Mark! We stood in line for almost 2 hours and then finally at the counter was told our reserved car was gone but we could have a mini van! Absolutely NOT! Mark the representative at the desk sensed my frustration and immediately upgraded us to a luxury car at our original rate. Mark was professional, kind, and sincere. He made standing in line that long worth it. They say customer service is dead but Mark is the exception to that statement. I hope Budget/Avis recognizes he's hard work and dedication. read more

Looks like many have had the same issue: technical failures, but it seems to work out (so far): I got the email and text to go to zone 2 and get my car. Arrived 1130pm and all budget offices closed. Went right to zone and clicked on the link to reserve my car: and the website wasn't loading right or allowing login. There was 1 car left in the zone 2 which was recommended but it wasn't a midsize as I reserved, it was bigger. Nobody around to ask so I jumped in and went to the gate, explained the situation to the guy and he was nice and chill and said that he changed reservation to this car. Let's see if it all works out ok in the end, if not will update this review. Failed technology continues to plague car rentals. I hope AI fixes it and fires all the unhelpful middlemen. read more

Pros: a car was available. I an a fastbreak member. I got a text telling me to go straight to zone 2 and choose a car. I received the text at 9:32am My rental time was 10:00. I got to the car at about 10:45. Perfect. Con: I go to check out. The lady at the check out asked if I got a paper. I said, no i got the aforementioned text to go choose a car in zone 2. She took the keys and my license and checked me out. She couldn't print a contract or email it, so I had no proof that I legally had the car. She said, "I wouldn't open the gate if your couldn't legally have it." But I kind of need proof of anything does happen. I didn't get an email like she said I would. So she told me to go back into returns. Go stand in line and talk to someone to get the contract. After I got into the returns area, I got the text to check the car out with the system. Which has happened at other locations, but other places could email me the contract. Inefficient. If I didn't have to use budget sometimes for work, I would not. read more

We've booked budget via Costco travel and they sent us to the vip members area. They treated us very well, everything was quick and easy. They went the extra mile to upgrade our vehicle read more

I really don't like giving 1 star reviews. But this place deserves it. My husband was told that he can go directly to the car once he lands but when we got there it wasn't working. So we had to wait for over 30 minutes on a slow moving line. The line wasn't long and there was a full counter. After all that we were given the same car as another family. We got to the car spot and a family was already in it. We compared slips and both had the same car. We then had to go back and get a new car. Thankfully this was faster. The first car was nicer, the second one, not so much. Hopefully nothing is wrong with it. read more

AVOID AT ALL COST. GO ANYYHWERE ELSE AT IAH. You've been warned. Don't go to Budget in Houston. Ever. For any reason. I had hope to use Fast Break to be able to select a car and go. But that didn't work so I had to stand in line. Since the rental car terminal was relatively empty (none of the other brands had any line at all) I figured it wouldn't be too bad. But the line at Budget took over 30 minutes. That would have been bad enough, but it just got worse. The free upgrade that came with the rental code I used? I was basically told this branch doesn't really "do" upgrades as they barely have enough cars to meet their reservations. Then the finally assigned me a car. I went out and found another couple sitting in the car. They should me their receipt; we'd both been assigned the same car. So I went back into the office, just skipped the HUGE line this time, and asked. After a half hearted apology they assigned me another car. Still not done with the misery I got into the car and headed for the exit. There was another huge line just to get out of the gate. It could have been worse. We returned the car at a more popular time. The return didn't go too badly (just a bit slow) but the line at Budget now stretched entirely across the entire shared rental car terminal. See the photo. Based on how fast our line moved this it was probably a 3-4 HOUR wait. Seriously, you've been warned. Book anywhere else. read more

Budget - Plan on spending HOURS in line if you book here. - Car Rental Near Me - Houston, Texas

Front desk tried to push a $20/day upgrade to a Buick Encore, claiming it was newer and larger than the Subaru Outback (Mazda CX-5 or similar) we booked. I turned it down, and the Outback turned out to be new, clean, and plenty spacious for our 4 bags. It's been a great SUV for our 5-day trip! read more

