18 Car Rentals that Accept Under 25s (+Fee & Conditions)
Drivers younger than 25 now have many car rental options for their short-term travel needs, with increasingly more services lowering or waiving the underage fee.
The 18 Car Rentals that Allow Under-25 Drivers
The car rental industry of days gone by did not accept rentals by drivers below 25 due to their statistically higher risks of accidents.
However, drivers under that age can find a car rental almost anywhere today for a fee.
Car rentals that accept renters under 25 years old include:
- Ace
- Advantage
- Alamo
- Avis
- Budget
- Dollar
- Enterprise
- Fox
- Getaround
- Hertz
- Kyte
- National
- Payless
- Silvercar
- Sixt
- Thrifty
- Turo
- Zipcar
Except for some that waive the young-drive fee, these car rental companies charge varying daily underage fees.
Car Rentals That Allow Under-25s to Drive for Free
Drivers under 25 years old can rent a car without the underage fee by renting from:
- Rental companies that exempt AAA (American Automobile Association) members, like Hertz, or
- Rental companies that exempt USAA (United Services Automobile Association) members, like Avis, Budget, Enterprise, and Hertz, or
- Silvercar (all-Audi fleet), subject to conditions, or
- Kyte, subject to conditions.
AAA membership plans start from $59.99 annually, allowing drivers under 25 to rent for free from Hertz.
Silvercar doesn’t impose an underage fee for drivers at least 22 years old, except for 18-year-olds in New York with a $75 per day surcharge.
Kyte waives the underage surcharge for the following renters:
- 21 to 25-year-olds in Boston.
- Under-25s in California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Washington D.C. with a ‘.edu’ email address, under the Kyte for University program.
If you aren’t 20 or younger, the Getaround car-sharing platform is an excellent alternative with low surcharges with its tiered discounts.
(See the table below for the fees, discounts, and conditions each car rental charges.)
Comparison Table (with Conditions & Fees)
The fees and requirements below are for US-based under-25 car rentals.
Most States’ minimum age to rent a car is 21, except for Michigan and New York, where the youngest renter can be 18.
Take the information below as a guide, as it may vary by the rental location.
Table Guide:
- Under-25 Fee – per driver per day surcharge; varies by State.
- AAA – American Automobile Association.
- USAA – United Services Automobile Association.
- NA – not available.
Subject to service availability in an area, Kyte and Silvercar are probably the best car rentals for those under 25 years old to rent without an underage fee (rpd). Alternatives to skip the surcharge include getting an annual membership with AAA or USAA.
Depending on your age, Turo and Zipcar are excellent options with their tiered young-renter fees.
Besides Sixt, which offers attractive student discounts, check if your school or employer is affiliated with any car rental services to avoid the surcharge.
Read the posts below for each car rental company’s common issues and complaints:
References:
https://www.avis.com/en/help/usa-faqs/age-requirements
https://www.budget.com/en/help/usa-faqs/age-to-rent
https://www.enterprise.com/en/help/faqs/car-rental-under-25.html
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/misc/index.jsp?targetPage=Hertz_Renting_to_Drivers_Under_25.jsp
https://www.nationalcar.com/en/support/car-rental-faqs/age-requirements.html