There are so many sneaky tactics in the car rental industry, unfortunately.
Hidden fees are just one of the tallies.
You plan on renting a car, get a quoted price and put in your credit card while you leave with the car. For someone who doesn’t know about hidden fees, before you get back you sure would have been struck with several fees on the table.
Now, what do you about this? Get the knowledge first.
This article will cover basically what you need to know about Thrifty car rental hidden fees and a list of them.
Does Thrifty Car rental have Hidden Fees?
Thrifty isn’t an exception to the tradition of adding hidden fees. Alongside several other car rental companies, they do have hidden fees. While some could be avoided, you might just have to accept some that are enforced to all users of the company.
You probably want to rent a car from Thrifty but are unsure of what could come up on your billing receipt after the rent is over.
The truth is, you should be, of course…unless you want to be hit by a list of fees you weren’t prepared for when your rental bill is presented.
The worst part of all this is how these companies don’t even make proper orientation.
In the case of Thrifty, it does happen.
Editors Note: One of the best ways to avoid hidden fees, is to book your car rentals from a trusted booking agency. We recommend Discover cars.
This way, even if there are any hidden fees you need to be aware of, you’ll be told right away. Also, with Discover cars, you have a far more flexible method of making payments, which includes Paypal.
List of Thrifty Car Rental Hidden Fees and How to avoid them
If you’re on the lookout for the list of hidden fees on Thrifty’s system, here they are:
- Smoking fee
- e-Toll fee
- Cleaning fee
- Damage or loss fee
- Energy Surcharge
- City Based Hidden fee
- Commission Fee Recovery and Hotel fee
- Additional driver fee
- Young driver fee
- Fuel Service Charge
- Late return fee
Smoking fee
Charge: $400
Most car rental companies including Thrifty are against smoking.
In fact, if they’re able to detect that someone smoked, that particular vehicle won’t be used until 24 hours. That’s to the extent the company goes to keep up with its smoking policy.
If, however, you choose to violate this policy, you’d be fined a fee of $400.
How to avoid it?
Never smoke in a rental car, especially thrifty and its sister company, Dollar car rental.
e-Toll fee
Charge: It varies, but could go up to hundreds of dollars
Thrifty does have a prepaid Toll fee program, which partners with Platepass, intended to provide driving convenience to customers. However, it’s almost a rip-off and a hidden fee, as well.
The worst goes when you fail to opt into the plan, even though it’s optional.
According to Thrifty, if you end up driving on a toll road without opting into the toll program or paying cash at toll gates, you’d be required to pay a toll fee at the highest undiscounted applicable toll rate alongside an administrative fee of $15 for each toll you come across, with a cap of $90 per month, unlike Zipcar.
Here’s how to avoid:
The high charge on toll fees and rates is not new to the car rental industry. This is the same among popular companies like Budget and Hertz, alongside Thrifty.
The best way to avoid these unnecessary charges on toll fees is to either pay the toll fee yourself via cash or debit cards or install your personal transponder when driving.
In a case, where you don’t have one, you can do well to get one. I’d recommend EZ pass.
Cleaning fee
Charge: Up to $400
While a Thrifty rental car is being given to you in a good condition, it is expected to be brought back just the same way.
Based on Thrifty’s policy, you can be charged anywhere from $50- $250, depending on the intensity of the car’s current state, and the additional time needed for cleaning.
How to avoid it?
If you had any stains or dirt on the car after your ride, it’s advisable, you get it cleaned yourself. If you can’t, you take it to a nearby car wash.
Damage or loss fee
Charge: Up to $400
This is quite obvious, but it’s worth the mention.
When you drop off a rented car back to Thrifty, the company runs a thorough check on the car to find any possible faults.
If there are, you’d have to pay a fine. This fee could go from as little as $5 for a broken mirror to $400 depending on the intensity of the damage.
How to avoid it?
Try as much as possible to be conscious that you’re not in your personal car. It’s also worth mentioning that while pets are allowed on Thrifty, they are usually one significant cause of damage in a car.
Energy Surcharge
Charge: 50 cents to $3
If you’re familiar with most car rental companies, you must have noticed the Energy surcharge fee that is always added to your bill, which the company never talks about, not until it is time to pay the bills.
Thrifty car rental also does that. as well.
But why?
The Energy surcharge fee is a fee adopted by almost every rental car, which is aimed at adding a certain fee to the bill of every renter.
According to them, this is used to drop the cost it takes the company to run utility charges, fuels, oil, grease, etc.
How to avoid it?
This fee is actually unavoidable, as it is added to all customers of Thrifty car rentals.
City Based Hidden fee
Charge: Varies based on the city you live in
Based on our research, there are always hidden fees, special to a particular set of people, making use of Thrifty car rentals.
For example, “the Additional Surcharge fee,” is a fee imposed on all renters residing in the County of Allegheny, besides the normal Energy Surcharge fee everyone pays for.
So, what are these hidden charges specific to some locations?
- Alabama – If you rent a car from Thrifty in Alabama, you’d be required to pay an additional surcharge fee. This is exclusive to drivers in Alabama.
