Renting a car???

[bcarson]

I know I am probably repeating myself some. But I have never rented a car so please bare with me. I now know what car companies take debit. When you make a reservation do they charge anything to your card immediately? Hold any amount or not until you pick it up? Also do you need to have the exact times? I know the dates just not the times. I am waiting for better flights right now but thought maybe I should be looking at the rental cars now. I am not going till October 1-10 by the way. Can I just simply cancel without a charge if I decide to drive? Thank you for being so patient and helpful.

 

[Susiesnowflake]

I have only rented cars through Alamo and Dollar. I usually make online reservations for the dates and times of pickup and return. I can go in and modify my reservation as needed. Just be aware that rates could possibly change, and you may not get the same rate if your dates of travel drastically change. I have never had to give a credit card number when making my online reservation, and I have been able to cancel w/o penalty.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Times aren't usually important because you pay by the day. If you decide to cancel, all the big companies (i.e Alamo, Budget, etc) won't charge you a cancelation fee. When you make a reservation, the car isn't charged to your card until you drop it off to go home.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I know I am probably repeating myself some. But I have never rented a car so please bare with me. I now know what car companies take debit. When you make a reservation do they charge anything to your card immediately? Hold any amount or not until you pick it up? Also do you need to have the exact times? I know the dates just not the times. I am waiting for better flights right now but thought maybe I should be looking at the rental cars now. I am not going till October 1-10 by the way. Can I just simply cancel without a charge if I decide to drive? Thank you for being so patient and helpful.

You will be able to cancel without charge, but keep in mind with the debit, they will hold an additional sum in addition to the charge for the car UPON PICKUP, not drop off. We used our debit in Jan with Budget. They charged our card the amount of the rental ($125) plus an additional $100. The $100 was released a few days after we got home. It was fine for us and it was mentioned in the rental contract when I booked but I can see how some people may not know that.

HAve fun - we'll be there in Nov and right now the car rental prices are so high for our week. Hoping they go down!