When you rent a car, you’ll typically be asked if you want to prepay for the entire fuel tank, so that you can return it empty. If you look online, conventional wisdom is that this is a bad deal at best, and a scam at worst. I wanted to talk about that in a bit more detail in this post, because I actually have a (slightly) different take…
In this post:
The argument against prepaid gas on rental cars
Major rental car companies typically give you the option of prepaying your entire fuel tank at the time that you rent your car. There’s a posted price per gallon (or liter), and it’s almost always a good price. Generally speaking, it’s competitive with what you’d find at the pump, and in many cases, it’s even priced lower.
The reason this doesn’t represent a good deal in most situations is obvious — while you might get an attractive price by prepaying the entire tank, it’s unlikely that most people are going to actually return the car with a nearly empty tank. After all, that takes effort, and a bit of math. So from the perspective of the rental car company, the business model is that you’re paying for the entire tank, but you’re not actually using the entire tank, and there’s a margin there.
I totally get the argument against prepaying for the tank, and I get why in online discussion forums, the consensus is that this doesn’t represent a good deal.
Why I sometimes prepay for rental car gas
Call it a hot take, but I wanted to share why I do sometimes end up prepaying for fuel on rental cars, and find it to represent a good value. I’m not going to claim that it saves me money, or that it’s something that everyone should do. However, under some circumstances, I do find it to be worthwhile:
- I’ll only do it if I’m going to be driving a lot on a trip, and I know I’ll at least get close to using one tank of gas (or even more)
- I value the convenience of not having to get gas before returning the car; travel can be stressful enough when you’re returning your rental car, especially if you’re traveling with family, and you don’t want to add a gas station stop to the itinerary
- While it depends on where you are, often gas stations near airports have especially high pricing, so it can take some effort to find a gas station with good pricing
- I’ll always see how the gas prices offered by the rental car company compare to what would otherwise be the average gas price in the area, and this can be done with this handy AAA tool, which lets you search average gas costs by state
- I find it’s easiest to do the math on how much fuel you’ll need if you’re traveling roundtrip, since you can eyeball how much gas you’ll need for the return based on how much you used on the way out
Let me give an example, as I flew into Montana yesterday. At the rental car counter I could prepay my tank for $3.19 per gallon, compared to the average cost of $3.42 in the state, so the price is actually a bit lower.
I know I’ll be driving more than a tank of gas on this trip. Even if I were to return the car with a few gallons of gas, using this would cost me less than $10. Honestly, I value convenience at that, as not having to stop at a gas station near the airport will save me time, and it’s one less thing to worry about. Furthermore, the gas station near the airport charged more than the state average for gas.
Now, I am a bit of a maximizer, so you can bet I’ll do everything I can to do a reverse “Price is Right” style math, and return the car as close to empty as possible, without going under. 😉 So if I play my cards right, I might save a buck, but really I figure I’ll just breakeven, and I value the time savings there. It’s not for everyone, but as someone who likes a math game, I do get a bit of a kick out of this.
Bottom line
When rental car companies let you prepay for a tank of gas, I don’t consider it to always be a bad idea. Yes, the hope is that you pay for the entire tank and bring it back with quite a bit of gas. But if you’re driving a long distance, decent at math, and value the convenience of not having to stop at the gas station prior to returning to the airport, I actually don’t think it’s the worst option in the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t use this with every rental, but I’m definitely less opposed to this than most others.
What’s your take on prepaying for fuel on rental cars? Do you ever consider it to be worthwhile?
I've never seen a pre-paid rate that's competitive. Like...ever. Therefore, I've never considered pre-paying.
I will take the pre-paid when I know I'll be burn a tank or close to it. Recently I had a large SUV with a huge tank and brought it into the airport with 5 miles to empty. Their price was less than the price at the gas station I saw a few miles before the airport. Every now and then you win one. :)
Given that the rental company provides a service for you (i.e. refuelling the car), wouldn't they also have to charge VAT on top of the posted price per litre? Which frequently is around 20% here in Europe?
When presented with the opportunity, I always prefer to pay a premium for my comfort and convenience and to not be bothered by petty matters such as pumping my own fuel at a 'gas station'.
Until about 6-7 years ago, Hertz Canada would put the prepaid fuel on, then take it off if you returned full. The difference in price compared to the nearby gas stations was always right about 25%, so I'd keep the prepaid if I returned with less than 25% or fill up if I wasn't.
