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Rental Policies

This translation is provided for convenience only. The English version of this page governs and is the binding version.

Last updated October 31, 2026

This page explains, in plain language, how renting from Alaska Auto & Equipment Leasing works. The binding rules are in our Terms and Conditions; if this page and the Terms ever differ, the Terms control. Questions? Call (907) 488-7402, text (907) 978-9278 or email reservations@akautoleasing.com.

Charges at a glance

Before you book

Who can rent

• You must be 25 or older to rent from us, and so must every additional driver. We do not rent to anyone under 25.
• Each driver needs a valid, unexpired license in their own name, shown in person at pick-up.
• We do not run a credit check.

Photos we need first

• When you reserve, upload clear photos of the front and back of your license and your current proof of auto insurance. We review them before we accept the booking.
• The name on the license, the insurance and the payment card must be the same.

Cards we take

• Visa, Mastercard or Discover in the renter's name, shown at pick-up.
• Debit cards (Visa or Mastercard, linked to a checking account) work for bookings made by phone or in person, with a $650 refundable deposit.
• No cash, gift cards or prepaid cards.

Visiting from another country

• Bring your passport and your home license. If the license is not in English, also bring an International Driving Permit or a certified English translation (mainland China does not issue permits, so bring a translation).
• You still need auto insurance that meets our requirement below. Travel insurance and most foreign policies do not cover a U.S. rental, so please check first.

Extra drivers

• One extra driver can be added for $25 a day. They must be 25 or older and upload their own license photos.
• Anyone who is not on the contract may not drive. If they do, the renter is responsible for every resulting loss.
• An approved extra driver may return the vehicle for you.

Reserving

Online or by phone

• Online and in the app: rentals of any length, including gravel-highway rentals that our team confirms before pick-up. Same-day and short-notice rentals (starting within 7 days) and rentals of more than 30 days can be requested online but are subject to confirmation by phone or email.
• By phone at (907) 488-7402: leases of up to 36 months, specialty units not shown online, after-hours pick-ups, one-way trips, debit card bookings, and group, company or government bookings.
• We reserve a class of vehicle, not a particular make, model or color, and you get that class or better.

Paying and deposits

• Online bookings (website and app) are paid when you book, by card through Square's secure checkout, and are booked only once the payment goes through. Nothing is booked or held before that. Deposits and card holds are handled as described in this policy.
• Deposits are paid in full, not in installments. We apply them to what you owe and return the rest after check-in. Your bank can take up to 14 days to post it.
• A business or another person can pay for your rental by completing our Payment Authorization Form (call us). Company accounts are available. We do not bill insurance companies, but we give you receipts for reimbursement.

Changes and cancellations

• Email or call to change a booking. New dates are priced at the rates in effect then.
• Cancel at least 7 days before your start date for a full refund. Changes or cancellations within 7 days are not refundable.
• We hold your vehicle for 4 hours after your pick-up time. Running late? Call us. After 4 hours we cannot promise it is still available.

How pricing works

Counting rental days

• The rental starts at your scheduled pick-up time or when you sign the contract, whichever comes first.
• A rental day is each calendar day or part of a calendar day, including the pick-up day and the return day. Example: pick up November 10 and return November 13 = 4 rental days; same-day pick-up and return is 1 day. A week is 7 rental days and a month is 30.
• Dalton Highway deposits use the same count: 6 rental days or fewer is a card hold; 7 or more is charged before pick-up and refunded after return.
• We do not rent by the hour, and returning early does not earn a refund.

Mileage

• Rentals of up to 29 rental days include unlimited miles in Alaska.
• Rentals of 30 rental days or more include 100 miles per rental day (3,000 miles per 30 days), pooled across the whole rental. Each extra mile is $0.45.
• Approved trips into Canada include 250 miles per rental day for the whole rental, pooled. Each extra mile is $0.50.
• The same allowances apply to around-town and Work & Haul Road rentals, including the Dalton Highway. Equipment is billed by engine hours, not miles.
• We record the odometer at pick-up and at return and bill any extra miles at return. If the odometer is disconnected, tampered with or stops working, we count 250 miles for each rental day and charge the repair.

