I’ve been renting cars to people who arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson for almost every week. I’ve also assisted many of my customers throughout the many problems they run into – including when they call about how late their rental is or if they are told they have to take the SkyTrain to get their rental car when they arrive.
I’ve heard various complaints about how long it takes to get their rental, and how they are confused as to why it takes so long, etc. In this article, I will give you an honest and accurate account of renting a vehicle at the Atlanta Airport (ATL).
How renting a car at ATL actually works
Every big company at the Atlanta airport shares one building. Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Alamo, National, and Sixt all operate out of the Rental Car Center, officially called the CONRAC. You can’t grab your car at the terminal; you ride the SkyTrain to get there.
Here’s how it goes once your plane lands:
- Walk from your gate to baggage claim and grab your bags.
- Follow the signs to the ATL SkyTrain, near the MARTA station at the west end of the terminal.
- Ride the SkyTrain to the second stop, the Rental Car Center. It’s about a 5-minute ride and runs around the clock.
- Find your rental company’s counter and check in.
- Show your license, sort the deposit, sign the paperwork.
- Walk to your car in the lot and drive out.
The Rental Car Center sits about 1.5 miles from the terminal. The SkyTrain is the only way across. You can’t walk it, and there’s no shortcut around it.
How long does it really take right now?
On a quiet Tuesday afternoon, the whole thing might take you 30 minutes. On a Friday evening with three flights landing at once, plan for an hour or more. The counter lines stack up fast. And if you’re on a red-eye landing after midnight, know this: some counters cut their staffed hours, and you can end up waiting until morning to get your car.
⚠ Worth knowing in 2026
The ATL SkyTrain just started a big multi-year renovation, and there’s active construction at the Rental Car Center’s “Return Bridge.” Several rental companies now tell customers to allow an extra 30 minutes, especially when returning a car. Nothing to panic about. It just means you should build in more time than you think you need, or skip the SkyTrain altogether. More on that below.
None of this is a knock on the airport. ATL is the busiest airport on earth, and the system mostly works. But “mostly works” still means a tired traveler burning the better part of an hour getting to a car. Right now, longer than usual.
What it really costs, quote versus out-the-door
This is the part the booking sites keep in small print. You’ll see Atlanta airport rentals advertised around $25 to $30 a day. That number is real. It’s also rarely what you pay.
Here’s what gets stacked on between the quote and your card:
- Airport concession surcharge. Roughly 10 to 12 percent added to every rental, just because you picked it up at the airport.
- Taxes and fees. State, local, and a few line items with names you won’t recognize.
- The insurance upsell. Twenty to forty dollars a day if you say yes at the counter. Often you don’t need it. More on that in a minute.
- A deposit hold. Two to four hundred dollars frozen on your card for the whole rental, on top of the rental cost.
- Refuel fees. Return it less than full and you’ll pay a per-gallon rate that towers over any gas station.
Add it up and that $28 quote turns into $60 to $80 a day out the door. Here’s the shape of it.
| What you see vs. what you pay | Per day |
|---|---|
| Advertised online rate | ~$28 |
| + Airport surcharge (10–12%) | +$3–$5 |
| + Taxes & fees | +$8–$12 |
| + Insurance upsell (if accepted) | +$20–$40 |
| Realistic out-the-door | $60–$80 |
We’re minutes from ATL in College Park and shuttle you straight to a car. No Rental Car Center, no counter line, no airport surcharge. Call (470) 524-3999.
The local alternative, without the counter
Here’s the option the booking engines will never show you, because it isn’t one of them. Pick up off-airport.
We’re on Camp Creek Parkway in College Park, a few minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson. We run a shuttle to and from the terminal, so you skip the SkyTrain, skip the Rental Car Center, skip the counter line, and skip the airport surcharge. You land, you call, and we get you in a car.
I’ll be straight about when this is worth it and when it isn’t.
- It’s the better move if you’re staying more than a day or two, want to dodge the construction delay, or just don’t want to wrestle with the airport process after a long flight.
- The airport counter is fine if you’ve got a quick 18-hour layover and need wheels for one night. Sometimes, grabbing a car right there beats the small savings.
