USA - Car Hire - Prepaid or debit cards ?

StuieUK34

Hi all,
Am off to the US next year for a holiday, need to book into hotels and use a hire car.... (Fort Lauderdale Florida)
Heres my dilema, and reading mixed reviews (from americans, not brits!)
Me or my partner dont use Credit Cards...
We both have Prepaid Credit Cards (Mastercard) and Co-op Visa Debit cards for basic accounts....
Now when we land in the US, each of our cards will have in the region of £3000 on each, so money not an issue.....

For the types of cards we use, can anyone see a problem when it comes to hiring a car, or booking into a hotel ??? (i.e. some car hire places dont like prepaid cards, or Visa Debit cards)... I know they like to take a chunk of like $500 out which i am cool with
Any help aprreciated, am sure theres others in the same position...
(As to car hire, it will be booked and paid for in full by a broker over here, like ebookers or usarentacar and FULL insurance gonna be paid for in advance), so its just the security side as such....

richardw

Look at the broker terms and conditions you intend to use about debit cards.

StuieUK34

broker terms relate to a standard which no company follows, hence the question on this website aimed at people in the same situation who may have had experience of this

I have read on US sites of people being allowed cars and the deposit as such coming from there visa debit card for the likes of Hertz who say they dont allow that in there terms...
Cheers

richardw

So you're asking for who are the rule benders then?

What would you do if you assumed they would bend the rules and they didn't?

I've been to Fort Lauderdale and it would be difficult to have a great holiday without a car.

Perhaps just get a credit card for holidays and then use it, pay off the balance and then lock it away until the next trip.

StuieUK34

I'm asking if anyone has been to the states and hired a car, but use only there VISA debit card or a Prepaid credit card.....
Thats not a rule bender, thats a simple straight forward question...
and if it were so simple to get a normal credit card, i would'nt be asking the above question....

So if anyone has been to the US and knows a little on the above, advice appreciated..
Cheers
Stuie

richardw

From http://www.usrentacar.co.uk/terms.aspx

"A valid credit card in the name of the lead driver must be produced upon collection of the car, as a form of deposit.. U.S. Rent A Car Ltd cannot be held responsible for rentals rejected if a credit card in the name of the lead driver is not presented. The credit card must hold enough funds for the suppliers security deposit. Cash deposits are rarely accepted, check before you hire."

eslick

ignore US sites, people from the US use their own insurance so everything you read wont be for you. there are some who will accept a debit card, dont know which but the question is always on here.

If you dont use credit cards, then thats a mistake, get yourself one, it will make hiring a car easier, pay it off when you get home or even dont use it except to hire the car. You will also get the bank rate if you take out a post office card so will be better off. Never understand someone saying they dont use them, they can be bad things but for holiday, even just booking you shouldnt be without one.

peachyprice

The only pre-paid cards that will allow car hire are Cashplus or Stirling, and it's not automatic, you have to ask them to activate the function. This has nothing to do with the car hire companies, it's the way the prepaid cards work, the same goes for debit cards.

richardw

Links

Cashplus http://www.mycashplus.co.uk/default.aspx

Sterling http://www.sterlingcard.co.uk/index.php

CountryGoose

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Hi all,
Am off to the US next year for a holiday, need to book into hotels and use a hire car.... (Fort Lauderdale Florida)
Heres my dilema, and reading mixed reviews (from americans, not brits!)
Me or my partner dont use Credit Cards...
We both have Prepaid Credit Cards (Mastercard) and Co-op Visa Debit cards for basic accounts....
Now when we land in the US, each of our cards will have in the region of £3000 on each, so money not an issue.....

For the types of cards we use, can anyone see a problem when it comes to hiring a car, or booking into a hotel ??? (i.e. some car hire places dont like prepaid cards, or Visa Debit cards)... I know they like to take a chunk of like $500 out which i am cool with
Any help aprreciated, am sure theres others in the same position...
(As to car hire, it will be booked and paid for in full by a broker over here, like ebookers or usarentacar and FULL insurance gonna be paid for in advance), so its just the security side as such....

What I don't understand is why you don't just get a credit card now. ready for next year?

Even if you have a poor history, you should be able to get a specialist card with a painful interest rate. This is not an issue if you do not borrow and put money through the card to get back a decent credit limit.

If your car is prepaid, you will not be using the card (hopefully!) for any charges, so no need to worry about the FX fees.

Again, with a hotel, you can use a card to check-in, but check-out with your prepaid card. You may find that you run out of credit during the trip and the pre-authorisations may not be released in good time.

You may want to look at top-up car hire insurance here to cover any exclusions on the car policy which may cause a charge to the car - wheels, tyres and glass are normally an issue.

StuieUK34

Because when your BANCRUPT, you cannot get credit cards, so therefore even though i work and have plenty of £££ and pay X, Y and Z for this and that, i am unable to get a credit card, hence asking for anyone who reads this who has done what i am asking using DEBIT and Prepaid cards...

No offense guys, but your replys are based around simple facts, the kind which are totally useless when someone is asking a specific question..... (and i know all about cashplus and sterling, the cards most of the pre-paid buyers avoid!)

If a moderator sees this thread, please delete/remove it as its been ruined now !!!!!!..