7 Car Rentals That Lets You Pick Your Car (+Their Conditions)

ByWinston Davis

Rental companies typically assign the available car to their customers based on the vehicle class booked.

However, these car rentals go a step further, allowing you to pick the make and model of your choice from the lot, usually through a loyalty program.

car rental choose any car

The 7 Car Rentals That Let You Pick Any Car

#1 Alamo

Alamo is part of Enterprise Holdings, the parent company that runs the reputable Enterprise car rental.

Alamo lets you choose any make and model that match the vehicle class you reserved, provided you do these first:

  • Activate Accelerated Check-In online.
  • Choose the ‘Skip the Counter’ option.
  • Enter and confirm your protection options, credit card (Alamo won’t charge until you return the vehicle), driver’s license, and contact information.
  • Print and bring along your rental agreement.

You must also meet these requirements to be eligible to Skip the Counter:

  • Reservation must be at a location that offers Skip the Counter.
  • Rental duration mustn’t exceed 30 days.
  • Make the booking at least 24 hours before the scheduled pickup.
  • Reservation cannot include add-ons that require additional work to the vehicle (like installing a mobility device).

When you arrive at the rental location:

  • Select a vehicle that matches the class you booked.
  • Drive to the exit gate (keys are in the car).
  • Show the gate agent your Skip the Counter ticket, driver’s license, and credit card.

Skip-the-counter and select your own car are available at the Alamo airport locations in these States:

  • Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington.

See the link at the bottom of this page for the latest Alamo locations that offer this service.

#2 Avis

The freedom to choose your own car is available at Avis through one of these services:

  • Avis Preferred Select & Go.
  • Avis QuickPass (available to Avis Preferred members and non-members, but the latter don’t get to choose their car).

With Avis Preferred Select & Go:

  • You must first enroll as an Avis Preferred (see the Avis link at the bottom of this post).
  • You can exchange your pre-assigned car at no extra cost and choose your own vehicle.
  • Drive your selected car to the exit booth, and the Avis agent will sort out the rest.
  • Available at approximately 50 airports in the US and Canada.

Most Avis airport locations have the Avis Preferred Select & Go service, but it’s best to call before finalizing your travel plans.

Essential information on Avis QuickPass:

  • Available at major airport locations.
  • You can skip the counter as an Avis Preferred member.
  • You can choose, exchange, or upgrade your car through the Avis app on your mobile device. The app will show the make, model, color, year, mpg, and the number of seats.
  • Avis Preferred members can activate their Express Exit Pass in the app to scan out of the lot using a personalized QR code.

#3 Dollar

Dollar car rental allows its Dollar Express members and non-members to pick their own vehicle; the former can skip the counter to save time.

Non-members must pick up their rental agreements at the counter before choosing the vehicle within the reserved car class and driving it to the exit gate to finalize the rental.

Dollar Express members can:

  • Bypass the counter.
  • The renter’s name & space number will display on the monitors.
  • Take the pre-assigned car or choose another vehicle.

#4 Fox

The Fox Choice Program allows Fox’s renters to pick a car from the available fleet at participating locations.

You don’t need to be a Fox Rewards member to enjoy this flexibility of choosing your car.

However, unlike other car rentals, Fox doesn’t allow you to skip the counter (rpd).

You don’t need to rush your car selection process as the rental clock only starts when you get the assigned vehicle.

At the Exit, you will need to show the signed contract and the two-part Vehicle Condition Report (Fox will place this report on the dashboard).

As Fox is a relatively small car rental company, only these airport locations have the Fox Choice Program:

  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles
  • San Diego
  • Ontario

#5 Hertz

Hertz lets you pick any car on the lot through these options:

  • Hertz Ultimate Choice – available to all customers.
  • Hertz Gold Choice.

Below is how the Hertz Ultimate Choice works:

  • Hertz won’t assign you a car.
  • Go to the car zone indicated on your booking, and select your preferred make, model, and color.
  • Drive the car to the Exit.
  • Loyalty members get access to cars with enhanced features.
  • Gold members can rent exclusive vehicles based on their membership status.
  • Available at over 50 US locations (see the Hertz link at the bottom of this page).

Meanwhile, the Hertz Gold Choice has these features:

  • You don’t have to pay to enjoy the program.
  • You can switch to any car in the Gold Choice area at no extra cost; vehicles in the Upgrade area attract a fee.
  • President’s Circle members automatically get a one-car-class upgrade.
  • Five Star members will get an upgrade whenever available.

#6 National

You can pick the vehicle of your choice with National car rental through the 3-tier Emerald Club loyalty membership program:

  • Emerald Club (Tier 1).
  • Emerald Club Executive (Tier 2).
  • Emerald Club Executive Elite (Tier 3).

The first-tier Emerald Club has these benefits:

  • Bypass the counter.
  • Choose any midsize car in the Emerald Aisle area, and only pay the midsize rate (US & CAN).
  • No second-driver fees – many car rentals allow additional drivers for a price, except spouses.
  • Convenient drop-off with email receipts.

The Emerald Club Executive offer the following perks:

  • Bypass the counter.
  • Choose any full-size car (& above) in the Executive area, only pay the midsize rate (US & CAN).
  • Guaranteed upgrades when booking a full-size or luxury car.
  • Exclusive pricing when upgrading to Premier Selection.
  • Other benefits as first-tier Emerald Club.

Emerald Club Executive Elite members will enjoy:

  • Similar benefits to Emerald Club Executive, plus
  • Delivery to private airports within 50 miles of the nearest rental location.

See the National Car link at the end of this post for the airport locations with this service.

#7 Thrifty

Thrifty customers must collect the rental agreement at the counter before picking up any car within the reserved vehicle class.

If you’re a Blue Chip member, you can bypass the counter and pick a car of your choice – you just need to take the hang tag from the assigned car’s rearview mirror and select a vehicle from the same class.

References:

https://www.alamo.com/en/reserve/skip-the-counter-lookup.html

https://www.avis.com/en/loyalty-profile/avis-preferred/enrollment

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targetPage=hertz_ultimate_choice.jsp

https://www.nationalcar.com/en/emerald-club/services/emerald-aisle.html