Renting a car with a baby in the US: Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Alamo & AAA free car seat rules (2026)

Q: Is it cheaper to bring my own car seat on the plane than to rent one?

Yes! Every major US and international airline checks one car seat and one stroller free per child , and a brand-new FAA-approved Cosco Scenera NEXT costs just $59 to buy outright — less than a 5-day airport car seat rental.

Key facts

Short answer: Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, National, Avis, and Budget charge $13 to $15 per day (up to ~$105) for a rental car seat, and staff cannot install it for you. AAA members get 1 FREE child seat at Hertz when booking with their AAA CDP code — or bring your own $59 Cosco Scenera NEXT (6.8 lbs) on the plane for free.

If your US family trip involves picking up a rental car at Orlando (MCO), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Denver (DEN), Honolulu (HNL), or San Francisco (SFO), you face an immediate choice: pay the rental car company $13 to $15 per day to rent one of their car seats, or bring your own car seat on the plane for free.

Below, we compare the official child safety seat fees and rules across the six biggest US car rental companies — Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, National, Avis, and Budget — explain the AAA membership trick that gets you one FREE child car seat at Hertz, and show why packing a $59 Cosco Scenera NEXT or your own infant carrier almost always beats renting at the airport counter (checked October 2026).

Side-by-side comparison: US car rental baby & child seat fees (2026)

US Car Rental Company	Daily Car Seat Fee (approx.)	Max Cap per Rental	Seat Types Offered	Do Counter Staff Install It?	Free Car Seat Perk?
Hertz	~$13.99 / day (+ tax)	Typically $98 max per rental	Infant seat, Convertible child seat, Booster seat	No (customer must install for liability reasons)	YES — 1 FREE child seat per rental for AAA members booked with your AAA CDP code! (Hertz AAA Benefits)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car	~$13.00–$15.00 / day	Typically $70–$105	Infant, Toddler convertible, Booster	No (customer installs)	Occasionally via corporate codes
Alamo Rent A Car	~$13.00–$15.00 / day	Typically $70–$105	Infant, Toddler convertible, Booster	No (customer installs)	Popular at Orlando (MCO) & Disney Car Care Center
National Car Rental	~$13.00–$15.00 / day	Typically $70–$105	Infant, Toddler convertible, Booster	No (customer installs)	Emerald Aisle lets you pick the largest SUV/minivan on the lot
Avis	~$13.00–$15.00 / day	Typically $65–$105	Infant rear-facing, Child safety seat, Booster	No (customer installs)	Free additional spouse/domestic partner driver
Budget	~$13.00–$15.00 / day	Typically $65–$105	Infant rear-facing, Child safety seat, Booster	No (customer installs)	Sister brand to Avis

(Note: Exact daily rates and caps vary slightly by airport concession and state tax; always check your specific airport branch at checkout.)

1. The AAA + Hertz trick: How to get a FREE rental car seat (and free young driver fee)

If you are a member of AAA (or an international reciprocal auto club such as the UK's AA or RAC, Canada's CAA, or Australia's NRMA using the AAA discount code), booking with Hertz using your AAA Club Discount Code (CDP) unlocks one of the best family travel perks in America:

1 FREE child, infant, or booster seat per rental: Instead of paying ~$13.99/day (up to $98 per week), Hertz includes one child safety seat at $0/day for the duration of your rental.
Up to 4 additional AAA drivers free: Your partner or grandparents (if also AAA members) can be added as additional drivers at no daily charge.
Even if you don't use the rental car seat: A basic AAA membership costs around $65/year — less than the $98 cost of a single week-long car seat rental!

Even when a rental car seat is free via AAA, Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) and our own family travel experience point to four common problems at US airport rental garages:

You have to install it yourself in a dark parking garage: For legal liability reasons, employees at Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, National, Avis, and Budget are prohibited from installing a child car seat in your vehicle. After a 5-hour flight with a tired baby, you are often handed a plastic-wrapped convertible seat of an unfamiliar brand without a printed manual and expected to route the LATCH or seatbelt yourself.
"Infant" vs "Toddler" inventory mix-ups: At busy family hubs like Orlando (MCO) during Spring Break or Thanksgiving/Christmas, rental counters occasionally run out of rear-facing infant bucket seats and hand parents a generic convertible seat (often an Evenflo Titan/Sonus or Cosco Scenera) that may be missing its newborn head insert.
Unknown crash and cleaning history: While major rental companies sanitize fabric covers between rentals, you have no way of knowing if the previous renter dropped the seat on the tarmac or was involved in a minor fender-bender.
Flying with your own car seat is 100% FREE on every US & UK airline:
Every major airline — Delta, United, American Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic — checks one car seat AND one stroller free per child!
Even better: you can buy a brand-new, FAA-approved Cosco Scenera NEXT Convertible Car Seat (6.8 lbs / 3.1 kg) for $59 total — less than a 5-day rental fee — use it on the airplane in a window seat, and install it in your rental car in 60 seconds because you already practiced at home.
Travelling with a toddler aged 2+ (22–50 lbs)? The WAYB Pico Folding Car Seat (8 lbs) folds into a backpack that fits in the overhead bin and installs via LATCH in any US rental car in 30 seconds.

