When traveling in the United States, many travelers prefer to rent a car at the airport because it is especially convenient to drive out of the airport and start your trip as soon as you get off the plane. However, when picking up a car at the airport, not only do you need to drag your luggage to different terminals or off-airport locations, but some car rental companies also charge an additional "airport surcharge", which increases the cost of renting a car significantly.
In this article, we'll list the most common U.S. airport car rental companies.Privacy FeeIn the second half of the article, we also provide "5 Tips to Save Money on Car Rental" to help you choose a car rental method in a more cost-effective and safe way, so that you can embark on your self-driving journey in a down-to-earth manner.
Common Hidden Fees for Renting a Car at U.S. Airports
1. Airport Concession Fee (ACCF)
Car rental companies located at airports are usually required to pay a percentage of the rental fee to the airport management company, so this cost is passed on to the consumer. The airport pickup surcharge is not a fixed fee, but is calculated as a percentage of the total rental amount, usually 10%~30% of the rental fee, ranging from a few dollars a day to $10 several dollars a day, and varying from airport to airport.
2. Facility Fee / Customer Facility Charges
Airport car rentals usually utilize a dedicated car rental building or parking lot, and the cost of using these facilities may be added to the renter's bill. Facility charges are usually based on a fixed daily rate ranging from US$$3 to US$10 per day.
3. After-Hours Pickup Fee (AHPF)
If you have a late or early flight, or need to pick up your rental car after hours on a national holiday, you may be charged a "late night pickup fee" or "after hours pickup fee". Considering the high labor costs in the U.S., this fee can be as high as US$$100.
4. One-Way Fee, One-Rent-By-One-Return Fee
Many travelers choose to pick up their car from the airport and return it in a different city, or at a store in the city, to make it easier to schedule their trip. However, this usually incurs an expensive rental and return fee (cross-docking fee), usually ranging from $50~300 USD depending on the distance.
5. Prepaid Fuel
Rental car companies offer a "prepaid fuel" option, which allows travelers to purchase fuel in advance and return the car with an empty tank without having to find a gas station to fill up the tank. This may seem convenient, but this method of calculating fuel costs is usually much more expensive than the local price of gasoline, and it also implies an administrative fee for manual processing. Some travelers are unknowingly charged this fee, and when they return the car with a full tank of gas, they find this fee on their bill, which means they have to pay for gas twice!
6. Taxes & Administrative Fees
In addition to the basic car rental fee, airport car rental may charge additional local tax, airport tax, etc., which usually accounts for 5%~15% of the total rental fee.
7. Time and energy costs
While this is not a specific monetary loss, the cost of travelers' time and energy is also critical to the mood and organization of the trip. As mentioned at the beginning, picking up a car at the airport can be time and energy consuming. In the case of San Francisco and Los Angeles airports, for example, getting to the pickup location requires the entire group to carry their luggage and transfer to a shuttle bus to pick up the car at a location outside the airport, and just because you have a good reservation on the Internet doesn't mean that there is a car available for rent at 100%, as this is still dependent on on-site availability. Sometimes car rental companies overbook in order to increase the rental rate, resulting in travelers queuing up at the counter to do the formalities, and then have to wait at the scene for 2~4 hours, spending a lot of travel time, and even delaying the scheduled itinerary.
These fees are usually not shown on the website when booking a car rental, and it is only after the car is returned that the traveler realizes that a large amount of money has been deducted from the pre-authorized deposit. Here are five tips on how to avoid these hidden fees and reduce the cost of renting a car in the U.S. This will help you to be more flexible in your budget when you are traveling in the U.S. for business or pleasure.
- For more information on other hidden fees, please refer to:8 Hidden Fees Commonly Seen in U.S. Car Rentals
5 Tips for Saving Money on Airport Car Rental
1. Choose an off-airport or urban car rental location.
There are also car rental agencies located near airports. These "out of airport hinterland" locations will not have airport surcharges and are often more competitively priced, so you can hail a car or take an airport shuttle to these locations. Alternatively, if you're heading to a big city like San Francisco or Chicago, you can take the public transportation system to the city and pick up your car at one of the downtown locations, which can be time-consuming and costly.
2. Read the car rental company's website and terms and conditions when making a reservation
Some car rental companies will list these airport surcharges in small print on their terms and conditions, or in a FAQ, so that you can learn about them in advance and avoid going too far over your original budget at the end of your trip. However, as the websites of US car rental companies are mostly in English, the additional fees are easily hidden in obscure places, and sometimes you can't even find them in the website, which requires a certain level of English proficiency and a lot of time to look up and calculate.
Before deciding on a rental company, it is also advisable to search for reviews of the company and its locations, using keywords such as "hidden fee" or airport surcharges, etc., to get an idea of the company's rates and quality of service.
3. Choose flexible pick-up and drop-off times
Check the flight time and the opening hours of the car rental company at the airport. Avoid picking up and returning your car during peak hours, such as weekends and holidays, to avoid being charged extra for overtime due to queuing or traffic jams. Also, choose to check in during the rental car company's business hours to avoid being charged for pickups outside of those hours.
4. single point pickup and drop-off
Renting a car can be very expensive, sometimes more than double the cost of renting a car, so you can take this into account when arranging your trip by choosing to pick up and drop off your car at a single location to save money, and then taking a taxi/Uber to the next location after you've returned the car, which may be more economical.
5. Choose a car rental company that allows you to pick up your car outside the terminal without hidden fees.
Recognizing the inconvenience of renting a car in the U.S., Sky Horse has arranged for the car to be picked up directly outside the terminal building. All the traveler needs to do is to pick up his/her luggage and the car will be driven to the exit of the terminal building, which is convenient for the traveler to embark on his/her journey without the need to carry a large bag and spend a lot of time on the journey. In addition, all the fees will be shown on the website when booking the rental car, the cost items (including)Insurance PremiumsThe fees are clearly labeled in both English and Chinese, so you don't have to worry about being charged extra.
Sky Horse saves you the hassle by charging a single pickup fee for all airport pickups, regardless of the number of days or car type. If you want to return your car to another location in the same city, you don't have to pay several times the cost of returning the car to another location.
Although renting a car at the airport is the first choice of many self-driving travelers, the hidden costs can be higher than you can imagine. By understanding the common additional costs of renting a car at the airport in the United States beforehand and making adjustments according to your itinerary and budget, you can not only save some of the expenses, but also be psychologically prepared for them, so that you won't be surprised when you receive the bill and ruin the mood of your trip.
If you don't want to be surprised by hidden charges on your bill, welcome to Sky Horse - know all the necessary costs when you book! Transparent pricing, zero time difference, and LINE Chinese ServiceIt will definitely make your road trips and business meetings in the U.S. with your family, friends and workmates smoother, more secure and stress-free!
🎉 2025 Car Rental Rebate [ sh2025 ] Offer is counting down!🎉
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
