How to Rent a Car with a Mobile App

It's a snap to rent a car nowadays using car rental mobile phone apps. Even at the last minute, you can get the best deals on car rentals by using your phone.

You don’t need to use a computer or contact an agent. For busy travelers, being able to rent a car while on the go is a great time-saver. It's one less thing to plan before a trip, and is also great in an emergency when you just need a car right away.  

Let’s take a look at a few mobile phone apps for car rentals.

KAYAK Flight Hotel Car Search

As with the KAYAK website, you can easily compare flights, hotels and rental cars from different travel sites with the free KAYAK mobile app. You can look for cheap car rentals as well as search for flights and hotels. You can also book, plan and track your itinerary. The KAYAK mobile phone app is a great all in one vacation search tool.

The Kayak mobile phone app also has an interactive, map-based search function that shows different car rental prices all around the world. The explore feature allows travelers ways of researching special deals as well as finding inspiration for new trip ideas.

“Our explore feature is an innovative and fun new way to think about travel planning,” said Bill O’Donnell, Chief Architect of KAYAK. “KAYAK.com users who’ve tried explore have responded very positively, but it’s even more compelling on the iPad’s touch screen.”

Zipcar

Recognized as one of the “Best Travel Gadgets of 2009” and one of “50 Best iPhone Apps in 2011” by Time Magazine, the Zipcar mobile phone app is taking things to the next level with their revolutionary approach to car rentals.

Zipcar is based on a new model of car sharing that is very popular in some countries in Europe. Zipcar users, called Zipsters, are typically urban dwellers or university students who use cars but do not want to pay for the upkeep of having a car. Using Zipcar, you can rent a car quickly, on short notice and by the hour, making it very economical to use on a regular basis or at the last minute.   

With their free mobile app, you can search for available Zipcars at nearby pickup locations, and can then book the car or extend your reservation. Once you reserve a car, you can lock and unlock the car doors and honk the horn using your mobile phone. After using the car, simply return it to one of the designated parking spots in your area.   

"Our members are rapidly transitioning from traditional to mobile devices. We're responding to the needs of our members. This reflects our unrelenting commitment to providing the best member experience," said Scott Griffith, Chairman and CEO of Zipcar. "We offer car ownership, one hour at a time and we are dedicated to pushing easy-to-use, self-service innovations through the entire spectrum of our service."

Avis Car Rental
With this free mobile phone app from Avis, you can reserve a car anytime and from anywhere. Search for available cars by zip code, address or airport. You can choose from standard vehicles or from the Cool Car collection.

The mobile phone app automatically pre-fills your information every time you make a new reservation. You can quickly view, modify and cancel your reservation, and also view your car rental history as well as obtain receipts by email.  

"Smartphone ownership and usage continues to grow and a recent comScore study ranked Android as the top smartphone platform in the United States," said Jeannine Haas, Avis Budget Group Chief Marketing Officer. "We're excited to add the Avis Android app to our list of mobile offerings and provide millions of Android users with a solution that specifically caters to them. It's another way that 'We try harder' to make the rental experience convenient, easy and trustworthy."

Hertz

If you need to reserve a car fast, try the Hertz mobile phone app. You can easily change your existing reservation.  You can reserve your car with favorite locations as well as search for nearby Hertz locations using the proximity search.  Hertz has new promos every week.  You can also use your Hertz #1 Club Member Number to take advantage of special deals.

“Hertz on Demand members are extremely tech-savvy and have an affinity for using mobile devices,” said Paula R. Rivera, manager of public affairs at Hertz. “Hertz members on the go can locate an available vehicle and make a reservation from their smartphone, a service many of our members desire."

“The goal of the Hertz On Demand mobile site is to offer a seamless user experience and to allow our members to make reservations whenever they want, utilizing the technology that they want,” Rivera said.

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