Car Hire in San An with no Credit Card

A

Allout555

New Member
Hi folks,
Apologies if this is not on the correct forum. I am heading to San An for a week on 01 October and I've been looking for a hire car for a couple of days. I am coming up against a recurring problem. Does anyone know of a car hire place which will let you rent a car using a debit card for the deposit? I will have plenty cash in my current account to cover the deposit but all the companies so far have asked for it to be on a credit card.
Hopefully someone will know where I can get a car from.
Any help gratefully received.
Thanks
Allan
 
I managed to hire a car on a debit card as it had the big visa logo on plus we were chatting to the person on the desk so much that they didn't really look. I would just get a credit card then close the account after your holiday. I don't think you will find somewhere that will knowingly let you do it on debit. Other members will know more about this
 
... and if worst comes to worst (you cannot get a credit card) you can always as a last resort use a prepaid credit card and shove a grand or 2 on it to cover the excess / security deposit. Withdraw it when you get home. VERY few companies will let you secure a rental with a debit card. You could check Autos Mari & Autos Portmany ... might get lucky with one of these if you buy their comprehensive cover-everything insurance packages with no excess.
 
^^ would be helpful if you gave more details then - which companies did you rent from and how did they deal with the security on collection of the car for excess and damages. It's fine to pay by debit card but almost all companies want a credit card to authorize for the excess. This is because you can't take out a pre-authorization on a debit card.

In the old days you used to be able to leave an envelope of cash (about £500) instead but this has become increasingly rare because there are some occasions when despite all insurances in the event of damage a hirer becomes liable for the whole loss. An example is if they are over the limit or test positive for drugs in an accident. In those circumstances the hirer pays all losses.
 
Last year my mrs mother hired from a firm in cala llonga on a visa debit. She paid the 3e a day insurance so no excess was required and she didn't say anything about needing a credit card only that it needs to be visa which it was. Just go in and pay the insurance and don't say anything if they don't notice you'll have a car, if they do notice then go to another one :lol:
 
[quote="kimajy, post: 792256, member: 23027" It's fine to pay by debit card but almost all companies want a credit card to authorize for the excess. This is because you can't take out a pre-authorization on a debit card.
.[/quote]

This is not true, you can pre auth on most debit cards I do it every day.
 
^^ fair enough then. Is that with British bank account debit cards ? My info is probably well out of date as a lot of things have changed in recent years. However that is the reason I was given the last time I asked in both hotels and car hire firms - I always carry a credit card for authorizations with zero balance and ample credit limit when travelling so it's never an issue. There must be some reason every major international car hire company has a "no credit card no hire" policy though. Local firms along with rent-a-heap companies and companies with blanket zero excess arrangements extending to tyres and glass, full to empty hire terms etc. all do their own thing and as above there are quite a few who will rent on different terms to the major firms.
 
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