Thrifty Car Rental

So here's the thing about Thrifty-it's kind of the scrappy underdog of the car rental world, and honestly, that's not a bad place to be. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Estero, Florida, this company has been around long enough to know what travelers actually need. And what they need, apparently, is a decent car without the premium price tag.

Thrifty typically caters to budget-conscious leisure travelers-which is basically all of us, right? Nobody wants to blow their vacation budget on the thing that just gets you from point A to point B. But here's where it gets interesting: Thrifty is owned by The Hertz Corporation, along with Dollar Rent A Car. So you're getting that big-company infrastructure (think: over 300 Thrifty locations across the U.S. alone) but with prices that won't make you wince.

The company's been through some stuff. The Hertz Corporation purchased the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for $2.3 billion in 2012, which is... a lot of money. That kind of investment means they're serious about the budget rental space. And they've got this Blue Chip Express Rental Program that's basically their way of saying "we know you're in a hurry, let's skip the nonsense."

Now, let's talk about what you're actually getting. With over 300 locations, you're probably not far from a Thrifty counter whether you're flying into LAX or landing in Louisville. The selection ranges from economy cars (perfect for zipping around town) to SUVs (for when you've got the whole family and approximately 47 suitcases). They've even got that "Wild Card" option where you basically roll the dice on what car you'll get-sometimes you score big, sometimes you get a compact. It's like the lottery, but for transportation.

The real appeal here is straightforward: you want to travel, you need wheels, and you don't want to spend a fortune. Thrifty gets that. They're not trying to be fancy or revolutionary. They're just trying to get you a reliable car at a price that makes sense. And after 67 years in business, they've probably figured out how to do that pretty well.