Car hire in USA/credit card query

cpu

When you hire a car online in the UK for pick up in the USA when you arrive on holiday, does your card get charged there and then and you don't need it again, or do you have to take the card you used for the booking with you for pick up?

peterg1965

I have just booked a rental car for my US holiday in July. I was told by Avis that the card is not charged until you collect the car. I would presume you need to the card you booked with for id purposes. Why dont you give the rental company a call?

[Deleted User]

my advice - dont ever pre,book rental cars for the US with the big companies Avis etc.. they always charge you a helluva lot more than if you just walk up to the desk when you land at the airport.
for example if you are under 25 and book it through the UK for USA they will charge you an extra c£30 a day. but in the US they dont charge more for underage drivers.

Also try to go the smaller rental car companies and if possible get a taxi to the nearest city centre and find a private car rental company there (will be cheaper again and easily as good)

for example I rented a car in Minnesota recently - i checked first through the UK websites - something like £300, at the airport with the same company it was $310. I got a train into the nearest city as I wanted to stay there anyway that night. - looked up the phone book in my room, rang a small independent car rental company. got the car for $190 plus they gave me a lift to the airport when i left it back.

Oh and in case you decide to do it from here, they dont charge the credit card until you leave the car back after your rental. They hold your details on file until then. If it is a debit card they will take a damage deposit when you rent the car.

hope this helps

Michael

peterg1965

You make a good point. But there is always the risk of there being no suitable cars left to rent when you arrive. If i travelled alone i would do what you suggest, in fact i have just booked US hotels direct with the hotels in the states which saves money (exchange rate staying the same hopefully!) to avoid rip off charges in the UK. However, travelling with family it is good to know that the car is reserved and ready after a long flight even if it does come at a slight premium.

cpu

Thanks. I would really need the security of pre booking as we are a group of 6 people aged from very young to very old. I don't fancy running into possible problems with the hire as the stress of hanging around with the youngest and eldest would kill me, lol.