So I reserved a rental car through Budget at IAH, at the time of the booking I made it clear my flight from Chicago would not touchdown until 11:30 PM, it didn't seem to present any problems and they gladly excepted the reservation, this was my first experience with Budget and since my go to Rental Car Company National did not have any cars available I was forced to choose an alternative car rental. I will say I was a little concerned being the communication after the reservation was made was minimal but every company operated differently especially to their loyal customers verses new accounts. My plane touchdown on time and I immediately got a text from Budget welcoming me to Houston and told me my car was waiting - I deplaned and headed straight to the bus for the rental car center knowing it was late night and I didn't want to jeopardize getting a car. Everything worked I boarded the bus and they immediately headed to the offsite rental car center. Once I arrived I found Budget was closed and no one was in sight but there was a sign that stated all late arrival reservations would be handled at the Avis counter which had a line of no less than 50 people and it's fast approaching midnight with one person working the counter. I admit I was a little annoyed as I read my text a few more times that I received from Budget upon arriving in Houston. I decided to say screw it to Budget and Avis and walked outside where the National Rental Cars are parked - I walked up to the night attendant and told her I didn't have a reservation and at the time I attempted to reserve a car there were no cars available - I handed her my license and credit card she looked me up and said wow you've been a National customer since 1990 and told me "we will definitely get you in a car", in less than 5 minutes without a wait or a reservation I was driving out of the garage in a brand new premium SUV - now that's how it's suppose to work. Dear: Budget I do want you to thank you for not earning my business so there is no need to reach out to me for a survey an offer, an apology, a coupon, a discount or a free rental you blew it... read more

July 17th 2026 ,I traveled with my husband 1 toddler and 1 infant and my 9 year old , I normally always pre pay for my car rentals but this time I couldn't , I came to the window the only gentlemen there told me my truck rental I had reserved for 1 price had doubled , and when I asked if I can pay with my debit card he said No, then began to try to put me in a rav4 when I just expressed to him I had 2 car seats and 2 strollers with luggage , he was nasty and rude ! Why would the price double also just getting off a flight tired and hungry he didn't help at all , I asked for a manager , he then said I would be told the same thing , manager never came , as much as I travel I have only used budget , I will no longer use there car services , this was unacceptable especially when I know I could have used my debit card but he said that wasn't allowed either , vacation start gone to hell ! read more

This is a rental car company without cars to rent. Incidentally, this is the second time they had no cars. Two times that I had a reservation and not a car in sight. read more

Disappointing ! Reserved a car via Expedia, got confirmation, the car was not available when we landed and came to pick it up, we and kids had spent more than 2 hours waiting along with many other people, gave up, cancelled and took Uber. It was expensive, exhausting and distrubing and made our day much longer and tiring, especially for kids. We understand Xmas time pressure but rental company must make an effort to have sufficient car fleet and disallow overbooking. Heads-up to the customer would also be good idea! read more

I'm writing this review hopefully to get the attention of management. I rent frequently from your locations in California and always have a positive experience.. however, in Texas, I believe I have been scammed by one of the agents and or is perhaps a widespread issue at the budget airport location regarding ethical business practices. I prepaid for a specific vehicle and upon checking in, was told that none were available and was coerced by the agent to pay additional for a car that did not suit my needs as well was out of my budget. After walking down to the car, I noticed that they were quite a few of the exact cars that I reserved that were available . An agent told me that I should formally request the change to be the rav4 instead of the mustang to ensure that those charges would be removed from my account...and all of this will be documented. I'm really hoping that when I return this vehicle that you guys hold up your end of the bargain / will be ethical . read more

Trust me. This budget is run terribly. There were so many frustrated customers, including us, it was a joke. We had a Tesla scheduled for weeks and ended up getting an suv, after waiting for an hour in line. The kids were so disappointed. Shitshow. Never again. read more

Rented from Budget at IAH. Returned the car with a full tank, which the Budget rep acknowledged, yet was later charged a fuel fee of $98. I don't have the paper gas receipt (the printer at the pump was not working), but I do have a same-day Exxon charge on my credit card from shortly before the return. Budget's customer service department said that they would not refund my money without a copy of the receipt. Am posting here so others know to keep fuel receipts and take a picture of the fuel level on your dashboard. It seems to be yet another way for a rental car company to cheat you, but am somewhat surprised that Budget would stoop to this level. read more