3. UK & European visitors renting a car in the US: Can you bring your UK car seat?

This is one of the most frequent questions we get from British and European parents flying to Florida or California:

On the airplane: Yes! As explained in our FAA car seat rules guide, both British/European airlines (BA, Virgin, Aer Lingus) and US airlines accept UN ECE R44/04 or R129 (i-Size) car seats in the aircraft cabin if they carry the TÜV aircraft approval mark (such as the Maxi-Cosi Pebble 360 Pro² or CYBEX Cloud T).
Inside a US rental car (State law technicality): Technically, all 50 US state child passenger safety statutes (such as Florida Statute 316.613 and California Vehicle Code 27360) specify a child restraint system meeting US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213) — which uses a 5-point harness WITH a horizontal armpit chest clip (whereas UK/EU R129 seats are designed and crash-tested without a chest clip so a child can be removed quickly).
How ISOFIX / LATCH works in US rental cars: Every US passenger vehicle made since 2002 has LATCH lower anchors in the back seat, which are spaced at the exact same 280 mm (11 in) width as European ISOFIX bars! However, most US car seats use flexible LATCH webbing straps with hooks rather than rigid European ISOFIX arms + floor support legs.
Our practical recommendation for UK families visiting the US: Either bring a Doona, rent a US FMVSS 213 seat through Hertz AAA (free), or order/pick up a $59 Cosco Scenera NEXT at Walmart/Target on day one so you have a 100% FMVSS 213-compliant US seat with a chest clip and top tether.

4. Which rental car class fits a baby, stroller & suitcases?

US rental car trunks are measured differently from European hatchback boots:

Standard / Full-Size Sedan (Toyota Camry / Chevrolet Malibu): Deep trunk, but the trunk opening height can be tight if you are stacking a full-size stroller on top of two 28-inch hard-shell suitcases. A compact travel stroller like the Bugaboo Butterfly 2, Joolz Aer+, Stokke YOYO3, or UPPAbaby Minu V2 leaves two-thirds of the trunk free!
Midsize SUV (Nissan Rogue / Toyota RAV4): Best all-around pick for a family of 3 or 4 — higher rear door opening saves your back when buckling a rear-facing car seat, and the open cargo bay easily swallows two large suitcases, a Guava Lotus Travel Crib, and a stroller.
Minivan (Chrysler Pacifica / Honda Odyssey / Toyota Sienna): If you are travelling with two kids or grandparents, US minivans have power sliding doors (huge in tight theme-park parking lots!) and Chrysler Pacifica's Stow 'n Go floor bins hold an entire folded stroller underneath the floor.

FAQs

How much does it cost to rent a baby car seat from Hertz, Enterprise or Avis in the US?

All major US car rental brands (Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, National, Avis, and Budget) charge approximately $13.00 to $15.00 per day per infant, toddler, or booster seat, usually capped between $65 and $105 per rental. However, AAA members booking with Hertz using their AAA CDP discount code receive one child safety seat completely free per rental.

Will Hertz or Enterprise install the baby car seat for me?

No. For liability reasons, rental counter and garage staff at all major US rental car companies are not permitted to install child safety seats in your rental vehicle. You must install and tighten the seat yourself before leaving the garage.

Is it cheaper to bring my own car seat on the plane than to rent one?

Yes! Every major US and international airline checks one car seat and one stroller free per child, and a brand-new FAA-approved Cosco Scenera NEXT costs just $59 to buy outright — less than a 5-day airport car seat rental.

Sources

Hertz: Child Seats & AAA Member Benefits (1 Free Child Seat) (checked October 2026)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Child Safety Seats Policy & Reservation (checked October 2026)
Avis Car Rental: Child Safety Seats (checked October 2026)
NHTSA: Car Seat Installation & LATCH System Guide (checked October 2026)

Last checked and updated: 30 October 2026 · Kiddieko · How we check facts

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