report some recovery on the horizon. There were finally early signs of increased allocation to rental fleet channels in fall 2022. Operators still need to be clever in how they source cars as we inch toward supply recovery, though.

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Pay Later: Terms and Conditions: Advance reservations required. Subject to availability, offer is redeemable at participating Hertz locations in the US (not including Hyannis, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, NY Metro and HI).

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The main benefit of choosing this option instead of other financing options, like credit cards and traditional loans, is that you get to pay off your balance interest-free.

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Car rentals cost more than they did a few years ago due to many different factors, but primarily because of supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As demand for rental cars fell, rental car companies sold segments of their fleets to stay in business during the lean times.

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