6 Best Orlando Airport Car Rental Companies — Browse Tips on Renting a Car in Orlando in (March 2023) – The Vacationer

if you’re flying into orlando international airport, you’ll soon realize something. rental cars are quite popular at this air hub. Both business travelers heading to downtown Orlando and families and other leisure travelers heading to area theme parks need a convenient way to get around and deliver rental cars. In fact, according to the airport, Orlando is the largest car rental market in the world.
When renting a car to get around Orlando, you’ll find that many car rental companies have locations right at the airport. you don’t even need to take a shuttle to a nearby provider. just walk from your gate and terminal, straight to the rental car counter. However, with 10 different airport car rental companies to choose from, how do you choose the right provider for your travel needs?
Reading: Best car rental orlando airport reviews
Here’s everything you need to know about the six major Orlando airport car rental companies.
1. poplar car rental
alamo brands itself as an affordable car rental provider. As such, reserving and saving with Alamo is easy.
If you choose a “Happy Driving Deal” when you book your rental, you’ll receive a discount, though you won’t be able to choose your car. alamo will simply give you whatever car is available when you pull into the lot. While this is fine for some travelers and worth it for the added savings, families or multiple travelers with a lot of luggage may find it inconvenient.
alamo will also give you a discount if you pay the full cost of your rental at the time of booking, instead of waiting until you get to the airport to pay.
Like most rental providers, Alamo offers add-ons such as satellite radio, GPS devices, and toll pass waivers. Alamo has its own rewards program, Alamo Experts, but the program isn’t that strong. you only get additional discounts on future rentals after you join.
pros: alamo offers cheap rents and several ways to save.
cons: the rewards program doesn’t offer many perks or benefits and it’s not tiered, so if you travel often, you may find another car rental provider that rewards you more for your loyalty .
click here to see the best alamo car rental deals
2. notice
The reservation process is similar when you rent a car with avis at the Orlando airport.
Like Alamo, avis will give you a discount on your rental if you pay your bill in full at the time of booking, instead of waiting until you arrive at the airport. Please note, however, that Avis adds some hefty cancellation and no-show fees if you choose to pay prior to arrival. for example, if you do not show up at the time of your reservation, you will not get a refund. In this hypothetical situation, if you had not paid for your reservation in advance, you would not have received a discount, but you would not have lost the full cost of your rental either.
avis partners with many other travel providers to provide you with additional advantages and benefits. For example, AARP members can save up to 30% on Avis rentals. avis also allows you to earn points with your favorite hotel or airline loyalty program.
To earn miles or points for another loyalty program, you must be enrolled in avis’ loyalty program, avis preferente, and you must choose to earn a different type of loyalty point or miles instead of avis points. avis also charges you a fee for choosing an income alternative (up to $1 per rental day).
avis offers a mobile app to manage your rental and the avis flex program for long-term rentals of one month or more.
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pros: avis has many partner memberships, so you can save or earn points and miles in other areas, with other travel providers.
Cons: avis doesn’t offer as many discounts as some of the other providers on our list, and you may see steep fees.
click here to see the best car rental deals at avis
3. company
This is probably one of the most well-known car rental companies you’ll find at the Orlando airport. company offers a lot. has one of the strongest loyalty programs you’ll find in a car rental company, with premium loyalty levels and statuses, and many ways to earn both points and status. You can also earn airline miles and hotel points instead of business points if you’re working to increase your frequent flyer miles. Business travel partners range from Hilton to Amtrak.
Beyond offering traditional car rental experiences, enterprise also has a nifty feature called enterprise carshare. Ideal for travelers who need cars at inconvenient times, for inconvenient periods of time, and in inconvenient places, car sharing connects you with vehicles dispersed over a geographic area. you reserve your car for as long as you need it, for just an hour or several days, and then walk to where the car is parked and then use the app to unlock the vehicle. it’s an incredibly easy option when you need to reserve a car without visiting a rental desk.
enterprise also offers commuting and business travel programs.
Benefits: Enterprise is always upping the ante with new products and programs to help you get the most out of your rental experience. it also offers well-reviewed customer service. if you’re looking for a car rental company that you can easily be loyal to, time after time, trip after trip, then enterprise is a good choice.
