Payless Car Rental is the ultra-budget brand of Avis Budget Group, offering some of the most competitive base rates in the market at select US and international airports. Founded in 1971, Payless focuses on simple, no-frills rentals for travelers whose only priority is price. Rates are among the lowest of any established car rental brand, though the trade-off is a smaller location network and fewer amenities than premium siblings Avis and Budget.
✓ Pros
- Among the absolute lowest base rates available
- Backed by Avis Budget Group infrastructure
- Good for price-comparison as a floor rate
- Straightforward online booking
✗ Cons
- Very limited location network (mostly major US airports)
- No meaningful loyalty program
- Counter upselling reported frequently
- Fleet can be older than competitors
Payless Car Rental Review
Payless is for one type of traveler: the person for whom price is the only variable that matters. The brand does not compete on fleet quality, loyalty programs, or service experience. It competes on the number at the bottom of the booking page, and on that measure, it is often among the cheapest established options available at major US airports.
The Price Floor
Payless regularly appears at the bottom of comparison site results for US airport rentals. At airports where it operates alongside Budget and Avis, Payless typically undercuts Budget by 10 to 20 percent. For a traveler booking a one-week rental with no interest in loyalty points or premium vehicles, the savings can be $30 to $70 compared to mid-tier competitors.
The asterisk is that the total price, after mandatory fees and taxes, can close the gap considerably. And Payless locations have a reputation for more persistent upselling than average, meaning the gap between the booked rate and the amount on the final receipt deserves careful attention.
Fleet and Reliability
Payless runs a functional but basic fleet. Economy and compact vehicles make up the majority of inventory, with mid-size, full-size, and SUV options available at larger locations. The vehicles are reliable in the sense that they will get you where you need to go; they are not the newest cars in the lot and they are not serviced to the same standard as a Hertz Gold location. For a rental that is fundamentally about transportation from A to B, this is acceptable. For travelers with higher expectations, the savings do not always justify the trade-off.
Who Payless Is Best For
- Absolute price-first travelers for whom nothing else matters except the lowest total cost
- Short US domestic rentals at major airports where Payless operates
- Travelers with no loyalty program affiliation and no plans to build one
Where Payless Falls Short
The location network is small by any comparison. Outside a selection of major US airports, Payless effectively does not exist. There is no meaningful loyalty program. Service reviews are the most mixed of any Avis Budget Group brand. For the occasional traveler who simply needs the cheapest available car at an airport they fly through rarely, Payless delivers. For anyone else, Budget offers a meaningfully better experience for a modest additional cost.