Booking a rental car with Carla: cancellation, refunds and cashback
Carla is a car rental booking platform. It is a software service that lets you search, compare and book rental cars from many suppliers, and it states in its terms that it is not a car rental company. The actual rental agreement is between you and the supplier. For a service like this, the useful questions are where you can rent, how cancellation and refunds work, what has to be paid at the counter and what the supplier expects from you at pickup.
Where you can rent
The Carla homepage talks about 180 countries and more than 20,000 locations, with instant confirmation for same-day bookings. City pages cover places such as Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City, San Francisco, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Paris. The header has a language and currency selector. Carla charges in the currency displayed at checkout, and in rare cases it may charge in US dollars at your bank's exchange rate. Refunds go back in the currency that was charged. Support is available by email or in the app.
| Topic | What Carla says |
|---|---|
| Free cancellation | Flexible bookings, up to 48 hours before pickup |
| Promo rates | Standard cancellation policy, no refund |
| Payment | Partial or full prepayment, cards |
| At the counter | Physical card in the driver's name for the deposit |
| Contact | Help center, +44 20 4587 0556, 11 am to 8 pm |
Cancellation and refunds
Under the flexible cancellation policy, the prepayment is refunded in full if you cancel at least 48 hours before the scheduled pickup. Later than that, it is not refundable. If you bought Trip Cancellation Coverage, you get a full refund minus the coverage fee when you cancel at least 6 hours before pickup. You cannot cancel once the rental has started. Reservations on the standard cancellation policy are promo rates, which are often cheaper but cannot be refunded when you cancel.
To cancel on rentcarla.com, open Reservations in the top menu, enter your email address and voucher number, click Manage Booking and choose Cancel Booking. The voucher number is in the confirmation email. The terms say that cancellations and changes should be made through Carla, because cancelling with the rental company may cost you the refund. Carla does not refund if you do not collect the car, arrive late, cannot show the required physical driving license or card, or are under the minimum age. If a booking cannot be confirmed by the supplier, you are refunded in full.
Deposit, driver and fees at the counter
Every rental company asks for a deposit, held temporarily on a physical credit or debit card in the driver's name and released after the car comes back. Some suppliers do not accept debit cards. A valid physical driving license is required, written in Latin characters, and otherwise an international license. Extras such as fuel, tolls, an additional driver, out-of-hours pickup, one-way drops, cross-border use and fees for drivers under 25 are set by the rental company and paid locally. Check the Included Free section of your offer for what is covered.
Using cashback with Carla
Open the Carla page at daily cashback, where the current cashback (12.5%) is shown. Press the shop button and book as usual. Your free account shows the cashback as open first, and as confirmed once Carla has reported the booking. If you cancel the reservation, the cashback for it is deducted. A code from another site can cost you the cashback, so close other voucher and cashback pages when you search for your car.
Tips before you book
- Choose the flexible policy if your plans may change, and note the 48 hour deadline.
- Have a physical card in the driver's name ready, not a virtual one.
- Keep the voucher email, because you need the voucher number to manage the booking.
As of October 2026.