Sacramento Airport (SMF) Rental Car Guide: How to Skip the Lines

Whenever we fly into Sacramento International Airport with our family, picking up a rental car is usually quick, but only if you know how this building works. The Sacramento Airport rental car building is not big at all. It is a one-story building with a few counters on both ends. To skip the line, join the free Avis and Budget memberships before you fly, then walk to the preferred pickup next door. The shuttle comes first, because that is where the confusion usually starts.

Shuttle Drop-off

When you take the airport shuttle from the terminal, it arrives and departs at the same stop, on different sides. You arrive on the outside wing. The bus then turns around and picks up passengers for the ride back to the airport on the inner curb. If you are heading to a flight, wait on that inner curb. The drop-off side will not take you back.

Before we fly, I open the airport rental car page again. It says the on-airport shuttle runs day and night, about every 10 minutes, from the ground-level curb outside both terminals. It also asks you to allow 25 to 35 minutes for the wait and the ride to your terminal. We plan for that whole window. Those times can change, so the page is the one to reread.

Inside the Main Building

Step inside and the layout is easy to read. Counters sit at both ends of that single story, and there is not much building beyond them. A straight reservation is usually a short stop. The line shows up when a car seat, a third-party package, or a question sends everyone to the same counter.

Avis & Budget Preferred Hack

Here is my biggest tip to save time. Avis and Budget are now under the same parent company, Avis Budget Group, and both memberships are free. Avis calls it Avis Preferred. Budget calls it Fastbreak. I join both online before the trip. With that status, we skip the counter lines completely and go pick up the key.

There are a few exceptions where you cannot use preferred and have to go to the main counter. If you need to rent a car seat, go inside. If you booked the car as a package through a third party, go inside. The membership pickup is for a reservation the company can already see on your account.

The Preferred Building & Lot

If you have preferred status, the preferred membership pickup is not at those counters. It sits just outside, right next to the main rental building. You can walk directly there and pick up the key with the app. Sacramento Airport car rental is an older building, and the cars are still in an outdoor parking lot. That lot is the whole preferred stop.

Exiting & Damage Inspection

Because the cars sit in an outdoor lot, this exit does not have an automated drive-through damage scanner. Honestly, I think that is a good thing. Those scanners are not built for the renter's advantage. Before I drive off, I make a short video of the vehicle on my phone, about 30 seconds, just in case. If a scratch comes up later, we already have our own record.

Questions Families Ask

These are the questions other parents ask us before a Sacramento pickup.

I hope you find this guide helpful. Have a safe trip.