Rental Car Deals for Christmas Travel: What to Check First

Before you compare Christmas rental car prices, check four things: the age surcharge, the toll program, your insurance coverage, and whether your rate can be cancelled for free. Those line items move the real total more than the headline daily rate does, and three of the four are published on the rental company's own site before you book. Christmas travel compresses an enormous amount of demand into about two weeks, which is why counters run tight and rates climb.

The good news is that almost every expensive surprise in a holiday rental is knowable in advance — if you look past the per-day number on the search results page.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 13, 2026.

The window you're actually booking against

The year-end rush is short and intense. For last season, AAA's year-end holiday travel forecast projected 122.4 million Americans traveling between December 20 and January 1, up 2.2% on the prior record of 119.7 million, including a record 8.03 million air travelers. Those flyers are the people standing in front of you at the airport rental counter.

That figure is last season's number, not this one. AAA typically publishes its year-end forecast in early-to-mid December, so as of mid-November there is no 2026 projection to plan against — the shape of the demand curve, not the exact headcount, is what carries over. Practically, that means the pickup times to avoid are the ones everyone else wants: late morning and early afternoon on the first weekend of the window, at a major hub airport.

Shifting a pickup by a few hours, or by a day, sometimes changes availability more than it changes price.

Why "book early" is not automatically the cheapest move

Booking early locks in a rate, which is useful insurance against a sellout. It is not the same as locking in the lowest price, because rental rates have been trending down year over year — the Bureau of Labor Statistics index for car and truck rental read 170.99 in June 2026, down 4.14% from a year earlier. Checking a current price index is harder this cycle.

BLS reported that no survey data was collected for October 2025 during a lapse in appropriations, so 12-month percent changes cannot be published for the affected October 2026 indexes. The November 2026 CPI is scheduled for December 10, 2026 — after most holiday bookings are already made. The workaround is procedural rather than predictive:

• Book a rate with free cancellation as soon as your dates are fixed.
• Re-check the same pickup location every week or two.
• Rebook if the price drops, then cancel the original reservation.
• Confirm the cancellation terms in writing — prepaid and "pay now" rates are usually the ones that are not refundable.

Drivers under 25 should price the surcharge, not the rate

A young-renter fee can quietly add more to a week-long holiday rental than the difference between two companies' daily rates. Enterprise's own FAQ sets a minimum rental age of 21 across most of the US — 18 in Michigan and New York — and states that its young renter fee averages about $25 per day, varying by location. Two details make that number less fixed than it looks.

Hertz's young renters page says the fee is applied once per rental even when several under-25 drivers are listed on the agreement, so adding a second young driver does not double it. The same page says the fee may be waived entirely for eligible AAA or USAA members aged 20–24 who book under the applicable discount program. If that applies to you, the eligibility is specific: it depends on membership, your age band, and booking through the discount program rather than a standard rate.

Confirm it on the company's page for your pickup location before assuming the waiver survives to the counter.

Toll programs are billed by the day, not by the toll

This is the charge that most often surprises people on a short holiday trip. Under Enterprise's TollPass program, as documented in the California state travel program's Enterprise TollPass guide, a $3.95 convenience charge applies for each day a toll is incurred, capped at $19.75 per rental — and that is on top of the tolls themselves. The math turns on how your trip is shaped.

One toll road crossed on five separate days costs five convenience charges; several crossings bunched into one day costs one. A single unavoidable toll on the drive from the airport can trigger the daily charge for a day you barely used the road. Bringing your own transponder from home avoids the convenience charge, since you are then paying the tolling authority directly.

Check that your transponder is valid in the state you are renting in, and register the rental's plate with your account if your program requires it.

Settle the insurance question before you reach the counter

The counter is the worst place to decide whether you need the damage waiver, because the person explaining it is not neutral and you are usually tired. Decide at home, with two documents open: your personal auto policy and your credit card's benefits guide. Credit card rental coverage generally comes with conditions that are easy to break accidentally.

It typically requires you to pay for the entire rental with that card and to decline the rental company's own damage waiver; it is usually capped at the vehicle's actual cash value; it commonly limits rentals to 31 consecutive days; and it frequently excludes 12- and 15-passenger vans — which matters if you are renting for a large family gathering. The limit worth knowing is that card coverage addresses damage to the rental vehicle, not liability for injury or damage to others. Whether coverage is primary (pays first) or secondary (pays only after your own insurer) is stated in your card's benefits guide, and that single word changes whether a claim touches your personal policy at all.

Call the number on the back of the card and ask for the guide in writing if you cannot find it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a prepaid holiday rate worth the discount?

Only if your travel dates are genuinely fixed. Prepaid rates typically cannot be cancelled for free, which removes your ability to rebook if prices fall — and the BLS data shows rental prices have been falling year over year.

Does adding a second under-25 driver double the young renter fee?

Not at Hertz. Its young renters page states the fee is applied a single time per rental even with multiple under-25 drivers on the agreement. Confirm the policy for whichever company you book, as this varies.

When will there be a current forecast for this year's holiday travel volume?

AAA typically publishes its year-end forecast in early-to-mid December. Last season's release came on December 10, 2025, which is after most people have already booked.