Can I Get Cashback on Car Rentals in the US in 2026?

Published: 8 October 2026 · Last updated: 8 October 2026 · Author: Garry Shi, Cashback Expert, ShopBack US

ShopBack US is a free website and app that returns part of what you spend at partner stores and travel sites as cash. You start from the store's ShopBack page, book on the site you already chose, and the cash comes back after the booking is confirmed. You can sign up for ShopBack in a couple of minutes before you book.

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Can I get cashback on car rentals?

Yes. Car rentals are one of the travel booking types ShopBack US covers, on both booking sites and rental company sites. At the time of writing, the ShopBack US pages for Expedia, Priceline and Booking.com each list car rentals as a booking type, and so do the pages for Trip.com and CheapOair.

Where you book	Car rental on its ShopBack US page	What to check first
Expedia	Listed as "Car Rental"	Live rate and the store terms on the Expedia page
Priceline	Listed as "Retail Rental Car, Rental Car Express Deal"	Live rate for retail and Express Deal cars
Booking.com	Listed as "Car Rental"	Live rate and the note on codes and fees
Rental company sites	Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Alamo have their own pages	Live rate on each company's page

Source: each store's page on ShopBack US, at the time of writing. Rates and booking types change, so check the live page before you book.

The last step before you book flights, hotels or a rental car: open ShopBack. That one habit turns a normal booking into one where part of the price comes back to you.

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Cashback car rentals: how it works, step by step

Getting cash back on a rental car takes about a minute more than booking normally, and the order matters. ShopBack can only track a booking that starts from ShopBack.

1. Compare first. Search your pickup place, dates and car class on a booking site and on the rental company's own site. Note the total with taxes and fees, not just the daily rate.
2. Open ShopBack. Go to the store's page on ShopBack US, for example Expedia, Priceline or Booking.com, and check the live rate.
3. Go through to the site and book in the same visit. ShopBack's tips for Expedia say to clear your cart and start again from ShopBack for each new purchase.
4. Accept the site's cookies and avoid other coupon or ad links. ShopBack's store tips say these can stop a booking from tracking.
5. Pick up the car and finish the trip. The cash shows as tracked soon after booking and is confirmed after the trip, according to the cashback timeline on each store's ShopBack page.
6. Withdraw it. Once confirmed, the cash sits in your ShopBack account and you can withdraw it.

Two rules are worth knowing before you book: taxes and fees are usually not counted, and cancelled bookings or no-shows do not earn cash. The Terms section on each store's ShopBack page has the details.

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Cashback car rentals 2026: what rental prices are doing

Rental prices in the US move with the seasons, and in 2026 they peaked in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS car and truck rental price index (series CUUR0000SETA04, US city average, not seasonally adjusted) shows how prices move, not a dollar price per day:

Month	2025 index	2026 index
January	145.5	143.8
February	145.0	148.9
March	150.6	162.8
April	158.9	158.7
May	163.3	153.4
June	178.4	171.0
July	182.9	175.7
August	161.7	167.4

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI car and truck rental, at the time of writing.

What that means for a 2026 booking:

• July is the most expensive month. The July 2026 index was about 22% higher than January 2026.
• August 2026 was a little dearer than a year earlier. The August index was 167.4 in 2026 against 161.7 in 2025, about 3.5% higher.
• May was a good value month in 2026. At 153.4, it was lower than March, April and every summer month.

Booking.com's own US car rental page gives a dollar view, at the time of writing: an average of about $48 a day, about $52 a day for a premium car or an SUV, and about $40 a day for a medium car. Booking.com also says premium is the most booked car group in the US, followed by SUV and medium.

Because the cash ShopBack returns is worked out on the rental price, a cheaper month and the cash back both lower the same bill.

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Cashback car rentals: best deals for US drivers in 2026

The best car rental deals usually come from each site's own programme, a rate you can cancel for free, and going through ShopBack before you pay. These are the official programmes and features each site describes on its own pages, at the time of writing:

• Booking.com. Booking.com says signed-in Genius members can save 10% on select rental cars, marked with a blue Genius label. It also offers free cancellation up to 48 hours before pickup on most car bookings, and says it lists at least 56 rental companies in the US.
• Priceline. Priceline says you can book a car with free cancellation and bundle it with a hotel or flight. It also sells Express Deals, where the rental provider is shown after you book. Priceline VIP is its free membership programme.
• Expedia. Expedia's One Key programme is free and shared with Hotels.com and Vrbo. Members can earn OneKeyCash on eligible bookings, and you can add a car to a flight or hotel booking.

Whichever deal you pick, the order stays the same: compare, open ShopBack, then book. Booking through ShopBack lowers the effective price, and you still book on the site you chose.

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Expedia vs Priceline: cashback car rentals price comparison for 2026

Neither Expedia nor Priceline is cheaper every time for a rental car, so compare the total on both, then compare the effective price after the cash ShopBack returns. Your effective price is what you pay minus the cash ShopBack returns.

	Expedia	Priceline
Compares several rental companies	Yes	Yes
Bundle a car with a flight or hotel	Yes	Yes
Free membership programme	One Key, shared with Hotels.com and Vrbo	Priceline VIP
Discounted opaque option	Not covered here	Express Deals, provider shown after booking
Car rental on its ShopBack US page	Yes, at the time of writing	Yes, retail and Express Deal cars, at the time of writing

Source: each company's own pages and ShopBack US store pages, at the time of writing.

How to run the comparison in five minutes:

1. Search the same airport or city location, dates, times and car class on both sites.
2. Write down each total with taxes and fees.
3. Open both store pages on ShopBack US and note the live rate for car rentals.
4. Work out the effective price for each: the total minus the cash that would come back on the rental price.
5. If the two are within a few dollars, pick the one with better cancellation terms.

