Cards and car hire

troubles_2

I do not have any credit cards and this is proving very difficult when I want to hire a car. The hire companies all seem to need a credit card to guarantee any losses due to damage etc: Even when I take out their 'extra' insurance they still demand a card. My question is: what type of pre paid card can I get with my impaired credit record thyat would be acceptable to vcar hire firms?:o

glider3560

Do you have a debit card? Most will take a debit card, on payment of a deposit. The deposit on a van is usually £250-500 so I would assume a car deposit is similar.

SusieDo

I have a pre-paid Virgin Mastercard and I have used it to rent cars. You don't need to have a credit check to get one of these, it just costs £9.95 for the card, then £4.95 per month after that. I use it for ryanair flights and the cost I save on not paying their extortionate CC charges pays for this card ten times over within the year. The card is 'electronic use only' which means it can only be swiped in a reader and not used in one off those old style manual credit card machines that take a print of your numbers, but I haven't seen one of these in a while.

Just make sure you have the funds to cover the deposit, which will vary from each hire company - just check the T&C's before you book. If you have the super collision waiver insurance you will still have to leave a deposit to cover the petrol etc, but that should be made clear before you book.

It may take a few days for the deposit to be released by the hire company so don't rely on getting access to that money as soon as you leave the car back!

Hope this helps
:-)