Renting a car for a weekend getaway or a business trip could get a little more expensive.

Taking out one of its major competitors, Hertz Global Holdings announced Monday it had reached an agreement to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in a combined cash and stock deal valuing Dollar at $41.00 a share. Investors appeared to welcome the news, sending Dollar s shares up nearly 9% in morning trading, while Hertz s stock spiked almost 18%.

Hertz said in a statement that the company expects the deal to provide at least $180 million in savings on fleet, IT and other costs, and to immediately add to earnings. The move comes in the wake of a slowly-improving travel landscape, and was a natural for the two companies, says Neil Abrams, founder of Abrams Consulting Group, a car-rental industry consulting organization. That s because each targets different consumers at different price points: Hertz, for its part, focuses on the higher-end business traveler, while Dollar Thrifty draws the price-conscious leisure traveler.

From the business perspective, fleet consolidation is the biggest benefit of a merger, because fleet costs typically represent 30 to 35% of sales, a car-rental company s biggest single expense, Abrams says. That consolidation will take time, however, because the two companies combined own nearly 600,000 cars, he says. A spokesman for Hertz said the merger was not designed to consolidate the fleet.

Both Hertz and Dollar Thrifty have reduced franchise locations in recent years, leaving most locations company-owned and operated. Beyond the fleet, the two companies should be able to consolidate some maintenance and real estate expenses as well, says Harry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Forrester Research.

Scott Thompson, CEO of Dollar Thrifty, said in a statement that plans for integrating the two companies were still in preliminary stages.

But what does all this mean for consumers? Here are four things consumers should watch out for as the two companies combine operations:

Will prices rise?

In an earnings presentation to investors this morning, Hertz said that with demand strengthening for summer travel, the company had already been able to institute two price increases in April, and would continue raising prices whenever the market would support them. Consolidation could accelerate this trend, Harteveldt says. With this merger, Hertz saw the opportunity to take out a competitor, and not just a competitor but one whose pricing brings down the average rental price for the industry, he says. A spokesperson for Hertz said that all the company s brands would remain price-competitive within their respective segments of the marketplace.

Price hikes are certainly a concern with only three companies controlling the eight major car-rental brands. But consumers will still see the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty brands offering different price points to attract different segments of the market, says Abrams. And there is always the alternative of smaller, regional brands, which have become more competitive, thanks in part to deals with online travel agencies, Harteveldt says.

Will the fleets change?

The composition of a combined Hertz-Dollar Thrifty fleet will, of course, depend on the deals the company is able to negotiate with auto manufacturers, Harteveldt says. Because rental cars are kept for several years, any changes to the fleet won t be noticeable for years, he says. Ultimately, a combined fleet may be more diversified, Abrams says.

Dollar Thrifty customers could end up renting higher-mileage cars if fleet consolidation leads Hertz to essentially hand down cars from the premium to the bargain brand, says Chris Brown, the executive editor of Auto Rental News, a trade publication. Consumers shopping for bargains should expect to be renting higher-mileage cars anyway, however, Brown says. Adding the bargain Dollar and Thrifty brands to what has traditionally been a business traveler s rental company could be an opportunity to present a different value proposition to the corporate customer, he says.

Will customer satisfaction change?

For the most part, back-office consolidation of IT or other operations isn t visible to the consumer, Abrams says so staff cutbacks don t necessarily add up to poorer service. Dollar Thrifty customers could benefit if the company adapts Hertz s high standards in customer service and customer satisfaction, Harteveldt says. Hertz has many more off-airport locations than Dollar Thrifty, as well as a seamless global operation, and the bargain-hunting Dollar Thrifty customer could ultimately benefit from access to Hertz s wider network, Abrams says.

What is the upshot for loyalty programs?

It s too soon to tell whether Hertz will make any changes to or take steps to combine the various brands loyalty programs, Brown says. A Hertz spokesperson says the programs will be retained, but details remain to be worked out.