debit card for rental car?

[zacno]

Hi, I'll be flying into Orlando in Sept and need to rent a car for 10 days. I don't have a credit card, only a debit. Has anyone used a debit card instead of credit card? I thought I read somewhere that debit cards weren't accepted for rental. If youv'e used a debit card, who was it with? Thanks

 

[phxjj05]

You can use a debit card to pay for the rental, but the reservation needs to be secured with an actual credit card.

 

[PRINCESS Ariel34]

Alamo accepts debit cards as long as they have the visa or mc logo on them. Also if you like go to alamo web site and join quick silver which is free. Good luck

 

[Kermit]

Be aware that even if they accept debit cards, they may put a hold on a large amount of money until you return the car, just incase you don't return it. You may not be able to get money that you actually have out of your account. Also, debit cards tend to have limits on single transactions and the amount of money you can charge in a 24 hour period. If you're paying for a lot of things at once (hotel, rental car, etc.), your card may be declined even if you still have plenty of money in the account. You should be able to call and have your limits increased if you want to.

 

[bootc3]

We rented from Dollar for two weeks last September. They put a hold of the total price plus 15% on my debit card. I check my account daily and the hold only lasted 5 days. When we returned the car they just charged the card. NO problem at all. They do run a credit check before renting you the car. I noticed this on my credit report and it is now posted on there website. www.dollar.com

 

[pbhunt]

Has anyone been able to use the Alamo website, lately. I keep getting "Your Reservation has Expired" error message??

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Alamo only charges the card for the amount of rental, no other hold is applied.
I use my debit card for National also, but, I think it is because it is coded a bit differently than other cards. We have never had a problem using it. In fact, we joined Emerald Club using that card.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

PB, clear your cookies, you may have a corrupted one.

 

[pbhunt]

Thanks Gail, that seemed to work and it works now. Speaking of debit cards, I've had a heck of a weekend. I found out yesterday that someone had obtained my check card #, name and billing address, and used that information to purchase themselves a new Palm Pilot. Quite a shock when I checked my account online!It must have been from an online purchase because they had all my info and then requested that the Palm be shipped to a different person and address. Who'd a thought, I'm the one that's always telling people how safe it is to shop online!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Oh PB that is terrible! Aren't they supposed to check the address? Lately they have been asking for the three digit number from the signature line on the back of the card. Unless someone has the card in front of them, they will never know that one.
I shop on line all the time, this will most definitely make me more cautious.