HORRIBLE. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE unexpected charges!$! waited over an hour and half for a car. only to be given it dirty. (pet hair, wrappers) it was late at nigh, kids were tired and we were frustrated so we took it. when returned we cleaned the car out, only to be charge $125 cleaning fee! we would never leave a car dirty! Save urself the hassle read more

I was charged upfront for a 3-day rental car, and I made sure to ask several times if there would be any additional charges. your employee told me there wouldn't be any extra charges. However, when I received my bill, it was more than double what I initially paid. The service was terrible, full of lies and scams, and very deceptive. I would never recommend Budget, nor will I ever rent a vehicle from you again. They never tell you real price and then charge you exorbitant fees; it's a rip-off. Don't rent a car from them, it's a scam. read more

If there were no stars, that would be appropriate for this company. When trying to exit the garage with our rental car, we were directed to move to the right from the lot attendant. It became evident that it was some sort of self service lane so we attempted to scan our receipt to exit. After several attempts and at least 10 minutes of struggling, the attendant yelled over to tell us to read the instructions. He was literally one lane over and didn't have the courtesy to walk over and help us. This is the second time we have come to visit and had a similar experience both times. Do better Houston! So rude and unwelcoming! read more

Yelli is almost always perfect. Always smiling and customer friendly. Observative proactive and efficient. She's the best

I am giving an update on my previous negative review where I stated this was the worst rental experience ever. Today I called the phone number on the letter I was sent notifying me that they were charging my credit card for an additional $125 cleaning fee with no detail of what was considered excessive. When I called the phone number I was told by the Budget representative that A. "I can't help you with that" B. "Our computer system is down" and C. "You will have to call back in 1-2 hour" This was the same failure of customer service that I experienced while I was in Houston in my trip where I was stuck in a parking lot for 4 hours while every customer service person told me they could not help me. Do not rent from them. It seems that "I can't help you" is their tag line and a value they train and instill in their employees. read more

I wrote this review to help travellers avoid making a sequel to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. First, Expedia will rent you a car at 6:00am, no problem. Expedia doesn't care if Budget doesn't open until 7:00am, unlike some of its competitors. Second, Expedia reps might not differentiate *which* Houston airport you wish to visit, so confirm your airport. This Budget is at IAH, but the one on Airport Blvd. is Hobby Airport in South Houston, where agents reserved our car. None of this is Budget's fault, of course. I give them four stars for opening right on time and for being upfront and thorough about all of our limited options. BY the way, if you need to get to an Uber zone from the rental car agency, confirm any directions you get from a IAH worker. I ruined the day of one worker by asking him for directions, and he deliberately misinformed me. There clearly is no Uber zone up my butt and around the corner. And, nobody gives a poop about the shrieking escalator. I'm curious if future reviewers will encounter the same constant screaming of metal. Based on my interactions with IAH workers (1:3), I suspect they just ignore it, or the sound of animals being slaughtered soothes them. read more

Julio from Budget Hobby Airport is so helpful with excellent customer service!!! Will definitely use budget again.

We booked a Tesla over a week in advance for a birthday trip and headed straight to Budget after landing in Houston. Upon arrival, we were met with rude and unhelpful staff. We were told the car we reserved wasn't available and received little to no support when asking about accommodations or rebooking alternatives. After deciding to cancel altogether and go elsewhere, we simply asked how our driver could pick us up -- and that's when the situation went from bad to worse. We were harshly told, "regular people can't pull into the lot." When I asked for clarification on where we could be picked up, one employee snapped, "I don't know, you'll have to figure it out!" I then asked to speak with a manager and for corporate's contact information. The manager claimed she didn't have business cards and didn't know how to contact corporate. From their poor customer service and terrible communication to their overall disrespectful attitude, this experience completely tainted what was supposed to be a special day. I will never book with Budget again and strongly advise others to avoid this location at all costs. read more

The longest slowest line ever! Waited over an hour. Super inefficient. Won't be back to this again.

