Cheap Car Rentals at Charleston Airport

Charleston, SC, United States - Charleston (CHS)

12 Dec — 19 Dec

Same drop-off

Charleston, SC, United States - Charleston (CHS)

Mon 12/12

Noon

Mon 19/12

Noon

Driver's age:

26-65Other

What is the cheapest time to rent a car at Charleston Airport?

January

1,801,363 ₫

February

2,069,133 ₫

March

2,604,673 ₫

April

2,848,101 ₫

May

2,823,758 ₫

June

3,067,185 ₫

July

2,799,415 ₫

August

2,653,359 ₫

September

2,385,589 ₫

October

2,555,988 ₫

November

2,434,274 ₫

December

2,312,560 ₫

Currently, the cheapest month to rent a car at Charleston Airport is January. The most expensive time to rent a car is June. The cheapest prices for each month are shown above, but prices will vary based on availability, how far out you book your rental car, and of course, car type.

Top rental agencies in Charleston Airport

All major car rental suppliers in Charleston Airport

Hertz

8.4

Excellent

139 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Mediocre|Sep 2022

I bboked the reservation that morning, because the rate was $60 dollars cheaper than Alamo for the same car. When i got to the counter, there was no one there for 10 mins and when she arrived she asked if i booked the reservation today. When i said yes, she said we have no cars and that was it. Zero help in getting me something. I will not book through Kayak again!!!!

4.0

Okay|Jul 2022

I ordered a car prior to my trip and received a conformation. When I arrived to pick it up, I was told that that car was not available, and would be upgraded to a minivan for the same price. I was very adamant with the rep that it was for the same price. She confirmed it was. However, when I paid for it the billing as $100.00 more. I did question it, and was told to take it up with billing. .. I feel this was the old switch and bait game.. When I returned the car, there was only one person checking cars in and out and had no time to help with this. Totally understand. She gave me the info as to where I can sent her this same info and she will look it over.

2.0

Mediocre|Jul 2022

Took an hour to pick up rental car. Only 2 people in front of me in line and they did not have complex situations which would merit lengthy customer service time. Also was downgraded from a premium car without any further discount.

8.0

Excellent|Jun 2022

Our customer service woman was great, very friendly & personable!! The ONLY issue we have is that she said she was upgrading us & we didn’t feel as though the car she put us in was an upgrade. Other than that everything was perfect!! Would definitely rent from Hertz again!

10.0

Excellent|Apr 2022

Given us the plug in cord so we could have recharged. Staff was excellent at pick up and when we added a driver.

10.0

Excellent|Mar 2022

Great experience

1 out of 47

Thrifty

5.7

Okay

191 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

4.0

Okay|Apr 2022

I reserved a full-sized car, but on pickup all they had left was a Van... If there wasn' going to be a full-sized car available on pick-up I should have been informed. I had no choice but to take the van. Upset and disappointed. This was my first rental from Thrifty. For a Van, it was very nice and comfortable...for a Van. Upon drop-off, the guy was very brisk, dismissive, and unfriendly. I'm not one who needs their butt kised, and he seemed to be busy, but that's no excuse. It made my experience even less enjoyable. The price was exorbitant in my opinion. They say it's because of Covid, and I guess that's business to take atvantage of a situation, but I will be much less lilely to rent a vehicle in the future with prices that high.

2.0

Mediocre|Nov 2022

I had a car reserved and when I got there they had no car they turned me away I would never rent from them again ever again

10.0

Excellent|May 2022

There was no thrifty worker the entire time. We doubt directly with the hertz employee and she was awesome

10.0

Excellent|Nov 2021

Staff was friendly and provided fast, easy service. The rental car was very clean. Overall great experience

10.0

Excellent|Nov 2021

Best customer service she was wonderful!

6.0

Good|Oct 2021

We had to wait 45 minutes after checking at the counter, and only a van or pick up was available. The van was fine and the drop off went fine.

1 out of 64

Alamo

9.2

Excellent

83 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Excellent|Sep 2022

The hardest part of the car rental experience in Charleston air port is the long walk from the terminal to where the cars are located. Other than that, the whole car rental is a breeze !!

6.0

Good|Jun 2022

Kristin was great getting us into a nice rental on a very busy day where our particular style was not yet available. The only problem was that after leaving the lot and arriving at our hotel a few miles away, I discovered the gas tank was only 2/5's full. Upon return, they did say they would adjust my account to make up for that. Have not seen it yet but the gentleman gave me the impression that this would be taken care of professionally.

