'Snowbird season' brings great car rental deals

Many travelers escape the cold Northern states in winter for sunny Florida, Arizona, and New Mexico. As such, rental car companies need to have enough cars for the tourism surge. To increase their Southern fleet, they offer deals to travelers willing to book a one-way rental from Northern locations to popular Southern ones. Perks typically include discounted daily or weekly rates and no one-way fees.

Start checking rental car company websites in November to see what's available for the current winter season. Providers such as

Alamo

,

Hertz

, and

National

have sponsored such promotions in the past, and are expected to do so again. Look for "one-way" or "snowbird" deals on each company's website, or links for promotions specifically for sunny destinations such as Arizona, Florida, and southern California.

As always, however, don't just take a promotion at face value. To make sure you're getting a good deal, compare any sale rates to other available prices. You can use our

price-comparison tool

to search multiple travel providers.



Have a great travel tip you'd like to share? Send your insider travel strategies to [email protected].