Math Math Math...
On a full-to-empty rental, realistically assuming I will be returning a car at 25% of the tank capacity on average, I will be consistently leaving 20$ as a tip to the rental company. I rent about 25 times a year, we would be talking 500$ of extra charges at the very least.
On a full-to-full rental, if I mess up once or twice a year and the rental company will charge...
Math Math Math...
On a full-to-empty rental, realistically assuming I will be returning a car at 25% of the tank capacity on average, I will be consistently leaving 20$ as a tip to the rental company. I rent about 25 times a year, we would be talking 500$ of extra charges at the very least.
On a full-to-full rental, if I mess up once or twice a year and the rental company will charge me their stupid 9$ a gallon or a setup fee, I would be paying 75% x 15 x 9 x 2 = 200$.
Over 30 years on the road, I may have messed up 10 times due to being on a rush, no gas stations near the airport or simply forgetting to fuel up.
I am ahead by thousands, but more importantly, I don't allow myself to be ripped off if I can control it.
The rental firms could charge a more reasonable price and likely make more $$$ overall, but they know Americans "value convenience" over math.
I recently got a "return car empty" deal thrown in because they forgot to fuel the car and the tank was only half full. I tried to play, as Ben calls it, the math game. This forced me in the end to drive very fuel efficient which is definitely not as fun as just driving normally plus I ended up adding a few liters into the tank as I spontaneously added another stop to my trip. All in all I might have saved a few euros but would also say this is a hassle.
I never use it, for me it's quite the scam. I find trying to run out of fuel so I am not double-paying is nuts. So I use Gasbuddy, find the nearest gas station with the best price and I'm done. Beats getting ripped off by the rental companies. I also, ALWAYS, take a photo of the speedometer showing the tank full, the mileage and the keys on the dashboard. Budget once tried it on...
I never use it, for me it's quite the scam. I find trying to run out of fuel so I am not double-paying is nuts. So I use Gasbuddy, find the nearest gas station with the best price and I'm done. Beats getting ripped off by the rental companies. I also, ALWAYS, take a photo of the speedometer showing the tank full, the mileage and the keys on the dashboard. Budget once tried it on for lost key and whacked me $350USD ( about 550AUD ). Luckily, I showed them a photo with the date stamp and time with keys sitting on dashboard and 6 months later the bastards admitted their error and gave me the money back that they stole.
This rather incurious post omits that you pay massive airport taxes on this prepaid tank. Look at your receipt when you bring it back.
I'm with you, Ben. I view it as a convenience fee. When I'm returning I'm often in a rush and I'll gladly trade a little bit of money for what seems like a lot of convenience.
I don't prepay if I don't think I'll get close to a tank of gas. If I prepay and fill up along the way, it's usually easy to figure out how many gallons I need to get to the...
I'm with you, Ben. I view it as a convenience fee. When I'm returning I'm often in a rush and I'll gladly trade a little bit of money for what seems like a lot of convenience.
I don't prepay if I don't think I'll get close to a tank of gas. If I prepay and fill up along the way, it's usually easy to figure out how many gallons I need to get to the airport. I add a gallon or two, again for my peace of mind.
If I phrase this decision as "I will pay $10-15 more on average per car rental to avoid the hassle and time of stopping an extra time close to the airport on return" I will opt in every time. If I come out ahead some of the time by returning it near empty and saving some money per gallon, that's just an extra win.
Similarly, I always rent from the same company that let's me (with status) walk to the car, get in and drive away, no forms or lines. I may sometimes pay extra not shopping around. I still choose it. Renting cars is an enormous hassle and headache all around. I will gladly trade relatively small amounts of money for lessening the hassle and headache.
I've returned cars regularly at 2/3 full and never been charged excess. Thank you everyone for prepaying so I can keep getting away w/ that. LOL
I just looked up Costco in Billings, MT. Their gas is 3.249/gallon. That is mere pennies more than the rental car prepaid gas so not worth it.
Stopped at a gas station near Orlando airport once... over $7/gallon when the going price was a couple dollars. There were four stations together at the same price point. I had time and backtracked to a decent station. But you know that's all about fleecing international tourists...
I always check the T-mobile app for Thrifty free pre-paid gas rentals.
I almost never prepay for fuel, but earlier this year found the one limited situation where it does make sense - one way rentals originating outside of California, but ending in California.
Best incentive ever to bring that tank back bone dry :)
Ben uses Hertz???