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Expedia, Priceline and Booking.com for US car rentals

All three let you compare many rental companies in one search, so the choice usually comes down to which programme you already use and which total is lower.

• Expedia suits travelers who already collect One Key on hotels and want the car on the same trip.
• Priceline suits flexible travelers who are happy with an Express Deal or want a car bundled with a hotel.
• Booking.com suits travelers who are Genius members or who want to see many rental companies, including smaller local ones, side by side.

Other places to rent in the same category: rental companies with their own ShopBack US pages include Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Alamo, and travel sites include Trip.com, CheapOair and Hotels.com.

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What the cash back looks like on a real booking

Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

As an illustration only: on a $350 week-long rental at an illustrative 4%, $14 comes back, so the effective price is $336. The real rate changes and can differ by site and by booking type, so check the live rate on the store's ShopBack page before you book.

A few things change the final number:

• Taxes and fees are usually not counted. The cash is usually worked out on the rental price; the Terms section on each store's ShopBack page sets out what counts.
• Changes can reset tracking. A change that creates a new booking number may not earn cash, so rebook from ShopBack if you need to start over.
• Promo codes matter. Codes that are not shown on ShopBack can stop a booking from tracking.

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ShopBack US: what it is and how you are paid

ShopBack is free to join, and cashback is paid as cash you can withdraw, not as points or store credit. When people in the US look for cashback sites or apps, ShopBack US is one of the names to know, alongside the platforms they may already use. It works the same way for travel as for everyday shopping: start from ShopBack, buy or book as usual, and part of the price comes back.

For travel, ShopBack US covers booking sites such as Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com, Trip.com and Hotels.com, rental companies such as Enterprise and Hertz, and airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways. Make it the step you take every time, just before you pay.

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Paying with a travel card

Usually you can pay for a rental with your travel rewards card and still go through ShopBack, because the two come from different providers. Your card's points or cash come from your card issuer, and ShopBack's cash comes from booking through ShopBack. Many travel cards also include some rental car cover. Member prices and loyalty programmes such as Booking.com Genius or Expedia One Key have their own rules, so check the merchant's terms on the store's ShopBack page, and your card issuer's terms, before you count on both.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I get cashback on car rentals?

Yes. In the US you can get cashback on car rentals when you go through ShopBack before you book. At the time of writing, ShopBack US lists car rentals as a booking type on its Expedia, Priceline and Booking.com pages, and rental companies such as Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Alamo have their own ShopBack pages. The cash is worked out on the rental price, confirmed after your trip, and paid as cash you can withdraw.

Which booking sites give cashback on car rentals in the US?

At the time of writing, the ShopBack US pages for Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com, Trip.com and CheapOair all list car rentals as a booking type, and Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Alamo have their own pages. Check the live rate and terms on each store's ShopBack page before you book.

Is Expedia or Priceline cheaper for car rentals?

Neither is cheaper every time. Search the same pickup place, dates and car class on both on the same day, compare the total with taxes and fees, and then compare the effective price after the cash ShopBack returns, using the live rate on each store's ShopBack page.

Can I get cashback on Booking.com car rentals?

Yes, at the time of writing the ShopBack US Booking.com page lists car rental as a booking type alongside stays and attractions. Open Booking.com from ShopBack, book the car in the same visit, and check the store terms on the ShopBack page for what qualifies.

How much does it cost to rent a car in the US for a week?

According to Booking.com's US car rental page, at the time of writing, the average daily cost is about $48, which works out to about $337 for a week. Your price depends on the city, the car class, the month and the fees on your booking.

What is the cheapest month to rent a car in the US?

In both 2025 and 2026, January and February were the cheapest months and July the most expensive, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics car and truck rental price index. In 2026 the index was 143.8 in January and 175.7 in July, about 22% higher.

Do taxes and fees count toward the cash I get back?

Usually not. Store terms on ShopBack US for travel sites such as Expedia, Priceline and Booking.com usually leave out taxes, service charges and booking fees, so the cash is usually worked out on the rental price itself. The Terms section on each store's ShopBack page sets out what counts.

What happens to the cash if I cancel my rental car?

A cancelled booking or a no-show does not earn cash, and a change that creates a new booking number may not either, according to the store terms on ShopBack US. If you rebook, start again from ShopBack so the new booking is tracked.

Can I use a rental car promo code and still get cash back?

Sometimes. Codes that are not shown on ShopBack can stop the booking from tracking, and some stores do not pay on the part of an order paid with a code. Check the merchant's terms on the store's ShopBack page before you use one.

Is cashback the same as rental car loyalty points?

No. Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles. Loyalty points from programmes such as Enterprise Plus or Expedia One Key are separate and follow their own rules.

Is ShopBack free to use in the US?

Yes. ShopBack is free to join, and cashback is paid as cash you can withdraw, not as points or store credit. You can sign up on the ShopBack US website or app before your next booking.

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Key takeaways

• You can get cashback on car rentals in the US by going through ShopBack before you book on Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com or a rental company's site.
• US rental prices peaked in July 2026, about 22% above January, according to BLS data.
• Booking.com puts the average US rental at about $48 a day, at the time of writing.
• The cash is worked out on the rental price, not taxes and fees, and is confirmed after your trip.
• Your effective price is what you pay minus the cash ShopBack returns, so compare sites on that number.

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Related reads

Rent a car through ShopBack US: Expedia · Priceline · Booking.com · Trip.com · Enterprise · Hertz · Avis · Budget · Alamo

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Disclaimer

The views and recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author. Rental prices, fees, cancellation terms, membership benefits and the booking types listed on each store's ShopBack page vary by company, location and time and are subject to change. Cashback rates on ShopBack vary by store, booking type and campaign; check the current rate and terms on each store's ShopBack page before you book.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional or financial advice.