Car rental deposit?

TCDown

Hi,

A few years ago, we were in all sorts of trouble with debts, were in a debt payment plan for a long while and eventually managed to pay everything off and vowed never to "borrow" money again.

But we are going away in June this year and just realised that we will need to have a rental car. I also realise now that most car rental companies want a Credit card as deposit while you have the car.

What I want to do is get a card with enough balance on it to cover this use, then once we have returned the car, hopefully with no damage and plenty of fuel etc., and are back in the UK, cut the card up and close it down.

Can anyone give e any advice on what I should be looking for in a card, to make sure I don't fall foul of any hidden clauses or penalties for using it in this manner?

Or is there a better solution to renting a car?

Thanks for any help

TC

Brie

Someone I know who rents cars often buys car insurance and excess cover from a third party.  Cost for a week or two is minimal and means you don't have to pay lots to the car rental company as their insurance is rather expensive.

There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't get a card for one specific thing and then get rid of it after you've paid off that use.  

Take a look at how much the rental will be and then I'd suggest you then aim for a card that will have double that credit limit so you have plenty of wiggle room.  Depending where you go there may be places to get fuel that only take cards (found that out late at night in France once!) and it will be useful for that.

Presumably you are booking a holiday that is all paid up front and doesn't require a card?

TCDown

Thank you Brie, for taking the time to answer.
Good tip on the insurance, I will look into that next.
As it is France we are going to, I will take your advice about having a little extra available on the card, to pay for fuel etc.
We only have the flights to cover, as we are attending a wedding with chateau accommodation provided for us, but will of course have travel insurance in place.
I guess I better look for a decent card to get. Is there any advantages to just going to my bank, Natwest, or should I be looking further afield? As everything was cleared a while back, my credit rating is very good now, so shouldn't have trouble getting a card most places.

Cheers TC 

sausage_time

Some good tips on this page, including more information on car excess insurance:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire/#excess

I had a rental car that was damaged (vandals) and the policy I took covered the excess.  I had to pay the excess (by credit card, it was Eur 500 if I recall) then claim it back.

400ixl

You are looking for rental excess insurance.

Some rental companies allow you to use a debit card rather than a credit card, but that does of course mean you have to have the amount of money available and locked in your account.

Gandalf644

TCDown said:

As it is France we are going to, I will take your advice about having a little extra available on the card, to pay for fuel etc.
We only have the flights to cover, as we are attending a wedding with chateau accommodation provided for us, but will of course have travel insurance in place.
I guess I better look for a decent card to get. Is there any advantages to just going to my bank, Natwest, or should I be looking further afield? As everything was cleared a while back, my credit rating is very good now, so shouldn't have trouble getting a card most places.

Cheers TC 

As you bank with Natwest, have a look at the Natwest Reawrds Travel credit card:

https://www.natwest.com/credit-cards/travel-reward-credit-card.html

No foreign transaction fees on spending abroad. Plus 1% rewards (cashable) back on travel related spending such as car hire, flights, hotels etc (0.1% elsewhere).

You can do a 'soft credit check' to see if Natwest will give you the card, which also gives an indicative credit limit (a confirmed limit will only be given in formal application, but it gives you an idea).

You can close the card after you get back and have paid it off.

saajan_12

Any card should be fine for a short term, I've not seen one with a minimum balance you have to retain for a minimum timeframe. I'd just look for no exchange fees if you're renting in France. 

At the rental place, ask specifically to pay the rental fee and insurance (if any) on a different debit card, so its just teh deposit hold on the credit card. They usually ask you to enter your card in twice so make sure you know which is which. 

MEM62

TCDown said:

What I want to do is get a card with enough balance on it to cover this use, then once we have returned the car, hopefully with no damage and plenty of fuel etc., and are back in the UK, cut the card up and close it down.

Or keep it.  As you have discovered in this case a credit card is a useful thing to have.  And it does not place you in debt if you clear the balance in full each month.

TCDown said:

Can anyone give e any advice on what I should be looking for in a card, to make sure I don't fall foul of any hidden clauses or penalties for using it in this manner?

There are no hidden clauses.  The arrangement is not that sinister.  Any mainstream card would suit your purpose.  Try your own bank as an obvious first choice as you already have a relationship with them.   

   

DullGreyGuy

Brie said:

Someone I know who rents cars often buys car insurance and excess cover from a third party.  Cost for a week or two is minimal and means you don't have to pay lots to the car rental company as their insurance is rather expensive.

There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't get a card for one specific thing and then get rid of it after you've paid off that use.  

Take a look at how much the rental will be and then I'd suggest you then aim for a card that will have double that credit limit so you have plenty of wiggle room.  Depending where you go there may be places to get fuel that only take cards (found that out late at night in France once!) and it will be useful for that.

Presumably you are booking a holiday that is all paid up front and doesn't require a card?

Depending on the vehicle if you dont take their excess waiver then the excess may be considerably higher which you would need to pay and then claim back from the the external excess cover. Not a problem but just means you need the working capital for the £2k excess or whatever it is. 

Be careful that you read all the rules properly, especially if you're not going with one of the well known hire companies. Some insist on credit cards, others will accept debit. Some odd ones won't accept cards that dont have embossed numbers, increasingly cards have numbers printed on the back rather than embossed through the card. 

If you dont buy the hire car companies waiver you will get a hard sell at pickup, if you've breached one of their rules like having a non-embossed card expect them to say you cannot have the car without their waiver. It's not beneficial for you to tell them you already have insurance from someone else. 


The ideal card would be one without FX fees, obviously you're not going to damage the car and so FX won't ever come into it, hopefully. 

born_again

TCDown said:

Thank you Brie, for taking the time to answer.
Good tip on the insurance, I will look into that next.
As it is France we are going to, I will take your advice about having a little extra available on the card, to pay for fuel etc.
We only have the flights to cover, as we are attending a wedding with chateau accommodation provided for us, but will of course have travel insurance in place.
I guess I better look for a decent card to get. Is there any advantages to just going to my bank, Natwest, or should I be looking further afield? As everything was cleared a while back, my credit rating is very good now, so shouldn't have trouble getting a card most places.

Cheers TC 

Just be aware that in Europe when using Pay @ Pump. They take 120 Euro's & then charge correct amount when debiting. But oversea's payments can take a few days to debit. So easy to run up a few 120 Euro authorisations which hit your avaiable amount to spend. 👍

HillStreetBlues

Have you checked local French car hire to see if they take debit cards?