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Budget vs National Car Rental: Which is Right For You? [2024]

Budget vs National Car Rental: Which is Right For You? [2024]

Budget vs National car rental company – which is the best car rental company among the two and which ranks in the top 10 car rental companies in America?

Budget and National Car Rental are two of the best car rental companies in America that are in high demand. They both are two of the rankers in the top 10 car rental companies list.

The reason behind their ranking in the Top 10 car rental companies is – that they both are famous across the world and they are now multinational car rental companies having covered a lot of land across the globe.

If the city or area where you live does not speak about Budget Car Rental, it must have National Car Rental serving people. While Budget Car Rental has a specific aim, National car rental solely focuses on providing the citizens of different countries with high-quality car rental services.

Since both of them are different and great in many ways, do you wish to know which is the best car rental company for you? If so, then have a look at our Budget car rental vs National car rental difference and comparison article below.

Budget vs National Car Rental: What are they?

Budget – budget rent a car system inc is a worldwide famous American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles California United States. Morris Mirkin along with Jules Lederer founded the company.

It is a subsidiary car rental entity working under Avis Budget Group – its parent organization. And its headquarters are currently in Parsippany Troy Hills, New Jersey, United States.

Budget rent a car is more attentive to dealing with local and regional car rental services. Their main goal is to provide people with all the vehicles they want to travel to regional and local destinations.

The company has covered over 120 locations across the globe. Its revenue recorded in 2019 summed up to 320 USD crores. Along with its parent organisation, the merger completed up to 1 billion car rental deals all over.

Furthermore, it claims that you are not required to go through a long procedure to rent a car from them. As soon as you are done paying for the car, they'll drop-off the car at the accurate time on your doorstep, at the pickup location and you can start your journey without wasting time on other things.

The company also highlights that they have no intention of cheating on you, in the name of hidden fees. And they will charge no extra charges and convention fees without any prior announcement.

National – National Car Rental is one of the top 10 car rental companies in America that is currently based in Clayton, Missouri, United States and was founded in 1947 on 27th August.

Budget vs National Car Rental

Andrew C Taylor acts as the Executive Chairman while Chrissy Taylor is the President and CEO of the company. The company is acting as a subsidiary form under its parent organisations – ANC rental and Enterprise Holdings.

Along with the usual reservation for car rentals, National Car Rental services also allows its customers to take a hold of some exclusive benefits from the company, through their club named Emerald Club.

The exclusive benefits include allowing the members to choose their own car and earn rewards like free rental days in selective locations, counter bypass and much more.

Budget vs National: Difference

We have mentioned all the different points between the two car rental companies. It aims to give you a thorough lookout for every type of important difference and make a good decision while choosing the best car rental company.

Prices

Budget – the basic charges for car rental at Budget will start from $249 on average. You will have to pay $91 extra if you want to add a baby seat in the back seat of the vehicle. GPS will cost you an extra $84.

The company charges its users $100 compulsorily as a deposit for incidentals. The total of all the amounts will be $424 according to our calculation. The external charges, if included, can cost you any sum between 300 USD to 500 USD.

National Car Rental – National car rental has a whole set of different vehicles for you. From premium to sporty, from luxurious to normal cars for travelling, from convertibles to jeeps, National car rental has every sort of vehicle you would like to ride. The rates likely depend on which vehicle and model you choose.

If you are a member of its Emerald Club, you might even get a discount on every rental deal with the company. You can save a good set of bucks like this. And you can make choices on your own and personalized requests can be sent by you. They do not give all these exclusive benefits to the usual rental users of the company.

Driver's Requirements

Budget – you are required to accept a good set of driver's requirements if you wish to rent a car from Budget. But, the main requirement is the driver's age requirements.

The driver must be 25 years old and older. At the time of pick up, you'll have to show a valid and active for at least 12 months driving licence. If you are a foreigner and have a foreign language driving licence, you are required to get an official translation of the same.

If you are between the ages of 21 years old to 24 years old, you can still rent a car from Budget Rent A Car but the company will charge you a surcharge for being young.

