How we rank
Two questions per company. The first is almost always yes. The second is where companies differ, so it’s what we score.
1. Is it legit?
Yes, Legit but be careful, or No. “Legit” means a real, established company that delivers what you paid for: the car is there, the booking exists, the tickets arrive. “Be careful” means it’s real but has a pattern worth knowing before you pay: an F rating from the BBB, many reports of bookings not honoured, or unusual terms. We say which, on the page.
2. Will you pay what you were quoted?
Five checks, each scored 1 to 5 with the reason and sources on the company page. 3 is average for the category, 5 is rare, and 1–2 means complaints about that issue are frequent and recent.
| Check | Rental cars | Booking sites | Ticket sites | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price honesty Is the final bill close to the quote? | 35% | 30% | 30% | 30% |
| Claims and refunds Do damage and cleaning bills arrive after return? | 25% | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| Pick-up and delivery How quick is pick-up, and can you skip the counter? | 15% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Fine print Deposits, debit cards, age rules and fuel terms | 15% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Support How do disputes end? | 10% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
Fair-deal score = the weighted average of the five checks, shown out of 100 (score ÷ 5 × 100). Price honesty carries the most weight because it’s the question people are really asking. If we can’t find enough evidence for a check, it’s left out and the others are re-weighted.
3. Rental cars at each airport
The same brand can be quick at one airport and slow at the next, so airport rankings blend the company’s Fair-deal score (70%) with how that branch is rated on Google (30%). Google stars become points on a 0–100 scale: 3.0 or lower is 0, 4.8 or higher is 100. A branch with fewer than 100 reviews counts for less, in proportion, so six reviews can’t swing a rank.
Example: National Car Rental at HNL has a Fair-deal score of 63 and a Google rating of 4.6 (2,141 reviews), worth 89 points. Its rank is 63 × 0.7 + 89 × 0.3 = 71.
Local companies we haven’t fully checked yet are listed with their Google rating but no score.
4. Rank and “best for” awards
We don’t put one verdict on every company, because most companies are good at some things and weak at others. Each list is ranked by score, and a few awards go to the company that leads on one specific check. Every award shows the number behind it.
- Best overall the #1 rank in that list.
- Fewest surprise charges, Fewest damage disputes, Fastest pickup: the best score on that check, 3/5 or higher. At an airport, Fastest pickup also needs a skip-the-counter option there.
- Highest-rated branch the best Google rating at that airport, from at least 300 reviews.
- Lowest under-25 fee the lowest published young-driver fee at that airport.
- Best support and Simplest rules: only for a 4/5 or better.
- Most surprise-charge complaints and Lowest-rated branch: warnings for the weakest record on price honesty (2/5 or lower) or a branch under 3.0 stars from at least 100 reviews. The #1 company never gets a warning.
Ties go to the higher-ranked company, and no company holds more than two awards in one list, so the awards spread across the companies that really lead on something.
What we don’t do
- We don’t rank on price. The cheapest quote often isn’t the cheapest bill, which is the point of this site.
- We don’t average review-site stars into the score. Review sites skew toward unhappy customers, so we read them for patterns and cite them.
- No company can pay to change any of this. See our editorial standards.
Coming next
Real receipts. We’re collecting quotes and final bills from renters to show the actual gap per company and airport. You can send yours.