If you are returning to OAK better to prepay than fill up nearby and get robbed.
Oh JC. We just did that. Is it sketchy? Yeah. But get robbed.
I guess you had no idea of the area: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/renting-car-burglary-gas-stations-oakland-airport-18611463.php
Funny enough, I always go for the prepaid fuel option at Ben‘s home airport, as I find the drive to the RCC stressful enough as it is and the petrol stations along the way always seem to be on the other side of the road. Couldn’t care less if it’s a few dollars more expensive or if I am giving away the odd gallon. It’s pure convenience.
People pay for valet parking for convenience...
Funny enough, I always go for the prepaid fuel option at Ben‘s home airport, as I find the drive to the RCC stressful enough as it is and the petrol stations along the way always seem to be on the other side of the road. Couldn’t care less if it’s a few dollars more expensive or if I am giving away the odd gallon. It’s pure convenience.
People pay for valet parking for convenience without hesitation so why not pay a little to cut out that extra stop at the filling station.
I have managed to beat the system ... Flying into Phoenix and out of San Diego with a one-way rental in between. Not only was I using more than a full tamk, and returning the car almost empty, but gas is a lot cheaper in Arizona than California, so I was coming out way ahead compared to returning full. The rental car company was making a significant loss on the fuel
Back in the day, they added some taxes on the prepaid fuel which made it on par with (or more expensive than) the nearby gas station price. Wonder if rental companies stop charging tax on the prepaid fuel. Can you confirm your receipt?
I think this option helps if I need to spend certain amount to trigger Amex offer. This and toll package is something I always think about but rarely do.
You may want to try the gasbuddy app for more accurate pricing near the airport than the state average price. Costco usually is the best price, but sometimes it's worth another 12 cents/gallon to avoid the hassle.
It's usually necessary to stop before returning the car anyways to throw out the random trash and a quick squeegee of the car
Also, fuel points are often 8x etc on some cards
Why would you squeegee the car for them?
Generally if I know I'm going to use a near full tank and won't have to refill multiple times due to the amount of driving I take the option. One last issue to worry about when returning a car, particularly if you know you will be hitting major traffic going to the airport. It's a nice option to have.
The average car can go 400 miles on a tank. If I’m going to be driving that much or more, I prepay for gas.
Gas stations are often dangerous places full of losers. That’s another consideration in favor of prepayment.
Most of the airports in the US has a Costco gas station close enough to the airport and with usually almost unbeatable prices. I find out about those even before taking any rental car.
“Most” airports most certainly don’t have Costco gas stations nearby. When they do and it’s a good deal, the line for gas is out the (human backside body part that rhymes with gas).
You also have to be a Costco member to use those gas pumps. If you think that’s obvious, it’s not. Costco offers many services to non members. Costco tire center air pumps are free to everybody. They are very modern and effective air pumps.
"You also have to be a Costco member to use those gas pumps. If you think that’s obvious, it’s not. Costco offers many services to non members. Costco tire center air pumps are free to everybody. They are very modern and effective air pumps."
Spoken like a true poor person.
@Paul, I see costco gas stations near most of the major airports in the US and all 4 mainly traveled hawaiian islands (within 5 miles) besides JFK, LGA, BOS, and PHL where not as convenient
Agree about the lines but with most of my flights either super early in morning or late at night havent had that issue at those times.
But Costco gas stations don't operate 24 hours.
I like to use them when I travel too as they consistently have better price, but before return a rental car I usually top-off at another brand near the airports.
I rent cars pretty frequently and always choose to fill it myself/return it full, especially overseas. I take photos of absolutely everything when I pick the car up and drop it off, but I just don't trust them to charge the gas honestly and don't feel like having to fight them for not very much $$ after the trip. I've also found the rate they give is not good, so I was surprised to see...
I rent cars pretty frequently and always choose to fill it myself/return it full, especially overseas. I take photos of absolutely everything when I pick the car up and drop it off, but I just don't trust them to charge the gas honestly and don't feel like having to fight them for not very much $$ after the trip. I've also found the rate they give is not good, so I was surprised to see your experiences on that. Agreed that gas stations near airports can be higher rates, but Google maps has made it very easy to find stations within 20-30 minutes where it will still read full when I return it.
I've returned rentals with pre-paid fuel with the low fuel light on a number of times. Many vehicles show the remaining miles based on the amount of fuel in the tank which helps. I'm not poor by any means, but I like to play the game!