Unfortunately, travelers know this scam all too well. You research rental car options and find one for $50 a day. Not amazing, but reasonable. You book it, feeling like you avoided getting ripped off. When you arrive at the rental counter, all bets are off. After a few minutes of furious typing and a contract slid across the desk, that perfectly acceptable $50-a-day rental has somehow exploded to $95 or more per day. No upgrade. No extras you asked for. Just fees. Welcome to the modern rental car experience or I like to call it, the land of the junk fees.
Airlines and hotels have taken plenty of heat for junk fees. Rental car companies, meanwhile, have perfected the art—largely unnoticed. And just when it seems like turns can’t get worse, they find another way to charge you.
The New Low: Charging You for Doing Their Job
The latest addition to the rental car junk-fee playbook, recently highlighted by View from the Wing, is almost impressive in its audacity: the Security Fee. Some rental agencies now add $3 to $5 per day to your bill to help pay for securing their own vehicles against theft or damage.
Let’s be clear: this is a company passing a core cost of doing business directly onto customers.
Protecting inventory is not an optional service. It’s fundamental. Just as restaurants don’t add a Dishwashing Fee or retailers don’t charge a Shoplifting Prevention Surcharge, rental companies shouldn’t itemize basic operations.
The security fee is junk-fee philosophy distilled, take what used to be included, rename it, and sell it back to you.
The security fee may be the newest offender, but it joins a long list of charges travelers have learned to dread.
1. The Toll Pass Trap
Miss a cashless toll without your own transponder and the rental company steps in—at a price.
They don’t just bill the toll. They tack on an administrative fee, often $5 to $15 per day, sometimes charged for every day of the rental whether you used a toll road or not. A $2 toll can balloon into a $25 charge.
2. The Insurance Hard Sell
Collision or loss damage waivers routinely cost $20 to $40 per day, sometimes nearly doubling the original $50 rate.
Agents are trained to sell these aggressively, occasionally implying they’re required or that your insurance won’t apply. In most U.S. rentals, many drivers already have coverage through their personal auto policy or a premium credit card—and still end up paying out of fear.
3. The Gas Gouge
We all know the rule: return the car full. But forget once, and the punishment is brutal.
Rental companies don’t refill at market rates. They charge inflated prices—often $9 or $10 per gallon, plus a refueling service fee. A simple oversight can cost more than an extra day’s rental.
4. The Concession Recovery Fee
This one feels like a tax—but isn’t.
Airports charge rental companies hefty fees to operate on-site. Rather than absorb that cost, rental agencies pass it straight to customers, often as a percentage of the total bill. It’s mandatory, rarely highlighted upfront, and conveniently excluded from the advertised $50 price.
5. The Expanding Cleaning Fee
Once reserved for extreme messes, cleaning fees are now being applied far more casually.
Travelers increasingly report $150+ charges for sand on floor mats, water spots on seats, or other signs of normal use—things that should be covered by routine vehicle turnover.
Why This Keeps Happening
The business model is simple: drip pricing.
Rental car companies know travelers shop by the daily rate. To win clicks, they advertise the lowest number possible—even if it barely covers their costs. The real money comes later.
Fees drip in during booking, at the counter, and sometimes after you’ve already returned the car. By then, you’re tired, rushed, and out of alternatives. The $50 rate wasn’t the deal—it was the hook.
How to Fight Back
Until regulators rein this in, travelers have to protect themselves.
Bring Your Own Transponder
If you have E-ZPass, SunPass, or FasTrak, bring it. If not, use navigation apps to avoid toll roads entirely.
Know Your Coverage
Confirm your rental coverage with your auto insurer and credit card company before you travel. If you’re covered, decline the upsell—politely but firmly.
Document Everything
Take clear photos and videos of the car’s interior and exterior at pickup and drop-off. This is your best defense against questionable damage or cleaning fees.
Skip the Airport When Possible
Off-airport locations often avoid concession fees and tourism taxes. A short Uber ride can save 20% or more. This is the one where you can score a major win.
Focus on the Total Price
Ignore the advertised daily rate. The only number that matters is the final total with taxes and fees. If a security fee or similar nonsense appears, consider taking your business elsewhere.
A $50-a-day rental shouldn’t feel like a luxury purchase. But thanks to junk fees, it increasingly does. Until the industry cleans up its act, the smartest travelers won’t just be careful drivers on the road—they’ll be vigilant ones at the rental counter.
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