I won’t pretend off-airport wins every time. It doesn’t. But for most people staying in Atlanta for real, not just passing through, it’s cheaper and faster.
When you should not rent a car at the airport
Honest moment, because it matters. Sometimes the right answer is no car at all.
If you’re staying downtown, near Centennial Park, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the convention center, or Georgia State, you probably don’t need one. MARTA runs straight from the airport to downtown for a couple of dollars, and rideshare covers the rest. Parking downtown is its own headache.
But if you’re staying anywhere else in metro Atlanta, out in Buckhead, Decatur, Stone Mountain, Marietta, Alpharetta, or the airport-area suburbs, you need a car. Atlanta is six million people spread across a huge metro, and the train covers a sliver of it. Out there, a car isn’t a luxury. It’s how you get through the day.
Staying more than a few days? Weekly beats daily
One more thing, the counter won’t volunteer. If you’re in Atlanta for more than about five days, stop looking at the daily rate and ask for the weekly one.
A weekly rate almost always comes in cheaper than seven separate daily rates, sometimes by a lot. It’s usually buried a couple of clicks deep on the booking sites, if they show it at all. For anyone here on a longer trip, a relocation, or a work assignment, that’s the number that actually matters.
That’s the core of what we do, honestly. Our weekly rental is the default, built for people staying a while. Folks between cars, traveling for work, or new to the city, and not ready to buy. One weekly price, renew as long as you need, and we handle the upkeep.
We take debit cards and skip the credit check, so if a chain already turned you down for a debit card, that’s not a problem here. Short-term works too, with a 2-day minimum.
A few local tips for renting near ATL
Stuff I’d tell anyone renting in Atlanta, wherever you pick up.
✓ Photograph the car before you drive off
Every panel, timestamp on. It’s the simplest protection against getting charged for damage that was already there, and that happens more than the agencies admit.
- Don’t take the insurance upsell on reflex. Most personal auto policies cover rentals, and plenty of credit cards (Chase Sapphire, Amex, Capital One Venture, Visa Signature) include rental coverage when you pay with the card. Check before you fly. It can save you $150 or more a week.
- Fuel up away from the terminal. The QuikTrip on Riverdale Road and the Costco on Camp Creek run well under the stations within sight of the airport, and way under the agency’s own refuel rate.
- Call ahead for late-night pickups. “24-hour” on a website doesn’t always mean a human is there at 2 a.m. Confirm before you count on it.
Frequently asked questions
Usually 30 to 60 minutes from your gate. A short walk to the SkyTrain, a 5-minute ride to the Rental Car Center about 1.5 miles away, then the counter and the lot. With the current ATL construction, allow an extra 30 minutes, or pick up off-airport to skip the SkyTrain entirely.
Airport rentals add a 10 to 12 percent airport surcharge plus taxes, and often an insurance upsell, so a $ 28-a-day quote can become $60 to $80 out the door. Picking up off-airport avoids the surcharge.
Yes. Off-airport operators in College Park, minutes from ATL, offer local pickup with a shuttle to and from the terminal, so you skip the SkyTrain and the counter line entirely.
Most chains require one and place a $200 to $400 hold. If you’d rather use a debit card with no credit check, a local off-airport operator like Xclusivibez is usually the better fit.
If you’re staying downtown near a MARTA station, you may not need a car. Anywhere else in metro Atlanta, out in Buckhead, Decatur, or the suburbs, a car is almost essential.
For more than about five days, a weekly rate almost always beats stacking daily rentals. Ask any operator for their weekly price. It’s usually cheaper than seven daily days and rarely advertised up front.
Yes. We’re minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson in College Park and run a shuttle to and from the terminal. Call (470) 524-3999 when you land.
Skip the counter. Rent local instead.
One call tells you what’s available, what you’ll pay, and how the airport shuttle works. No SkyTrain, no surcharge, no surprises.
Call (470) 524-3999 or see our weekly rentals.
Xclusivibez, a weekly and long-term car rental in College Park, Atlanta. Questions about renting near ATL, airport, off-airport, weekly, anything? Call (470) 524-3999 or email info@xclusivibez.com.