EVERYONE WAS EXTREMELY RUDD AND WENT OUT OF THIER WAY TO BE UNHELPFUL. When I picked up the car, I was reserved for a fast break car. You know, skip the lines snd get your car and go. BUDGET AP said I could choose any car in Zone 3. It told me to take a photo of the car's license plate. This resulted in an error and I was instructed to go to the main ticket desk. I went to the main ticket desk and a very rude, rubinesque, Karen told me that I should have taken a car and let the security gate personnel finish my order. I returned to the garage (2nd time) and did as Indy. When I got to the gate. The gate sec person told me that the desk person was wrong and I had to return the car and go back to the gate. After 20 minutes in the car rental parking lot trying to find the spot to return the car. I finally parked. In the meantime, 2 women wearing reflective vest were approached for assistance, one stayed silent, the other was minimally verbal. Finally, I was given some directions to return the car. Return to the main BUDGET counter for the 3 rd time. Someone with functional brain neurons assigned us a specific car. What was failed to be mentioned in the numerous BUDGET personal interactions was that AVIS is apparently affiliated with BUDGET. Took a car from the AVIS lot. Got to the security gate and the gate was blocked due to an altercation with 2 drivers. Lucky to have escaped alive. My "FAST BREAK" took 1.5 hours! UPON RETURN... Check in lady was yelling at customers, including me to move the car up an essential 4 inches. She then stood at my window and yelled and demand I get out of the car. That's when the employee script took over, "Was everything alright with you experience?" Don't ask questions for which you don't want answers. ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE. For the most part, EMPLOYEES WERE RUDE. Do better. read more

Avoid Budget at all cost. They pretend to have your best interest at heart but tack on unneeded fees. When I realized the fees I called customer service within 20 min of rental pickup, and was told that it was nothing they could do until 10 days after completion of reservation. Didn't trust that response and called back 2 days later. At this time they tell me I will be charged a fee of $135 to have extra charges I didn't ask for removed. This is the worst example of customer service and integrity I have ever experience. read more

This Budget location was satisfactory. When I arrived to the counter, my representative was extremely friendly when I first came to the counter, but when I refused additional services she wasn't very friendly. The car received troll very well in the head no issues with it. When I return the car I was charged a fuel charge and should have not been charged, especially since I returned the vehicle full of gas and didn't choose that option. I had the agent correct the error when I saw the charge. Overall, it was a good rental but the service needs some work. read more

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I don't like how I scammed that I feel. After booking through my Legalshield, Perkspot.. I felt as though I hit the jackpot with the low price of $605 that I was quoted.. when I went to confirm the reservation, the amount increased to over $800... due to fees that were disclosed in the beginning. I was a little unnerved but I still felt it was still ok to move forward at that price. The day of picking up the vehicle, I was determined not to pick the option of having Budget deal with the gas, but I was told that it was the only option by the representative.. I even had her repeat it because I'd never been told that before.. Upon returning the vehicle, my total price was over $1000!!!! When I called Budget to complain, the rep basically told me ...well, you signed the contract, so it is what it is... I'm furious... THREE DIFFERENT TIMES THEY FAILED TO DISCLOSE ALL OF THE TAXES AND FEES... literally kept adding on costs that weren't initially disclosed until the very end. I will never use Budget again! read more

BEWARE!!! This company is FRAUD!!! They placed the discounted offer which was affordable when I reserved the car with the total amount $365 for a week that I was offered but they have charged $217 more at the counter by adding optional services charges, which we neither requested nor we used at all. Also, they didn't informed us what amount they were charging us at the counter so we could point out the issue at the time of paying. When i noticed, I called the customer service to know the reason of that extra amount they charged, there was no satisfactory answer from them and I never got refunded that overcharged amount. They rip you off by adding extra charges into your bill. Renting from them was the biggest mistake i made. BIG ALERT: SAVE YOUR MONEY AND USE ANOTHER RENTAL COMPANY. read more

Absolute worst experience. Waited 2 hours with a reservation. All the guy said was he didn't have enough cars. What USA reservation for? He spent 20 to 30 minute with the same customer. Wtf can you be doing? Found out it was people just coming up looking for cars without reservation. No excuse for such a disregard for people's time. read more

Long wait - four people "working" at the counter, only two helping customers. Line stretches down the side and across the entrance. Enterprise and Hertz have more workers and much shorter lines. We'll never use budget again. read more

Impressed with ease of picking up car . Went right to car . Scanned license plate on app. Left lot with car. Even return was quick. read more