Around-town and Work & Haul Road rates

• Around-town rates. Our daily rates are for light, everyday driving on paved roads in and around Fairbanks and North Pole: errands, visits, travel, commuting.
• Work site, towing, business and Dalton Highway rentals. Towing, hauling, job-site and gravel use, business use, and any trip up the Dalton Highway, run on our Work & Haul Road rate. It's built for harder use: trucks prepped and set up for the job, and approved ahead of time so you're covered. Tell us your plans when you book and we'll quote the right rate. It's higher than our around-town rate.
• If a truck is used for towing, taken to a work site or up the Dalton without being approved first, the Work & Haul Road rate applies back to the first day. Any deposit is applied to the difference and other charges, the rest is refunded, and the deposit is not kept as a penalty.

Corporate accounts

• Approved corporate accounts pay the lower corporate daily rates shown on our Corporate Accounts page, for around-town and Work & Haul Road rentals, and the corporate rate on equipment rentals, and every 10th rental day is free, tracked automatically: we keep a running count of the account's rental days across all of its vehicle and equipment rentals (long-term leases are priced separately and don't count; calendar days, once a rental is confirmed; cancelled rentals don't count) and apply the free day for you, with no need to claim it.
• Corporate accounts have tier levels based on usage. Higher usage unlocks higher tiers with additional savings; we review and set each account's tier. Ask us about your account's tier.
• Corporate pricing applies only to accounts we have approved, and only to the rental rate. Tax is figured on the discounted rental; deposits and other charges are not discounted. Until approval, standard rates apply.

Taxes

• Rates are quoted before tax. Alaska's 9% vehicle rental tax (AS 43.52) is shown as its own line on vehicle rentals of 90 days or less.
• Refundable deposits and damage payments are not taxed. Government agencies renting for official use may be exempt with the right paperwork.
• We are not at the airport, so there are no airport fees.

Extensions and late returns

• Need more time? Call before your return time. Extensions depend on availability and are charged to your card.
• There is a 59-minute grace period. After that, each extra hour costs one-third of your daily rate, up to one day's rent for each 24 hours. If you are 4 or more hours late and did not let us know, there is also an $85 late fee.
• You can return any time, including after hours. The vehicle stays your responsibility until we check it in.

Equipment hours

• Equipment rates cover up to 8 hours a day, 40 a week and 160 per 4 weeks on the hour meter.
• Extra hours, including double shifts, cost 1.5 times the hourly equivalent of your rate (for example, the daily rate divided by 8).

Equipment delivery

• Pick up and return at our North Pole yard at no delivery charge, or choose AAL delivery: $125 each way in the Fairbanks / North Pole area ($250 round trip), $175 each way outside that area up to 50 miles from North Pole ($350 round trip), and an individual quote for job sites more than 50 miles from North Pole.
• Have the unit ready for pick-up at the site at the end of the rental. It stays your responsibility until we pick it up.

Paying late

• Balances not paid on time are charged 1.5% a month, or the legal maximum if that is lower.

Where you can drive

Paved roads and gravel highways

• Standard vehicles stay on paved roads. Gravel highways such as the Dalton, the Denali Highway, the McCarthy Road, and the Elliott and Steese Highways past the end of the pavement need a gravel-ready unit approved on your contract.
• Taking a standard vehicle onto a restricted road costs $300 a day, plus any damage.
• Off-road driving is never allowed, and our fleet tracking shows where units go.

The Dalton Highway

• The Dalton must be written into your contract before pick-up, with the Work & Haul Road daily rate and the $2,000 Dalton deposit paid. For trips of 6 days or fewer the deposit is a card hold at pick-up. For trips of 7 days or more it is charged before pick-up and refunded after return.
• The Executive Line GMC Yukon Denali may not go on the Dalton Highway, even with the Dalton deposit. You can book it for work-site, towing and business use on the Work & Haul Road rate (1.5 times its daily rate: $366 a day), and the paved-road and gravel rules on this page still apply to it.
• If a vehicle goes on the Dalton without that approval, the whole rental is billed at the Work & Haul Road daily rate from the first day. We use any deposit for the difference and other charges, refund the rest, and charge your card for anything still owed.

Canada and one-way trips

• Canada needs our approval ahead of time. Call us to check the rules.
• One-way trips are booked by phone. To change where you return the vehicle after pick-up, call us first.
• Leaving a vehicle somewhere we did not approve costs $6.50 a mile (minimum $85), or our real recovery cost if higher, and the vehicle stays your responsibility until we get it back.

Our vehicles

The fleet

• Late-model trucks, SUVs and vans, many with 4WD. Ask about specialty units that are not listed online.

Built for winter, at no extra charge

• Non-studded winter tires, engine and transmission heaters, a battery maintainer and cold-rated fluids.
• An ice scraper, a snow brush and an extension cord. Remote start on some units; ask us.
• Plug in whenever the vehicle will sit 2 hours or more below 0°F, and unplug before you drive. Tire chains are not allowed.

Gravel-ready units

• Needed for trips like the Arctic Circle, Deadhorse or McCarthy. They leave with two spare tires and a CB radio after a pre-trip safety check.
• You need U.S.-issued full-coverage insurance (liability, comprehensive and collision) for these trips.
• We do not supply satellite phones, but you can rent one elsewhere. Even on an approved route, damage to tires, glass and the underside is your responsibility.

Rules of use

• No driving tests or lessons, rideshare or delivery work, or towing unless the vehicle class and your contract allow it.
• No roof racks or other add-on accessories. Tell us what you need to carry and we will suggest the right vehicle.

Returning the vehicle

Fuel

• Vehicles go out with a full tank and fuel is not included in the rate. Bring it back with at least as much fuel as you received, or pay a $15 refueling fee plus $8.50 a gallon.

Cleaning, smoking and pets

• Light cleaning (trash, light dirt): $50. Heavy dirt, mud, sand or spills: $175. Full detail, biohazard, or fish or game blood or odor: up to $375.
• No smoking or vaping of anything, including e-cigarettes and marijuana: $450.
• No pets (service animals are welcome). Pet hair, odor or damage: $350.

Glass, tires and keys

• Windshield chip repair is $75 per chip. Glass replacement is billed at actual cost, including camera and sensor calibration, up to $1,250 per windshield, plus the administrative fee.
• There is no tire or wheel waiver. Punctures, blowouts, sidewall cuts, curb and pothole damage, and damage on gravel or off-road are yours to pay for.
• A puncture we can safely repair is $100 per tire. A tire that cannot be safely repaired is replaced with one of the same size, load rating and type, and a damaged wheel is repaired or replaced, at our cost plus the damage administrative fee. Towing, road service or tire delivery is at cost.
• You may have a puncture repaired at a tire shop at your own cost instead. Keep the receipt and tell us, and we inspect the repair at return. Normal tread wear and tire defects are not charged.
• Lost, damaged or unreturned keys and fobs are $350 each, because our chip keys must be cut and programmed for the vehicle.

Insurance, damage and breakdowns

Your insurance

• You must have U.S.-issued auto insurance with liability, comprehensive and collision coverage that covers the rental for the whole time you have it, and upload proof when you reserve. Your policy pays first.
• Credit card benefits and travel insurance do not count. Please call your insurer before you rent.
• We do not sell or include any coverage: no collision or loss damage waiver, no glass or tire waiver, and no liability coverage.

If there is an accident or damage

• Get to safety, call the police and get a report number, and collect the other people's details.
• Call us at (907) 488-7402 during office hours or our 24/7 roadside line after hours, then call your insurer.
• Send us an AAL incident report within 24 hours. Claim questions go to claims@akautoleasing.com.
• Any damage or loss is yours to pay for, whoever caused it. Rent continues at the daily rental amount until the vehicle is repaired and back in service (on weekly or monthly rentals, the cheaper daily amount for you), with a 28-day limit for a total loss. An administrative fee applies to each claim.
• If someone else caused it, give us their details. That helps us recover from them but does not reduce what you owe.

Roadside help

• Our 24/7 roadside line helps with flats, lock-outs and breakdowns. The cost of the service itself is yours unless the problem was a mechanical failure you did not cause.

Lost items

• Please keep track of your belongings. Report anything you left behind to (907) 488-7402 and we will try to find it. We keep unclaimed items for 30 days.