WeekendTraveler

I rented a car for a period that ends up being 5 days and 14 hours, but now I'd like to drop it off later, but still within the sixth day (e.g., 5 days and 23 hours after I picked it up).

Do I need to call National to extend the drop-off deadline? Or if I just turn it in 5 days and 23 hours after I picked it up, will I get charged the original rate that I booked, which I believe was 6 days, since the total number of rented days is the same?

Thanks.

kxc262

Don't think you will pay any difference if you are being charged for 6 days. You can confirm this by extending the rental on the app.

AutoSlash

No need to call (or extend via the app). The pricing shouldn't change.

m907

Anything over 3 hours is charged for the full day at pretty much all the rental companies.

I always reserve cars in 24 hour blocks because I'm paying for the full day anyway. That way I don't have to worry about running late and can keep it if something changes. For example, recently I flew in to an airport at 8:00 am Monday and was scheduled to fly out at 10:00 pm Tuesday. My return flight was canceled and I was rescheduled to 6:00 the following morning. Because I had reserved the car from 8:00 am Monday to 8:00 am Wednesday, I was able to keep the car overnight for the rescheduled flight.

btonkid12345

Even if you had set the return time for the night, and kept it until the following morning, you would have been fine without penalties for the exact reasons you state before.

Avis and National do not charge an early or late return fee, as long as you’re not prepaid (Avis) and on a corporate/set daily rate (a non-varying daily rate). For National, worst case, they just keep charging your card for the extra time once you’re late (not past the return time, but past the next 24 hour increment that your card hasn’t yet been authorized for).

Avis does charge a late return fee sometimes; but I’m not sure what triggers it. This is for non-prepaid only.

Hertz does charge a late return fee, or change the rate if you return early, if your return is more than 12 hours early or late (per the contract terms). Return counter agents and Managers can override this (for any agency).

But Hertz and National both have decent apps, in that if you are returning more than 12 hours late to Hertz, but already paid for the extra day, you can always go in the app after checking out the car, and entering the new return time, where it should confirm your new total (with zero extra collected). Note if you are extending past a Monday night with a weekend rate, this may not hold, but should in every other case.

The big problem with the delayed flight issue is being able to find out BEFORE returning the car; usually I’ve found out after, and once the contract is closed, it doesn’t matter if you had another 12 hours of time left on the contract...

WeekendTraveler

Thanks very much, everyone!

I downloaded the app and extended the rental. Fortunately the app showed the price before I finalized everything, so I was able to confirm that I was able to extend the rental to the 24-hour mark, based on when I picked the car up, which was later than the time I had reserved it for pick-up. I had picked up the car really late, so I got much of the next day for no charge.

This was a great outcome, so thanks again- otherwise I wouldn't have known to use the app.

btonkid12345

Exactly - the Hertz and National app both let you do basic extensions and show you the price before confirming. Nice feature.

The National app shows you a price summary - but you can click on the total price hyperlink - and it gives you the entire detailed receipt for the new quote. A bonus. Hertz does not do this, and just shows a new total.

And yes - if you pick up later than scheduled - you can return at that time on the return day without penalty or extra charge - and the app correctly reflected this for you as well.