Car-Rental Discounts

Budget Rent A Car of Southern California is offering renters a coupon booklet with discounts on car and truck rentals, sightseeing attractions, hotels and restaurants.

You can get the booklet with a minimum rental of one day at any of Budget’s 87 locations from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Car-rental discounts are for the following rental after the one that qualifies for the booklet. But you can rent a car for one day, take it back and get a $10 discount off the next day’s rental, according to a Budget spokeswoman.

Coupons also are provided on the same basis for Sears Rent A Car both in Southern California and Las Vegas. Cars supplied are Budget’s autos, the Budget spokeswoman said.

Most of the discounts expire Nov. 1. Some extend to the end of the year. The booklets contain a tear-off identification card that must be presented with the coupons.

Restaurant coupons are two-for-one offers, but at some establishments restrictions apply. Check the reverse side of the coupon. Some, for instance, state that “tipping should be 15% to 20% of total check before discount,” while another indicates that a “gratuity of 15% of total bill before discount will be added to your check.”

Attractions offering discounts include Knott’s Berry Farm, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose/Port of Long Beach. At Knott’s Berry Farm you can get $4 off for up to six admissions.

Invader Cruises, which runs narrated sailings out of San Diego Bay, provides two free fares when you buy two harbor-cruise tickets.

Among the hotels offering discounts are Vagabond Inns, Red Lion Inns in Costa Mesa and Ontario, the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach and Long Beach Airport Marriotts, the Newporter Resort, San Diego Princess, Omni San Diego, Embassy Suites in Irvine and San Diego, and the Palm Springs Biltmore. Los Angeles properties include the Sheraton Universal, Westin Bonaventure and Biltmore.

At some of the hotels, discounts are 50% off regular rates, or 10% off any special promotional room rate, whichever provides the greater discount. Rooms are on a space-available basis. Reservations are generally required, and you should indicate that you will be using the discount coupon. Some properties have maximum-stay limitations.

For more information, call Budget Rent A Car at (800) 527-0700.