- The city of Kansas City – To provide funds for the majority of the area, you’re taxed to pay an Arena Cost Recovery fee, if you stay in the City of Kansas.
- California – You may see an addition to your bill with the tag, CA tourism fee, when you book or drive a Thrifty rented car along the California axis. This fee is usually to the California Travel and Tourism Commission for monthly assessment.
- Colorado – Colorado enforces all car rentals including Thrifty to pay a monthly fee for the Colorado Road Safety Program Fee, aimed at putting the security of the state in order. As a result, this fee is being channeled to its customers.
- State of New Jersey – You’d be charged a domestic fee if you rent a car in the state of new jersey, as mandated by the government.
- City of Chicago – For all thrifty car rentals in the city of Chicago, there’s an additional $2.75 fee for a Motor Vehicle Lessor Tax as instructed by Chicago’s government.
- City of Cleveland – Just like in the city of Chicago, there’s also an added fee of EST 6.00 for Motor Vehicle Lessor Tax on all thrift car rental locations in the City of Cleveland.
Commission Fee Recovery and Hotel fee
Charge: It varies based on the Hotel and Airport
Most car rental companies are always obliged by most hotels and airports to pay them a fee each time a user picks up a rented car across their locations.
As a result, they forward these fees to users who either rent cars directly from the Airport or a hotel.
Thrifty is not an exception to these practices
If you did rent a car from Thrifty at the airport, you’d be required to pay a fee called Concession Fee Recovery. On the other hand, if it was at the Hotel, you’d have to pay a Hotel Concession fee recovery.
How to avoid it?
There’s actually nothing you can do about this, other than to avoid renting cars from thrifty at the Airport or Hotel.
Additional driver fee
Charge: $13.50 per driver in a day
This is not special, as it applies to basically every car rental company.
If you decide to add an additional driver to the car you rented on Thrifty, you’d be required to pay an additional fee. This fee is tagged “Additional Driver fee.”
On Thrifty, for an additional single driver, you’d have to $13.50 per day. This principle follows if you also decide to add multiple drivers.
How to avoid it?
The solution to avoid getting the additional driving fee is to drive alone. You’re allowed to add other people to your ride, but you should be the only driver unless you intend to pay the extra fee for an additional driver.
Young driver fee
Charge: $25-30.
There’s always this assumption that young people are prone to dirty driving. Unfortunately, facts and statistics prove it.
Even though Thrifty hides this from the public, if you’re below 25 years of age, you’re subjected to pay an additional fee for being young. Depending on your location, this fee ranges from $25-30.
According to Thrifty, this is because, renting a car to people under 25 years, poses a threat to them.
How to avoid it?
The thrifty young driver fee is only allocated to you if you’re below 25 years of age. In other words, to get around this fee, you have to be above 25 years or don’t rent a car from thrifty till you’re up to age.
You can read more about our article on additional drivers.
Fuel Service Charge
Charge: Varies on how much fuel was left
When renting a car from Thrifty, always have it in mind that you’d be the one paying up for Fuel. These could happen in three ways:
- You prepay for fuel (Fuel Payment option)
- Thrifty refuels for you after using it (Fuel Service Charge)
- You fuel the car yourself
You might want to let the company refuel for you, however, note that the first two options would leave you with an extra bill charge on your Thrifty rental receipt at the end of the day.
If you don’t refuel at all, after using it, you’d be charged a Fuel service fee. The problem here is that they don’t even have the best market value for refuelling – You’re charged to pay the actual fuel fee, service fee, and taxes.
How to avoid it?
Make sure to gauge the fuel level of the car you intend to rent. Take a picture and let Thrifty know about this.
Now, after using the rented car, before dropping, go to a gas station close by and refill the car just the same way you took it. Also, make sure to keep the fuel receipt, if necessity calls.
Late return fee
Charge: Up to $102.50
When you fail to drop off a Thrifty rental car after 12 hours of the rental agreement, you’d be charged a Late Return Fee of up to $20.50, up to a maximum of five (5) days/$102.50.
How to avoid it?
Always try to stick to time, when you rent a car from Thrifty and just any car rental. Because the late return fee is usually aggressive.
Thrifty lost key fee
The thrifty loss key fee is a fee that would be incurred on your rental bill if the key of the rental car isn’t found after you’ve dropped the car.
This fee isn’t exclusive to Thrifty, as it is a thing across several companies including Dollar car rental, Budget, etc.
How to avoid it?
It’s simple: Be careful about how you handle the keys on Thrifty cars. Never leave them on the key fobs when going out. Preferably, you can subscribe to Thrifty roadside assistance package, which covers lost keys.
Final Thoughts
Over time, hidden fees are growing into a norm among car rental companies, as most companies now make them a perk to their revenue.
Do well to go over these hidden fees and be conscious of them, to avoid being charged overly.
You may also want to check our article on Gig car vs Zipcar; to find out the best among these two well-to-do platforms in the car-sharing industry – a potential industry, capable of creating good competition with the car rental industry.
