William Lipovsky
Returning a rental car late will typically result in extra fees, but you can also incur fees for picking up a car late (or not picking it up at all). The fees will depend on a few things, including whether or not you prepaid for your rental and how late you’re picking it up.
Below, we have more information about what happens when you pick up your rental car late at each of the major rental companies.
Fees for Late Pickup and No-Shows
There are various measures that car rental companies can take when you’re late to pick up your rental.
The first thing you should know is that there are usually different policies for picking up a rental car late depending on whether or not you prepaid for your car rental, or simply reserved one with a valid credit card (this is called a “guaranteed reservation”).
Generally, if you make a guaranteed reservation and don’t prepay for the rental, there are no fees for late pickup, or for not showing up to claim your rental (no-show).
However, the rental company will not hold your vehicle beyond its late policy time and you may not be able to rent the vehicle you reserved. You may also have to pay a different rental rate depending on what’s available when you arrive late.
If you have a prepaid car rental, there are typically no fees for late pickup, though your reserved vehicle will not be held beyond the rental company’s late policy time, and you may have to rent a different vehicle at a different rate.
If you don’t show up on the day you reserved your rental, or if you arrive after the car rental company is closed, you’ll be considered a “no-show” and be charged a fee that can range anywhere from a few dollars to the entire cost of the rental.
Cancellation Fees
If you decide to cancel your prepaid reservation, you may also incur cancellation fees that can be up to and including the entire cost of the rental.
However, most car rental companies will allow you to cancel a prepaid reservation for a full or partial refund if you give notice within a certain time period.
In many cases, cancellation fees don’t apply to guaranteed reservations. For the companies that do charge fees for guaranteed reservations, they’re usually lower than the cancellation fees for prepaid reservations.
See our related article to find out if the company you rented from will let you drop off at a closer location.
The List
We’ve listed all the major car rental companies below, along with their policies and fees for late pickup, cancellations, and no-show reservations.
The following fees typically apply to prepaid reservations only, although in some cases, fees are applied to guaranteed reservations.
ACE Rent a Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored up to two hours beyond your scheduled pickup time.[1]
- Cancellation fees: No fees if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; full amount of reservation if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[1]
- No-show fee: Full amount of reservation[1]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to the “Reserve Pay On Arrival” option (guaranteed reservation).[1]
Alamo Rent A Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored until the end of the business day, or for 12 hours from the pickup time, whichever comes first.[2]
- Cancellation fees:
- No-show fee:
- Additional policies: None
Avis Rent a Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored until to 24 hours from the rental pick-up time.[3]
- Cancellation fees: No fee if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; varying fee from $15 to one full day’s rental if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[4]
- No-show fee: Varies from $15 to one full day’s rental[4]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees apply only to reservations made through the Avis telephone reservation center for select car categories, and for certain promotions through the Avis website. If you rent from an airport location and your flight is canceled, the cancellation fee is waived.[4]
Budget Rent A Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored until the end of the business day.[5]
- Cancellation fees:
- No-show fee:
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to reservations made without using a credit card.[6]
Dollar Rent A Car
- Late pickup policy: Prepaid rentals have up to 24 hours after pickup time to get their vehicle. Non-prepaid rentals arriving on a delayed flight will be able to get their vehicle after the flight lands.[7]
- Cancellation fees: $50 if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; $100 if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[8]
- No-show fee: Full amount of rental[8]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations.[8]
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored up to two hours after the scheduled pickup time. For delayed flights, reservations are honored up to two hours after the actual landing time.[9]
- Cancellation fees: $50 if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; $100 if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[10]
- No-show fee: $100[10]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations.[10]
FOX Rent A Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored for up to 6 hours after the scheduled pickup time if you didn’t prepay and up to 12 hours after if you did prepay.[11]