10.0

Excellent|Apr 2022

Both pick up and drop off (at different location) worked seamlessly. Car was in great shape. Had some air freshener smell at the beginning that was too floral/sweet for me but it either dissipated or I got used to it. I would definitely recommend Alamo based on this experience.

10.0

Excellent|Feb 2022

Car was clean!!! Pick up and drop off we’re easy and staff was super friendly!

10.0

Excellent|Nov 2021

Car was new and clean. Process was efficient from rental to return.

10.0

Excellent|Nov 2021

Right now all rentals are over priced. BUT, my experience otherwise with this company was excellent. They had an upgrade available and the pick up and drop off was easy and smooth. Very friendly employees. The car was nice and everything worked well on it. I would highly recommend this crew at this airport. Excellent experience!!

1 out of 28

Enterprise

8.0

Excellent

32 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

8.0

Excellent|Oct 2022

Cleaner windows in side, hand marks on front windshield. Wiper blades ineffective, streaking.

4.8

Okay|Apr 2017

Paying for a full tank of gas upfront that I didn't use!

8.8

Excellent|Apr 2017

It was very quick and easy to pick and drop off car. The staff was very nice.

I made a reservation online for $53 total which I thought I selected to include the insurance... but it was $81 when I arrived and received the car for my 2 hour rental.

7.6

Good|Mar 2017

I'm 84 and did not like the long walk to pick up with heavy luggage and even longer walk on return.

4.0

Okay|Mar 2017

Overall the rental was a good experience but the price was a big difference from what I was quoted. Basically double.

10.0

Excellent|Mar 2017

Needed a one way rental at the last minute. Very pleased with our decision

1 out of 11

Budget

6.6

Good

91 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Excellent|Nov 2017

Picking up the car at the airport was so easy. The customer service person was so helpful and polite. The car was so comfortable and drove well.

6.0

Good|Oct 2022

The car was filthy, inside and out.

2.0

Mediocre|Sep 2022

Some of the staff showed no customer service and taking us all for granted

2.0

Mediocre|Aug 2022

My appointment was from 1pm to 1pm. 24 hours later. I arrived 20 min early to the counter to start paperwork. When they started the transaction they told me that the bill was 150 dollars more than quoted. I asked why to the female worker and she told me they were airport taxes. That was not acceptable. Finally after 5 min. Manager came out and told me that it was because it was an extra day rental. It was because I came in 20 min before one that caused the issue. They should have checked the times to be sure of their system. They do reservations all day and they couldn't catch this error without a manager being involved. Their house excuse that it was airport taxes for was complete BS! Do better!

2.0

Mediocre|Aug 2022

The pickup rental process was extremely confusing and the young lady working it had no idea / training on how to direct all the customers. It took over 1.5 hours to rent a vehicle that we already pre-rented online weeks earlier. The staff were not helpful and absolutely no apologizing about the mess. At one point with two young kids the front lady said valet pickup means you walk around till you find the right car however the license plate number given matches the key set so we had to open doors and review. A gentleman escorted us out rather rudely and the front lady then had to walk around to locate our cars. This was not an isolated incident as 3 families in front of us and the 20+ behind us were all being told the same thing!

2.0

Mediocre|Jul 2022

Paid for full size car with full tank of gas. Got SUV with empty gas tank and was told it was full and to return it full or pay.

2.0

Mediocre|Jul 2022

We reserved a convertible, but we’re told that none were available when we went to pick it up (due to circumstances genuinely beyond their control). They told us to check back the next morning. I called, and was told that we could exchange our car for a convertible at a location near us, but we would have to wait until noon. At noon, we went to that location, only to be told that they had no reservation for us, and certainly didn’t have a convertible in any case. So, we ended up leaving with the original car several hours later than planned. We then decided to return the car two days early, given assurances when we picked it up that we would not be charged for any days we did not use. When we dropped the car off, there was no-one available to issue a drop-off receipt. When I finally did find an employee, I was told to just leave the keys in the car, and they would just email me a receipt when they checked it in. They ended up checking it in the next day (over 12 hours after I dropped it off) but charged us for the full rental. Very dissatisfied. Will not be renting from Budget again.

1 out of 31

Dollar

5.6

Okay

63 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

6.0

Good|May 2021

No cars at the airport. No shuttle to the offsite lot, had to take a taxi at my own cost and the same at drop off. Vehicle was fine, very poor customer service

1.9

Horrible|Aug 2021

We never got the car. Dollar had no cars available when we arrived. The attendant kept saying they were washing the cars and one gentleman in line had been waiting for over 2 hours for his car. I will not recommend Dollar to anyone.

