Those smiling rental agents are happy to double the price of gas if you don't return your car with a full tank.
You’re running late for yourflight so you rush up to the rental return counter, toss the keys to the clerk and head for the shuttle.
The shock might not hit until your credit card bill shows up, weeks later, where you discover a $200 charge for having the rent-a-car company handle filling the tank on the minivan you used for your family vacation.
Rental companies have traditionally charged a steep premium if you return a car with less than a full tank, but that’s all the more so with fuel prices at the gas station now averaging an even $4 a gallon. A survey by USA Today found Hertz charging $9.29 at 13 major airport offices on April 29, while a number of Dollar and Thrifty rental sites were getting $8.99. The figures may have gone up yet again since then, depending on location.
Some of the lowest prices, curiously, were found at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, a facility favored by Congressmen, Senators and other government officials who might, not so coincidentally, be angered enough to consider legislation limiting the huge fuel surcharges. Enterprise was charging only $5.81 late last month, a $1.72 premium over the average Washington, D.C. price for regular unleaded.
The newspaper found that rental company fuel premiums varied widely by brand, as well. In Atlanta, for example, Alamo was charging $5.79 a gallon while Dollar and Thrifty demanded $8.00. Hertz demanded the biggest premium, with gas going for $9.29. In fact, Hertz charged the most for fuel at all the major airports according to data collected by the AAA or provided by the various rental companies.
Firms like Hertz insist they are doing customers a favor by providing refueling options. They typically offer customers other options, including the ability to pay a lower price up front for a full tank then return the vehicle with whatever is left. That approach usually carries a price tag several dollars a gallon lower. In fact, the paper noted that at some rental counters, the quoted price for gas bought in advance was actually cheaper than what nearby service stations were charging.
But it isn’t necessarily the good deal it might first seem. Unless a renter brings the cars back on fumes the company gets to keep the excess – which can effectively raise the price for the fuel actually used by anywhere from pennies to several dollars a gallon.
The other option is to make sure to hit a nearby service station before returning the vehicle. But even that can be costly, as the gas stations near many airports charge more than those a little further away, data show, taking advantage of travelers in a rush.