Lindsey Desmet
Several car rental agencies offer military discounts for active-duty service members and veterans. Some also extend these discounts to immediate family members.
In general, you can expect to save between 5% and 25% on the vehicle’s base rate. There may be additional perks available, such as free upgrades or GPS rental.
Below, we list the rental agencies that have military and veteran discounts — plus those that don’t.
What We Recommend
The highest available military discounts for car rentals are at Avis Rent a Car and Budget.
Both rental agencies partner with Veterans Advantage to offer up to 25% off base rates.[1][2]
Veterans Advantage is free to join, but to access the highest discounts, you’ll need a VetRewards subscription, which costs about $5 for a 30-day trial or $60 to $200 for an annual plan.[3]
It’s best to weigh the amount you’ll save against the cost of the VetRewards plan before signing up. If you rent cars frequently or can make use of other discounts available through VetRewards, the cost of the plan may be worthwhile.
If you don’t have a Veterans Advantage account and would prefer not to create one, Hertz also offers up to 25% off, though some of its discounts are exclusive to USAA members.[4][5]
Fox Rent A Car offers 10% off and doesn’t require any additional memberships.[6]
Comparison Table
Use the table below to quickly compare your car rental military discount options.
Note that you can sort the table using the arrows at the top of each column, and you can select the company name to find more information in our list below.
| Rental Agency | Eligibility | Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Alamo Rent a Car | Active-duty and veterans | Around 5% off |
| Avis Rent a Car | Active-duty, veterans, and their families | Up to 25% off |
| Budget | Active-duty, veterans, and their families | Up to 25% off |
| Dollar Car Rental | Active-duty, veterans, and "next of kin" family members | About 5% off |
| Enterprise Rent-A-Car | Active-duty and veterans | About 5% off |
| Fox Rent A Car | Active-duty,veterans, Gold Star families, and cadets | Around 10% off |
| Hertz | Active-duty and veterans | Up to 25% off |
| SIXT | Active-duty and veterans | Around 5% off |
| Thrifty Car Rental | Active-duty, veterans, military academy students, and immediate family members | Up to 5% off, free upgrade, and free GPS unit |
| Zipcar | Active-duty, veterans, military academy students, and immediate family | Up to 50% off annual membership and no application fee |
The List
Avis Rent a Car
- Available to: Active-duty and veteran military, National Guard, Reservists, and their families[1]
- Discount amount: Up to 25% off base rates[1]
- Requirements:
- Must sign up for a Veterans Advantage account
- Must use the discount code on Avis’ military discount page
- Cannot combine with any other promotion or offer
- Excludes certain vehicle classes[1]
- Find a rental
Budget
- Available to: Active-duty and veteran military, National Guard, and reservists, as well as their immediate families[2]
- Discount amount: Up to 25% off base rates[2]
- Requirements:
- Must create a Veterans Advantage account
- Must use the discount code from Budget’s military discount page
- Excludes specialty vehicles
- Cannot combine with other promotions or discounts[2]
- Find a rental
Hertz
- Available to: Veteran and active-duty military; some of the available discounts require USAA membership.[7][7][8]
- Discount amount: Varies depending on the details of your rental; up to 25% off[9][4][5]
- Requirements:
- Find a rental
Fox Rent A Car
- Available to: Active-duty, veteran, and reserve members of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, and National Guard; Gold Star families and cadets; commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Public Health Service[6]
- Discount amount: 10% off all cars[6]
- Requirements:
- Must rent from a corporate-owned U.S. location
- Must use the discount code MILITARY1 when making your reservation
- Cannot combine with other discounts or Fox Bucks rewards[6]
- Find a rental
Zipcar
- Available to: Active-duty military, students of U.S. military academies, veteran/retired military, current or former National Guard or Reservists, and immediate family[11]
- Discount amount: Up to 50% off your annual membership and an application fee waiver[11]
- Requirements:
- Must enroll as a VetRewards member on Veterans Advantage[11]
- Find a rental
Dollar Car Rental
- Available to: Active and retired military members;[12] “next of kin” family members can also get the discount if using Veterans Advantage[13]
- Discount amount: 5% off retail rates; also offers a free upgrade and unlimited mileage if using the Leisure Government Travel discount, or waived additional and underage driver fees if using Veterans Advantage[12][13]
- Requirements:
- Must book through Dollar Car Rental’s military discount page or sign up for Veterans Advantage
- Must present a valid driver’s license
- May need to show your military ID[12][13][14]
- Find a rental
Thrifty Car Rental
- Available to: Veterans, retirees, active-duty service members, National Guard members, Reservists, and their immediate families, plus students of U.S. military academies[15][16]
- Discount amount: 5%, plus coupons for free upgrades and GPS unit rental[15]
- Requirements:
- Find a rental
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Available to: Active-duty service members and veterans[18]
- Discount amount: 5% off base rates;[18] USAA members get additional benefits like unlimited mileage on some rentals and waived additional driver or young driver surcharges[19]
- Requirements:
- May need to show your military ID at pick-up
- Must have a valid driver’s license that you’ve held for at least one year
- Must have a valid photo ID and credit card
- Must be at least 21 years old for leisure travel and 18 if traveling on official government business[18]
- Find a rental
SIXT
- Available to: Veteran, retired, and active-duty military members[20][21]
- Discount amount: Up to 5% off premium fleet base rates[21]
- Requirements:
- Find a rental
Alamo Rent a Car
- Available to: Active-duty military and veterans[23]
- Discount amount: Varies depending on the details of your rental; usually around 5% off[24][25]
- Requirements:
- Find a rental
Car Rental Companies That Don’t Offer Military Discounts
In the course of our research, we found that the following rental agencies don’t offer active-duty or veteran military discounts at the time of writing:
William Lipovsky