- Cancellation fees: For “Pay Now” reservations, cancellations made within 24 hours of pick-up will incur a $50 cancellation fee and you will receive the rest of prepaid funds as store credit. Reservations made through third-party websites are subject to the third party’s regulations.[12]
- No-show fee: Full amount of rental[12]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to reservations made without using the “Pay Now” option.[13]
Getaround
- Late pickup policy: No penalty or limit when picking up a car late[14]
- Cancellation fees: No fee if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; $25 if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice; $50 if canceled with less than one hours’ notice[15]
- No-show fee: $100[16]
- Additional policies: There’s no fee for cancellations due to inclement weather or emergencies.[15]
Hertz
- Late pickup policy:
- Guaranteed reservations will be honored for one hour past the pickup time at non-airport/non-railway locations and two hours past the pickup time at airport/railway locations. Hold time extended to two hours at all locations for Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members.[17]
- Prepaid reservations will be honored until the close of the business day at airport/railway locations and for two hours past the pickup time at non-airport/non-railway locations.[17]
- Cancellation fees: For prepaid reservations, there is a $100 fee if you cancel at least 24 hours before pickup and a $200 fee if you cancel within 24 hours of pickup.[18]
- No-show fee: $130[19]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations.[19]
National Car Rental
- Late pickup policy: You can pick up reservations at an airport location any time of day. Most are open 24/7.[20]
- Cancellation fees: None[21]
- No-show fee: None[21]
- Additional policies: National does not offer prepaid car rental reservations and does not charge cancellation or no-show fees for guaranteed reservations.[21]
Payless Car Rental
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored for the entire day that the rental pickup is scheduled. Renters who arrive the day after a reservation are considered no-shows.[22] For customers who haven’t prepaid and arrive on a late flight, as long as you have attached flight information, you can pick up the rental when the flight lands.[23]
- Cancellation fees: $50 if canceled with at least 48 hours notice; full amount of rental if canceled with less than 48 hours’ notice[24]
- No-show fee: Full amount of rental[24]
- Additional policies: Cancellation fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations. In some cases, no-show fees may be charged for guaranteed rentals; contact your nearest Payless Car Rental for details on no-show fees for guaranteed rentals.[24][25]
Rent-A-Wreck
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored up to two hours after pickup time.[26]
- Cancellation fees: No fee if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; $50 if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[26]
- No-show fee: $75 deposit is forfeited[26]
- Additional policies: Both prepaid and pay-later options require a $75 deposit.[26]
Sixt Rent a Car
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored for up to one hour after the scheduled pickup time.[27]
- Cancellation fees: $100 if you cancel at least 24 hours before pickup; $200 if you cancel within 24 hours of pickup[28]
- No-show fee: Full rental price[28]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations.[28]
Thrifty Car Rental
- Late pickup policy: Prepaid reservations are honored up to 24 hours after the pickup time. Non-prepaid reservations are honored up to two hours after the pickup time.[29][30]
- Cancellation fees: $50 if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; $100 if canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice[30]
- No-show fee: Full amount of rental[29][30]
- Additional policies: Cancellation and no-show fees do not apply to guaranteed reservations.[30]
Turo
- Late pickup policy: Varies according to vehicle owner; for specific late pickup policies, contact your host through the Turo app.[31]
- Cancellation fees: (Turo rates generally include a “trip cost” based on the length of rental and an additional “trip fee” per rental.) No fee if canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice; partial refund if canceled within 24 hours of pickup[32]
- No-show fee: $150[32]
- Additional policies: None
U-Save
- Late pickup policy: Reservations are honored up to two hours after the scheduled pickup time.[33]
- Cancellation fees:
- No-show fee: Cost of renting for one day or 50% of total cost[33]
- Additional policies: None
Zipcar
- Late pickup policy: You can pick up a reservation late. As Zipcar reservations are typically hourly, you must pick up your reservation before your scheduled time ends, and if you’re late, you’ll still have to pay for that time.[34]
- Cancellation fees: For reservations less than eight hours long you have up to three hours before the start time; for reservations that are eight hours or longer: you have to do it at least 24 hours in advance. If you don’t cancel or change your reservation in time, you’re responsible for the full cost of the reservation.[34][35]
- No-show fee: No-shows are responsible for the entire cost of the reservation.[35]
- Additional policies: You can always cancel or change your reservation up to 30 minutes after booking at no charge.[34]