7.9

Good|Jul 2021

The car could have been cleaner

2.0

Mediocre|Jul 2021

We reserved a car rental 3 months out from our trip. When we arrived, the staff at Dollar said there were no cars available and could not guarantee us a vehicle until another was returned. They couldn't say how many vehicles were scheduled to be returned and when. They placed us on a waiting list and said they would call. Then, I was informed that because we were "late" for our reservation (plane was delayed) we were bumped to the bottom of the waiting list. They said they couldn't tell us until 5pm if they had any vehicles turned in. That was 4 hours to wait with our luggage! Then we called back at 5pm they said that they had nothing available and no other Dollar rentals had cars. They said it was in the fine print that this could happen. We ended up booking a car rental through Hertz for 2x the quoted rate but at least they were willing to help us salvage our vacation. Not booking through Dollar ever again.

2.0

Mediocre|Jun 2021

Nothing to like when you get to the airport and the Dollar rental company tells you you have to pick up your can on an off- site location which closes at 1pm and my reservation was for 1pm and I was standing on line since 12pm and there was nothing they could do, no other cars available only in 24 hours

Horrible experience - how can you accept a 1pm reservation if the place close at 1pm ? Kayak should know it better

8.0

Excellent|Jun 2021

Great staff. Very helpful

We arrived on Saturday to a closed office. Would have been helpful to be altered to the business hours

2.0

Mediocre|Jun 2021

Better communication about the $90 "Airport fee" they don't tell you about until you're there at the counter, the first car we got in hadn't been cleaned yet, they called us about getting something refunded & need our card info again but haven't been answering and their voicemail is full...so we definitely will never rent through dollar again.

1 out of 21

National

10.0

Excellent

1 review•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Avis

6.1

Good

26 reviews•1 location

Check prices

Overview

Recent reviews

4.0

Okay|Nov 2022

Long lines at Avis in Charleston for cars that were not completely serviced. Caution lights not attended to for low air in tires. Will use them again in the next go especially for the price paid.

4.0

Okay|Jun 2022

Huge line at pickup. Car was not very clean and controls were tough to navigate.

6.0

Good|Apr 2022

Waited almost 3 hour to pick up the rental from Charleston airport.

2.0

Mediocre|Apr 2022

Spend 3 hours waiting in line to pickup a vehicle. Single person was handling reservations process at the counter with large number of customers waiting in line. The second attendant didn’t arrive until 9pm. Also, didn’t receive the type of car I reserved. I either had to wait for the my reservation to get prepared (cleaned) or take what was available. Didn’t want to wait any longer do went for “what is ready” option. Daly rental rate was better than the competition, but after spending 3 hours waiting in line, one starts questioning the worthiness of the saving.

2.0

Mediocre|Mar 2022

My pick up - I had a reservation - required my standing in a line in the Charleston airport for over 2 1/2 hours . The process was tiring - lots of unhappy customers . When we finally were assigned a car - we went to the lot to pick up , whereby things were even more confusing . Employees were not accommodating and did not seem to know what was going on . It was an extremely frustrating experience , which I have never encountered with a rental car company - ever - I’m sad to say . The only downside of our entire trip .

4.0

Okay|Mar 2022

The staff were friendly and the car was nice. However, I had to wait over two hours in line to get my rental car.

1 out of 9

Car Rental FAQs

Which car rental providers are at Charleston Airport?

There are 8 car rental providers located at Charleston Airport. The following companies can be found near the Charleston Airport car rental counter:
National (10.0)
Alamo (9.2)
Hertz (8.4)
Enterprise (8.0)
Budget (6.6)
Avis (6.1)
Thrifty (5.7)
Dollar (5.6)

Which car rental company is considered to be the best at Charleston Airport?

Taking our users’ ratings and reviews into consideration, National (10.0 rating), Alamo (9.2 rating) and Enterprise (7.8 rating) seem to be the best rental car companies at Charleston Airport.

How far in advance should I rent a car at Charleston Airport for the best price?

Booking early almost always ensures you have more options of car models to choose from, as well as prices reduced by up to 2% to make it a great deal at Charleston Airport. Try to book at least 90 days prior to when you need the car rental to close on a rate below the average.

Can I rent a car for a month at Charleston Airport?

The length of time you can book a rental for is subject to the inventory of the supplier. When renting a vehicle from Charleston Airport it should be possible to rent a car for a whole month if needed.