Albany Airport Car Rental: The best companies

Serving the northeastern part of New York and Western New England, Albany International Airport (ALB) is 9km northwest of Albany in New York state. A recently completed multi-million dollar redevelopment has given the airport a new terminal, parking garage, air traffic control tower and cargo facility.

Across the tarmac towards the terminal at Albany Airport (Photo: formulanone via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Car rental companies are conveniently located in the baggage claim area of the terminal. To find them, just follow the signs from the arrivals area to the counters. The fleets of cars are located inside the airport parking garage. It’s worth noting that all car rentals are subject to an ‘Airport fee’.

To determine which car rental companies offer the best options across our three categories (Most Affordable, Best for Luxury, Best for Minivans), TravelMag.com conducted research into all of the agencies at ALB airport. Our findings are as follows.

MOST AFFORDABLE: AVIS & DOLLAR

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Renting a car unleashes the full potential of your holiday, and with so many cheap car rental deals on offer at ALB, it feels a shame not to hire some wheels. Across all of the agencies, the cheapest car rentals started at around $50-60 per day on our sample dates, with Avis having particularly good deals on a Ford Fiesta and a Buick Verano at a tempting $60 per day. It’s worth noting that daily prices dipped as far as $30 out of season, so it’s definitely worth shopping around.

BEST FOR LUXURY: DOLLAR & ENTERPRISE

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In our search for the agency with the best selection of luxury cars, Dollar shone out from the pack with a deal which was almost hard to believe: a Chrysler 300 at a mere $79 per day (rising to only $105 with the extras added in). If there are several of you, then Enterprise’s Volkswagen Atlas’s $80 comfortably sits 7 people. For SUV fans, Enterprise also had a an Audi Q7 for $102 per day.

BEST FOR MINIVANS: ENTERPRISE & AVIS

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Foundered in 1614, Albany is one of the US’s oldest towns and as a result is full of several historical places of interest both in and around town. If there are six or seven of you, then Enterprise was renting out the comfortable and zippy Infiniti QX80 at $110 per day, while Avis and Budget had a 12-seater Ford Transits on their books for a little over $100. As is often the case in the U.S., you’ll find plenty of Dodge Grand Caravans stationed in the carpark if that happens to be your favoured minivan of choice.