There’s nothing worse than getting off a plane and waiting in line for your rental car at the airport kiosk as you battle swollen calves and travel exhaustion from your flight. Thankfully, there are now more options for on-demand car rental companies that will deliver your car straight to your door, including the hotel or Airbnb that you’re staying at. Car handovers have become more simplified over the years, with some rental companies removing the paperwork altogether.
Whether it’s exploring the city or kick-starting your winter road trip, check out the car rental companies below that can be delivered straight to the location that suits you, such as your hotel, Airbnb, or train station.
Kyte
Through its app, Kyte offers cars on demand for daily, weekly, or monthly use. When booking, you can choose the location you want your rental car to be dropped off and picked up. Once you’ve confirmed your date and time, delivery drivers called “Kyte surfers” will drop off the car at your set location.
Once you’ve verified your driver’s license with a selfie on the app and shown it to the surfer, you’ll be able to cruise the streets, café hop, and tick off all the items on your travel itinerary. If you didn’t make it to a gas station, Kyte will also refuel the car to the original level at a ‘transparent price’.
Cars are booked for 24-hour increments plus a $19 delivery fee (both ways) and additional insurance coverage. Insurance sets you back around $14 a day, but you can waive this fee if you have a credit card that covers car rentals. Daily rates differ in each market but come out cheaper than most major rental companies. Your mileage is capped at 300 miles per day, with $0.45 for every mile over, but you can upgrade to unlimited mileage for an extra fee.
If you prefer to take your car from the airport, you can pick up the car from a handover location near one of the fifteen airports that Kyte currently services (at the moment, Kyte is offering rideshare vouchers at Los Angeles International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to get to its handover locations).
Kyte has also just launched new subscriptions starting at $519 for various cars, including Teslas, with plans from 3- 12 months that will be suitable for extended trips or a long winter road trip.
Cities available: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C, New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, Denver, Portland, Fort Lauderdale, and New Jersey.
Turu
Turu is one of the world’s largest car-sharing marketplaces, where hosts rent their cars out to people for daily, weekly, or monthly rates, and offer delivery to your door as an option. Car owners decide their prices and mileage limits, so these differ across car types and locations, but cars can start as low as $25 per day, and fees are known to be cheaper than traditional car rental companies.
Typically, Turo places a maximum of 200 miles per day on vehicles and will charge you $0.50 for every mile you drive over that. Hosts are also given the option to offer trip discounts based on 3+, 7+, or 30+ days long, so you can find some good deals for extended periods on the car that suits your needs. Since this is car-sharing, you will need to fill up the fuel to the same level as when you picked it up.
The approval process is quick and should take a matter of minutes once you enter your driver’s license. For insurance, drivers get the option to choose between three different coverage plans, which range from $12-14 per day. You can avoid this fee if you have a credit card that offers car rental insurance, but you will need to check the credit card coverage because some credit cards exclude ride-sharing companies like Turo. If you’re aged under 25, Turu will also apply additional young driver fees between $30-50 extra each day.
Cities available: Los Angeles, Miami, Honolulu, Denver, London, and Toronto
Getaround
Getaround doesn’t offer delivery to your location, but as a large car-sharing marketplace, you’re likely to find a car closely located to your Airbnb, hotel, train, or bus station. Like Turo, you rent cars from owners, and you can book your car via your iOS or Android device. The car unlocks using the Bluetooth-connected app, so you won’t have to worry about any handovers.
Getaround gives you the option to rent the car in one-hour increments (instead of daily rates), which makes it perfect for your vacations that are mostly within walking distance to everything, but occasionally need a car to reach a museum or that special restaurant that is too far on foot. Getaround advertises prices as low as $8 per hour with a 3% booking fee, but the company sets a recommended price based on the car’s location, demand in the area, and the quality of the car.
Insurance is included in the rental cost, with higher insurance costs for people aged 19-25 years old. Like Turu, you must fill up the gas tank to the same level when you return it, and 200 miles per day are included with an additional $0.50 surcharge for every mile over.
Cities available: Getaround has wide coverage in over 30 cities across 30 states.
