Can anyone reassure me please?

redman1

Hi

I am going to the orlando in the summer and due to problems (thankfully in the past) my credit rating is not great and I have had real problems getting a credit card for the car hire.

I have got a virgin pre-paid card and they assure me that it will be accepted, although I am not convinced. I have phoned the hire company (Alamo) in the states but have gotten no-where. Whilst the card has chip and pin and will be loaded with more than enough to cover the car hire the numbers on the front are not raised like a normal card.

I have a disabled son and need to get him to the accomodation as soon as possible so he can rest from the flight, I am having nightmares about being stuck in the airport, so I was hoping someone can reassure me that everything will be ok, and then maybe I can relax a little and enjoy the build up to the holiday.

Thanks in advance

richardw

How much do Alamo require as a pre-authorisation amount from the card?

redman1

As far as I know it is just the cost of the car hire

richardw

They will want more than that to cover the excess on the insurance should you have an accident.
You need to call them and ask them what amount they need from the card and if they will accept the card. They should be able to identify the card by the first four/five numbers.

ferf1223

if it has a MasterCard logo on it it should be fine...but chip and PIN is not in wide use in the US.

and the Virgin pre-paid card T&Cs says:

4.5 Due to security safeguards, Merchants that accept your Card are required to seek authorisation from us for all of the Transactions that you make. There are some
circumstances where Merchants may require you to have an Available Balance greater than the value of the Transaction you wish to make. You will only be charged for the actual and fi nal value of the Transaction you make. Merchants request this as they mayneed to access more funds than you initially planned to spend. For example:

4.5.1 Hotels and rental cars – As Merchants may not be able to accurately
predict how much your final bill will be, they may request an authorisation
for funds greater than your Available Balance.

Alamo's website indicates that for cash rentals it's the rental price + $300 that's required...so I would think it would be similar for a cc but agree with richardw that you need to ask Alamo the value of the hold they will place on your credit card.

redman1

Thanks for the replies, I was going to put £2000 on the card and not touch it for the holiday, which I hope would more than cover it. I have been trying to ring Alamo, without much success, but have just fired off an email, so hopefully I will get a response to that.

tabskitten

it will be ok

redman1

Just spoke to Alamo Orlando and they said they do not accept pre-paid credit cards, but will accept Visa or Mastercard Debit Cards with a utilility bill