Credit card vs debit car for renting a car from Dublin airport.

Nicknamed · 27-05-2018 07:04PM #1

Hi recently rented a car in my debit card.
The agent said some charges were avoidable if it was a credit card not sure which ones.
Have a look on the section of receipt attached.
My question is if I get a credit card which of these items would become less expensive?
Thank you.

leonffrench · 27-05-2018 07:09PM

If the 1500 was prepaid on your debit card it comes out of your account but will go back in 3 to 5 days later. If you did that on credit card it would only be "held" and wouldn't actually come out

testicles · 27-05-2018 07:24PM

This post has been deleted.

coylemj · 27-05-2018 09:56PM

testicles wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Unless your bank allows the zap to your debit card to spare you the embarrassment and inconvenience of being refused a rental car but then hammers you for an unauthorised overdrawal. Because (taking the OP's situation), not everyone has a credit balance or facility of €1,500 in their current account.

For most people, the credit card cover for this situation (similar to what happens when you check in to a hotel) is invisible unless they are operating close to their credit limit.

mickdw · 28-05-2018 09:13AM

I think the point is that when using debit, the hire company will require you to take out full excess cover whereas with credit card, not so.

zilog_jones · 28-05-2018 09:20AM

Pre-authorisation on debit cards can potentially lead to double the amount temporarily being debited from your account - I've had this happen with a hotel before and it was not fun. I'd strongly recommend using credit cards for car rental and hotel bookings after experiencing this.

coylemj · 28-05-2018 10:32AM

mickdw wrote: »

I think the point is that when using debit, the hire company will require you to take out full excess cover whereas with credit card, not so.

Only if your debit card cannot pony up a deposit to cover damage to the car. But because they are getting commission for selling you the insurance, they will attempt to use any leverage they can to get you to buy the insurance.

In practice (because they don't have enough money in their account), a lot of people renting a car using a debit card will have no choice but to accept the insurance. While most credit card users will have enough headroom in their account to deal with it.

Samuel T. Cogley · 28-05-2018 04:12PM

Some car rental places, especially abroad, will not entertain debit cards.

Nicknamed · 29-05-2018 06:57AM

Thanks.
I got a quote from a comparison website. But when I went to get the car the actual price I had to pay was 4 times higher.
Agent says it’s because I’m using debit card. Sounded ridiculous but he showed me the small print outs. I was with family so didn’t want to make a scene or argue much.
Thinking of getting a credit card for this reason although have never needed it otherwise. