Booking a Car: Step by Step

Live guest booking is not open during Afto's host prelaunch beta. This article describes the configured launch flow; the terms and amounts presented with an actual quote will govern that trip.

What you can do now

You can browse cars and vehicle details without an account. Checkout remains unavailable until Afto opens guest accounts and confirms the applicable launch licensing, coverage, eligibility, pricing, and policy terms.

Launch booking flow

1. Search for a car

Enter your pickup location and trip dates. Use filters such as vehicle type, features, price range, delivery, and airport pickup to narrow results. Open a vehicle to see whether it is configured for Instant Book or Request to Book.

2. Review the vehicle detail page

Open a listing to see:

Photos, features, and the host's description
The vehicle's mileage allowance and location
The Flexible, Standard, and Saver cancellation choices available at checkout — see the Cancellation Policy
Available extras, like a child seat or prepaid mileage package
Whether the listing is Instant Book or Request to Book

3. Select dates, drivers, delivery, extras, protection, and flexibility

Confirm or adjust your trip dates.
Add any available host-priced extras and quantities you want. See Vehicle Extras Explained.
Choose Basic, Plus, or Max, or explicitly confirm that you are declining an optional damage plan. Declining means no optional vehicle-damage cap and responsibility can reach actual damage up to the car's value; Basic is the safer alternative. See Choosing a Protection Plan (Guest).
Choose Flexible (+10%), Standard (base price), or Saver (−10%, or up to −20% on trips of at least 7 days when offered). Standard is pre-selected.
If someone else will be driving too, add them during checkout or from the confirmed trip before it begins. See Adding an Additional Driver.

4. Review checkout

Checkout shows every applicable booking line before payment, including trip subtotal, cancellation selection, Trip fee, protection selection, extras, delivery, taxes, and travel credits. The quote locks for 24 hours unless you change the trip. Review the exact policy terms and insurance disclosure presented with the quote. See Understanding Your Trip Price: Fees Explained.

5. Instant Book vs. Request to Book

What happens next depends on how the host has set up their listing:

Instant Book: your trip confirms immediately. You're charged and ready to go.
Request to Book: your request goes to the host, who has 24 hours to accept or decline. Afto places an authorization for the quoted total rather than capturing the charge immediately. Acceptance captures the authorized amount; a host decline or platform expiry cancels/releases the authorization. Your bank may take additional time to remove a pending authorization from its display.

Full detail on both flows: Instant Book vs. Request to Book.

6. Confirmation

Once your trip is confirmed, you'll get a confirmation with the trip details, a conversation with the host, and pickup instructions. You can find it any time in Trips and Inbox.

Modifying a confirmed booking

Plans change. You can request a date change or other adjustment from your trip page — the host can accept or decline the change, and a modification doesn't automatically trigger cancellation fees. If you need to cancel instead, see Canceling a Trip (Guest) and the Cancellation Policy for what's refundable based on the plan saved with your trip.

What's next

Once guest booking opens and a trip is confirmed, check-in becomes available 24 hours before its scheduled start. See Guest Check-In: How To.

Launch booking flow

1. Search for a car

2. Review the vehicle detail page

Open a listing to see:

Photos, features, and the host's description

The vehicle's mileage allowance and location

The Flexible, Standard, and Saver cancellation choices available at checkout — see the Cancellation Policy

Available extras, like a child seat or prepaid mileage package

Whether the listing is Instant Book or Request to Book

3. Select dates, drivers, delivery, extras, protection, and flexibility

Confirm or adjust your trip dates.

Add any available host-priced extras and quantities you want. See Vehicle Extras Explained.

Choose Basic, Plus, or Max, or explicitly confirm that you are declining an optional damage plan. Declining means no optional vehicle-damage cap and responsibility can reach actual damage up to the car's value; Basic is the safer alternative. See Choosing a Protection Plan (Guest).

Choose Flexible (+10%), Standard (base price), or Saver (−10%, or up to −20% on trips of at least 7 days when offered). Standard is pre-selected.

If someone else will be driving too, add them during checkout or from the confirmed trip before it begins. See Adding an Additional Driver.