Car rental - Why is "Pay Now" more expensive?
I would think that the Pay Now option would be cheaper, but it's more expensive! The total cost of rental is almost double my flight cost.
Yikes.
So, why the heck would I Pay Now? Is there an added guarantee that my car will be waiting for me? I'm scared of all the money this trip is costing in travel alone.
This is a one way rental within the USA.
Best Answer
I cannot think of a great reason why you would want to do this. I suppose in theory your car might be more "guaranteed", but at a major location like Las Vegas (I'm assuming the airport?) it's highly unlikely they would run out of cars anyway.
Generally the only difference I've seen is that if you "Pay Now", the price is expressed in your home currency (if you were from outside the US), whereas otherwise it's expressed in dollars, the value of which could fluctuate slightly before your trip is complete and billed. This wouldn't worry me, but for some it might if you were on a tight budget.
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Answer 2
Given the current situation with covid, rental companies are receiving a higher than usual number of cancellations, both at the request of the customer and when a rental location is required to close. It is easier and cheaper to process a cancellation if no money has been paid, so they may be deliberately encouraging payment to only be made once it is certain the rental will go ahead. The screenshot of Hertz search results shared by @user116848 includes a banner advertising "No Cancellation or Change fees when you pay later".
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