Cons: Enterprise is not as affordable as some of the other car rental providers on our list.
click here to see the best enterprise car rental deals
4. hertz
If you compare hertz and enterprise, you’ll see a lot of similarities. Both offer a variety of vehicles, from the average sport utility vehicle and family car to the most luxurious offerings. both also offer extensive rewards programs. hertz offers electric vehicles and trucks and vans, beyond their typical lineup. there is also a hertz app, to help you more easily manage your rental.
for what you get from hertz, you’ll find the provider to be cheaper. While not a cheap car rental company by any means, it’s not the most expensive option on our list (which would be, in many cases, business).
it’s worth noting that the hertz family of companies includes other car rental brands such as dollar, thrifty and firefly. Dollar and Thrifty both have Orlando airport locations, so if you like the Hertz experience, but just want to save even more on your rental, you might want to check out Dollar or Thrifty’s deals.
pros: choose from a wide range of vehicles and take advantage of an extensive rewards program.
cons: you’re still going to pay more for hertz than other provider, but then you get what you pay for.
click here to see the best hertz car rental deals
5. national car rental
When you rent a car with any company, you’ll find that naturally there are a variety of additional fees and costs added to your final bill. from additional insurance to letting someone else drive the car, the provider will charge you as much as they can. however, with domestic car rentals, that is not necessarily the case. national waives many of the standard fees you’ll find with other providers. You won’t pay one-way rental fees, for example, and if you become a member of the National Loyalty Program, you’ll get fee waivers and additional discounts.
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Loyalty program members also enjoy additional perks like “hallway service,” which allows you to bypass the counter and choose your car from the lot on your own. drop & the go service also saves more time as you simply leave your car in the parking lot and be on your way once you’re done with the vehicle.
what is the downside of the loyalty program? You cannot transfer your loyalty program points to another loyalty program with another travel brand.
pros: avoid fees and take advantage of more benefits through the emerald national club.
Cons: If you want to earn airline or hotel points for your car rental purchases, you’ll need to look elsewhere. these points will not carry over.
click here to see the best car rental deals at national car rental
6. budget
like alamo, budget offers exactly what it sounds like: an affordable rental experience. You get savings by paying the full cost of the rental upfront. there are discounts on long term rentals. you can take advantage of a variety of seasonal sales and offers.
for a budget provider, budget offers an admirable number and variety of vehicles. however, it’s worth noting that the cheap experience, while nice to your wallet, may not necessarily be nice overall. Looking for luxury or superior customer service? you may want to go with one of the more expensive types. however if that is not a concern for you and you just want to save money however you can on this part of your travel budget. then, you will be satisfied.
There is no cheap loyalty program per se. instead, there’s the fastbreak program, which simply allows you to bypass the rental counter when you rent and return. Plus, FastBreak members get extra savings and access to deals and coupons. worth joining if you frequently rent under budget but don’t offer much of a benefit otherwise.
pros: Find a large number of vehicles and vehicle types, at a discount, along with frequent additional savings.
Cons: This car rental provider is straightforward, as is their “loyalty program.”
click here to see the best budget car rental deals
tips for renting cars at orlando airport
You will find all the car rental providers at the Orlando airport on level 1, in terminals a and b. that is where you should go to pick up your rental car. however, when you return your rental car, please go to parking lot a or b (they are at opposite ends of the airport). there, each garage offers a rental car check-in area to make returns easy. these areas are on level r1 of each respective garage.
Of course, before you return your car, you’ll want to fill it up with gas. make it easy for yourself and avoid low gas or empty tank fees! You’ll find a shell station in the airport’s south travel plaza, near the airport’s south entrance.
other options in the orlando area
Not interested in any of the car rental companies mentioned above? you can find even more car rental providers located off-site. almost all of them offer shuttle services between the airport and their respective lots. If you rent your vacation car from one of these providers, you can find the shuttle service on level 1 of Terminal A, parking lots A11-A13.
You will find a list of third-party providers and phone numbers for reservations on the Orlando International Airport website. however, please note that most of these third-party car rental companies are local or regional providers. If you want a nationwide service, then you’ll want to go with one of the big guys listed above.
visit the beach? you probably need to rent a car
We recommend you rent a car if you want to visit one of the best beaches in Florida. Options near Orlando include Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach.
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