Budget - Car Rental Near Me - Houston, Texas

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We booked our rental through Costco Travel for this trip (which I highly recommend btw - great prices) and the cheapest option for a Standard SUV, aka a Ford Edge or equivalent, was Budget. Picking up the vehicle was easy - you take the shuttle from the IAH terminal and it drops you off at the rental car center, which is where all brands are. We found the Budget counter and they were going to give us a Ford Edge but then asked if we wanted to upgrade to an Explorer for an extra $15/day. We declined but they ended up giving us a Toyota Highlander instead, which was large and comfortable, at least for me - my 6'4" boyfriend was a little cramped leg-wise, he said. The car itself was super nice but could have been been cleaned a little more - there was a piece of what I think was cheese embedded into the back of the sun visor on the passenger side. We opted to add the unlimited tolls option for $12.99/day as well - Houston is awash with toll roads and I think we either broke even on this or perhaps benefited. Total price before that was about $299 for a Saturday to Tuesday rental, and that included a free second driver since it was booked through Costco - otherwise that's an additional cost per day. read more

It was storming when we arrived in Houston Hobby. Shuttle driver didnt help with luggage. I had my 74 yr old mother with me. At the counter we had to go out in the pouring down rain and locate our car. Load our luggage. I might add it was at night too. My mom was soaked. I get in the car & had no one to ask about the car controls. Like defrost & etc. After a bit I was able to figure out several but it was stressful. I had my mom and 3 suitcases... Next time I will pay higher price if I can get better customer service. read more

Customer service. Have some respect for your customers and their time. It is always an absolutely absurd amount of wait time in line to see an agent. I'm talking over an hour easy. Get it together, hire help and schedule during peak hours. read more

I am honestly outraged at the horrible customer service your company has offered. I would love to speak to someone higher up because the amount of vague we answers received is unfathomable. My first complaint is waiting over 1 hour to obtain to our car. Secondly, upon finally arriving to the counter the vehicle requested is no longer available nor any other models. I am aware that this is a possibility but it just adds to our frustration after waiting for so long. We were given a similar vehicle, and once we arrived to the car there was another gentleman placing his belongings in the car. So that required us to return to the counter. No accountability was taken. We were not offered any additional amenities such as insurance, damage waivers, toll passes etc it was all declined. Pick up nor drop off were not explained. After receiving the location of the car, it took time for us to find the key which was located on the floor of the passenger side. The vehicle was charged at only 55% which to me did not seem appropriate. We followed up with two representatives via phone and received more vague answers and were left still confused about the return process. All this to say, no one in the company appeared to have time to address our needs which is a concern. My fear is inquiring fees that we have no idea about because the time was not taken to explain such matters. I will not recommend this company to anyone ever and hope that this issue can be addressed amongst management and their poor team members. read more

This place scams customers. Charged me $100 for gas when the tank was full. Spent an hour on the phone with customer service getting passed from person to person. Finally the last person sent me an email where I had to create a new account to create a ticket to file my claim. I drove 98 miles and got charged for 10 gallons of gas at 9.90 per gallon. See receipt. I also have the receipt for filling the tank, but they don't seem to care. If you rent from here check the receipt before leaving the car. Also be sure to keep the fuel receipt. read more

Budget - Gas receipts. - Car Rental Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I reserved a Van at Budget Car Rental at the Houston Bush Airport. The line waiting to get the vehicle was long, very long. After about and hour and a half I was told by the people behind me in line that they were out of cars. It took me over 3 plus hours waiting in line to finally get to the counter. No explanations to anyone standing in line, no apologies. I will never rent from Budget again. Terrible service. No one was told what was going on by the staff. No chairs to sit down and wait if you are elderly, like me, or handicapped. Ridiculous. read more

Hateful. went to wrong airport and retuned truck. Was not told we were at wrong airport, went to catch flight and found out so went back to get truck and was told it was too late. caught uber 80 dollars later to other airport. They charged me 460 for returning to wrong location. Cool, whatever, lame but whatever, then got another cleaning fee for 450, they said truck had sand in it. We never went to the beach, never even got close to sand. So my 300 dollar car was 1200 dollars. Sweet. Lost a customer for good. read more

Fastbreak booth and no one there at Gieorge bush AirPort on Friday afternoin Long line at counter terrible service

Well, over an hour wait in line at 3 PM on a Tuesday. Use one of the other rental services even if it cost you a little bit more!