Along with a valid driver's licence, you must show up with your credit card or debit card for payment proof. And you must also have a clean driving history without remarks about breaking any major driving rules.

National Car Rental – to start with, drivers must be 25 years old or older. The driver must carry a valid driver's licence at the time of picking up the vehicle. They must also carry their own credit card at the time of Rental – with enough available credit because along with the total rental cost, additional amount/s will be required for other purposes.

The credit card they have carried must pass the deposit requirements. If the user does not wish to pay with any type of card, they can go for other payment methods which are accessible by the National Car Rental company.

Fleet

Budget – Budget allows you to choose vehicles from various types. It has pickup Trucks used for bringing gears along the way. The Sedans from Deluxe to the economy. Vans will allow 7 to 15 people to sit within spacious SUVs of different sizes.

Ford Fiesta, Kia Soul, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Jetta, Toyota Camry, Mazda CX-5, Volkswagen Passat, Chrysler 300, Ford Mustang, Ford Expedition, Nissan Pathfinder, Chrysler Voyager, Ford Edge, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, Ford Mustang Coupe, Toyota Prius Hybrid, Range Rover Velar, Mercedes Benz C300, Jaguar F-PACE are few of the options present on the Fleet list at Budget.

National Car Rental – you get 29 different options in vehicles to choose from if you are living in the USA. The fleet list of National Car Rental includes a whole list of unique and newly launched models of different brands.

Mazda Miata RF, Nissan Versa, Mitsubishi mirage, Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta, VW Beetle convertible, Nissan Maxima, Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Mustang convertible, BMW 228i Gran Coupe, Chrysler 300, Ford Fusion Hybrid, INFINITI Q50, Audi A5 Sport Back, Toyota Prius, BMW 5 series, Nissan LEAF, Dodge Challenger and more are the options listed in the man use of national car rental fleet category.

Locations Covered

Budget – Budget Rent a Car system has acquired over 120 locations across the world. It has selected a good set of countries and chosen the right cities to serve. As its parent organisation: Avis Budget Group focuses more on Lavish and Premium car rental services – Budget Rent a Car does a good job of handling local affairs.

Budget vs National Car Rental

New York, Florida, Michigan, Denver airport, and Lihue airport are a few of the famous locations where you can get Budget Rent a Car.

National Car Rental – National Car Rental company, compared to Budget Rent a Car has a huge coverage in locations across the world. You can find this company currently working in over 1500 locations in different nations.

It did take time for National car rental to spread its roots across the world. But, slowly it has been receiving success in spreading its franchises in different lands and among different people.

National Car Rental serves people in Canada, Mexico, Australia, the United States, Poland, Brazil, Reunion, Romania and many more countries.

Avis vs National: How much they Hold on Your Card?

Budget 

Whether you are paying through your credit card or debit card at the time of rental, Budget will place a flat $300 security deposit on your card. 

On top of all, Budget will also charge an additional $100 for related services like Tour rentals, prepaid rentals and auto repair exchange or insurance rentals.

National

The security deposits of National or holding amounts on your card depends on the geographical locations you decide to rent a car for. Hence, National holds up to 20% of deposits on your card till the end of the rental duration.

Final words: Budget vs National

In the battle of Budget car rental vs National car rental, did you find the best car rental company for you? If you are still confused, you can try both of them one at a time and decide for yourself, which car rental company gave you the best experience.

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Frequently asked Questions

What is the list of car rental companies?

Our list of car rental companies includes Budget rent a car, National car rental, Enterprise rent a car, Hertz, Avis rental car and Alamo Rent a Car – all of these are the best car rental companies of this decade.

Which are the Best and Worst Car Rental Companies?

Our ranking of the best and worst car rental companies starts with Payless car rental being at the very bottom followed by Fox rent a car and Firefly Car Rental. Sixt rent a car and Budget rent a car ranks in the average numbers. Alamo car rental, Enterprise rent a car and Hertz are the top three rankers for best car rental companies.