The Ultimate Guide to Payless Car Rental [Payless Perks Club Loyalty Program]

The Payless Perks Club loyalty program is free to join and allows you to earn discounts on future rental car bookings made through Payless Car Rental.

Here is a complete look at how the program works, how you can join, and all the other details of the Payless Perks Club program.

Payless Perks Club Program

Unlike other rental car loyalty programs from Avis, Hertz, and National, Payless doesn’t offer a traditional loyalty program. There are no elite tiers to work toward or loyalty points to be earned.

Instead, the Payless Perks Club offers instant discounts on rental rates, special promotions exclusive to Perks Club members, and an expedited booking process.

If your priority is securing a rental car for the best possible price, without all the extra bells and whistles, you might prefer the straightforward nature of the Payless Perks Club program.

Hot Tip:

If you frequently rent cars throughout the year, you might benefit from being loyal to a particular rental car company, like Hertz or National, that offers elite status and points toward free rental days.

Double Dip on Your Savings

When you book with Payless Car Rental, use a credit card that earns bonus rewards on car rentals, and ideally offers rental car insurance. That way, you can earn rewards on top of the discounts you’ll receive for being a member of the Payless Perks Club.

Some of our top credit cards for rental cars include:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card: Earns 2x points on rental cars booked with Payless and 5x on rental cars booked with Chase Travel
• Chase Sapphire Reserve^®: Earns 3x points on rental cars booked with Payless and 10x on rental cars booked with Chase Travel
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earns 2x miles on rental cars booked with Payless and 10x on rental cars booked with Capital One Travel

How To Join the Payless Perks Club Program

Joining the Payless Perks Club program is easy. Visit the Payless Perks Club sign-up page and click the sign-up button.

From there, enter your information, including your name, mailing address, and email address, and select a username and password to log in to your account. You’ll also be able to select whether or not you want to opt into marketing emails from Payless with discounts and promotions.

Once you’ve done that, click submit, and you’ll officially be a member of the Payless Perks Club program.

How To Rent a Car Through Payless

Once you’re ready to rent a card with Payless, sign in to your Payless Perks Club account using your username and password.

Then, fill out your reservation details as you would on any other rental car platform, including your pick-up location, date, pick-up time, and renter age. Click the box next to your name at the bottom to ensure you get your discounted rate for being a Payless Perks Club member.

Next, review the search results, sorting the options by the daily rate of your rental from lowest to highest.

Once you have selected the car type you’d like to reserve, you can choose Pay Now and Save or Pay at Counter. If you select the pay now option, you’ll get a discount on the overall rate, but the reservation will be nonrefundable. Alternatively, if you opt to pay at the counter, you’ll pay a bit more for your reservation, but it will be refundable if you cancel before check-in.

After you’ve selected your car type and how you’d like to pay, you can select any extras you need for your rental, such as adding a driver, GPS navigation, child safety seats, and various insurance protections.

Once you’re done there, on the final page, you’ll confirm all the details you’ve selected, verify your contact details, and enter your payment information if you selected to pay now. Then, once you agree to the terms and conditions and click book, you’ll be all set.

Do You Need To Add Extra Insurance?

As you can see from the extras page, you have a handful of options for additional insurance protection, including loss damage waiver, personal accident insurance, and supplemental liability insurance. But do you need any of these coverages?

Usually, no, you don’t need to pay extra for these insurance coverages if you pay for your rental car using a credit card that offers rental car insurance.

Ideally, you’ll book with a card that offers primary rental car insurance. This insurance will kick in before your personal auto insurance, so you will not need to notify your auto insurance company and risk increasing your premiums if you have an accident. 

Some of our favorite credit cards that include primary rental car insurance include:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve card
• Chase Sapphire Preferred card
• Capital One Venture X card
• Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card
• The New United℠ Business Card

Hot Tip:

If you have secondary rental car insurance, your policy will only cover whatever your personal auto insurance doesn’t. However, if you don’t have a personal auto insurance policy, any credit card with secondary rental car insurance will effectively function as primary rental car insurance.

Payless Locations

Payless has 120 rental car locations across 40 countries and territories. To find a location, click on Locations in the top menu.

To search for a location, once you are in the locations tab, you can filter based on the state or country you are traveling to.

Partner Discounts

For those who have accounts with certain travel partners, you can score additional discounts on your Payless car rentals. Here are the eligible travel partners that get a 5% discount on rental cars with Payless in the U.S. and Canada:

Payless Business Program

Small business owners can receive additional savings through the Payless Small Business Program. Enter your DUNS Number, and you’ll get 5% off your Payless rental car rates.

Meetings and Group Car Rentals

For those who need to plan conventions or group events, Payless can offer you special discounted rates on your rental cars for these events.

Visit the Payless website, enter your contact details, business information, and rental information, and someone from Payless will contact you to help set up your rental car needs.

Payless Customer Service

If you need help with the website or renting a car, all the Payless customer service information is under the Customer Service tab in the main menu.

From there, you can select which issue you need help with and be connected with the corresponding department, including:

• Questions about a new, existing, or past rental
• Help while on rent
• Lost and found
• Reporting an accident
• Frequently asked questions

Unfortunately, Payless’s website doesn’t list direct customer service numbers where you can speak to a live agent.

Competitor Price Comparisons

We tested Payless pricing against rental car competitors Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National during a random weekend rental across multiple car types in Miami. These are the daily rate quotes from each company, excluding any membership discounts:

For the most part, Payless was true to its name here because it allows you to pay less for your rental than many competitors, except for Hertz.

That said, remember that these prices do not include any membership, credit card, or corporate discounts, so be certain to account for those when doing your price comparisons.

Final Thoughts

While not as popular as other rental car programs, Payless is worth considering when making future rentals, thanks to its decent coverage throughout the U.S. and select international markets and competitive pricing.

Ultimately, the Payless Perks Club program is a great option for those who aren’t concerned with the loyalty perks and benefits that come with repeatedly renting with the same company and instead prefer to price compare to get the lowest price possible.