How much of a "hold" does national put on my credit card

[hawgndodge]

I'm confused.

I called national on site at Disney and she told me there wasn't any hold on credit cards and that I could even use my debit card as long as I had return flight information.

I've not rented a car in years but I remember them putting like a 500.00 hold on my card before and not even allowing debit cards.

Anybody dealt with national there at Disney and had a hold put on or just used a debit card with return flight information?

Thanks

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

All the times we have rented the only company that put a hold was Dollar for $250

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We rent cars with every trip/vacation and never had a hold put on credit card. We usually use Avis. Must say I am a bit concerned because I was considering National for our next WDW trip in April. What is the purpose of this?

 

[bumbershoot]

Must say I am a bit concerned because I was considering National for our next WDW trip in April. What is the purpose of this?

The OP said that National said they do NOT put a hold on the CC.


So far we have exclusively used National for our WDW trips, and we haven't dealt with any sort of hold at all.

I believe gmeh (who worked for Alamo which is connected to National) has said they charge at the beginning of the rental, but that has never been our experience with our CCs. We only see the charge at the end of the rental.

 

[tjmw2727]

The only time I have had a ccd' hold when renting a car is when I rent locally using a local "non airport" rental site. IME if you have a confirmed flight then the risk to the rental car agency is lower than if your renting locally or for a longer period of time.

So generally speaking if you are renting from an airport location with a confirmed flight on your reservation you won't be subject to the cc'd hold.

 

[hawgndodge]

Thanks. It's been a while since I've rented personally. It's always been business.

 

[suemom2kay]

I recently rented Alamo via Priceline and they put $150 hold on my card. I've never had that when I've rented directly with Alamo.

 

[gmeh1]

I'm confused.

I called national on site at Disney and she told me there wasn't any hold on credit cards and that I could even use my debit card as long as I had return flight information.

I've not rented a car in years but I remember them putting like a 500.00 hold on my card before and not even allowing debit cards.

Anybody dealt with national there at Disney and had a hold put on or just used a debit card with return flight information?

Thanks

National does not put a hold on your card. Alamo does not put a hold on your card for reservations made by them.

 

[gmeh1]

The OP said that National said they do NOT put a hold on the CC.


So far we have exclusively used National for our WDW trips, and we haven't dealt with any sort of hold at all.

I believe gmeh (who worked for Alamo which is connected to National) has said they charge at the beginning of the rental, but that has never been our experience with our CCs. We only see the charge at the end of the rental.

You are correct, they do charge at the end of the rental. But, they do run the card at the time of rental, probably to make sure it is a valid card. I worked for National and Alamo.......different postions at different times.

 

[Lewisc]

. What is the purpose of this?

Different agencies have different policies. You asked the purpose of a hold.

Assume your credit card is charged when you return the car. A hold equal to the estimated rental price protects the company from a renter who might max out his credit card during the trip.

A renter who returns the car with an empty tank of gas (who didn't prepay for gas), a day late or with a minor ding could owe an extra $50-$100. There is some justification for putting a hold for an mount more then the estimated rental cost.