Chicago Midway Airport Car Rental: The Best Companies
by Stephanie Baker | Published December 21, 2016
If you are planning to fly into Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), you have ten car rental companies to choose from. Need help selecting the best one for your trip? TravelMag.com researched the Chicago Midway Airport car rental company options and chose the top supplier for three separate criteria: most affordable, best in business traveler perks, and top luxury car selection.
Chicago Midway Airport, Chicago, IL (Photo: J. Wissemes via Flickr)
Chicago Midway Airport has a new, off-site rental car facility where all of their rental car company options are located. It can be accessed by their shuttle system, which runs 24/7 and makes pick-ups and drop-offs every 15 minutes. It is worth noting Alamo, Enterprise and National do have in-terminal counters for arrivals, but travelers will still have to take the shuttle (or another method of transportation) to retrieve their car from the new facility.
Our car rental company search results
To determine which rental car companies offer you the best vehicles across our three categories, TravelMag.com carefully researched the value, fleet availability, policies and reviews of MDW car rental company. Check out our findings below:
At first glance, Alamo and Dollar both seem to offer the lowest MDW car rental rates available. However, we found that while both companies rent their economy-class Kia Rio at nearly the same rate, Alamo consistently held lower rates than Dollar for all other vehicle classes in our searches. Both are great options for travelers to Chicago looking to rent an affordable car, but Alamo is rated higher in overall service by customers with 8.8 out of 10 stars on RentalCars.com. They also have a wide selection of affordable SUVs and vans, perfect for families or extra luggage. And if you are arriving this winter, Alamo’s SUV options include vehicles with all-wheel drive (such as the Toyota RAV4) for safe driving on slick roads.
Hertz made the top of the list in the best Chicago Midway Airport car rental company for business traveler perks category. Their Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® program is not only free to join, but unlocks discounts on their rental vehicles of up to 25%. The discount alone is tempting for business travelers who pay their own expenses, but rewards program members also earn points that can be cashed in for free vehicle rentals. All Hertz rewards program members enjoy unlimited miles and Hertz Gold Choice® at participating locations (the Hertz MDW airport location is included in the program), allowing members to choose a different vehicle from a wide selection upon arrival—at no extra charge.
When paying for a luxury vehicle, you want to book with a company that offers the best selection of vehicles and the most reasonable prices. Avis continuously offered the widest selection of luxury vehicles throughout various dates and searches, followed by Budget. Chicago Midway Avis luxury car options include popular choices such as the Chevy Camaro SS and Jaguar XF, with many other luxury car leaders in their fleet. Enterprise has affordable prices and a similarly diverse fleet, but many of their luxury vehicles were unavailable at their MDW location when researching numerous dates. Whether it is features, style or power you are looking for in your luxury rental vehicle, our results show Avis is most likely to have the car you want at a price that isn’t ‘premium’.
