Most people visiting ‘The City of Brotherly Love’ will probably land at the largest airport in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Apart from Philly’s renowned attractions, it has an amazing surrounding countryside, described by the Wall Street Journal as an ’historical heavyweight” and “booming cultural and culinary destination”. So we fully recommend you rent a car at the airport to discover it.
Philadelphia Airport (Photo: Eric Salard via Flickr/ CC BY-SA 2.0)
From the major car rental companies at the airport (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, National and Hertz) TravelMag.com has taken a look at factors like daily rates, fleet availability, customer satisfaction and extra perks when determining which car hire companies are the best options for visitors of Philadelphia.
Most Affordable: ALAMO
Alamo takes top spot for most affordable car rentals at Philadelphia International Airport. While the prices were similar between a number of companies, Alamo edged out the competition by a dollar or two. They also scored a remarkable 9 out of 10 for customer feedback. Alamo also offer advantage of their “Drive Happy Deal’, which allows the customer to save cash by having Alamo select the car for them.
It’s worth noting that all rental car companies listed at RentalCars.com are trustworthy, so it’s quite safe to just pick the lowest rental for your dates. However, we would recommend that you stick with a company that is located at the airport terminal of PHL Airport.
Best for Luxury: SIXT
Sixt edged out Enterprise as far as luxury rentals go because they have more options in their fleet. Customers can choose from a number of luxury rentals in their “Premium Range,” including various models of Mercedes (Mercedes Benz GLC GLA), BMW (BMW Series 3 and 5) and Land Rover and Ford Mustang. It’s true that these luxury options don’t come cheap (all of these models are in the $200-250 range out of season) but the steep prices are offset by a number of on-going promotions. In selected locations, Sixt provides a shuttle bus that ferries passengers from the airport to their station. The service is free of charge and runs within our opening hours which are 7am – 7.30pm.
Best for Minivans: SIXT
Sixt wins the best option for families and large groups for a number of reasons. Not only do they have an impressive choice of family-friendly cars – including a number of SUVs and Estates – available at competitive prices, but they also consistently score excellent customer reviews. On our selected dates, they had the 7-seater Chrysler Pacifica on offer as well as the VW Atlas and the Chevrolet Tahoe. You may want to note that their offices are open from 7am – 11pm midweek and 7.30am to 11.30pm on weekends.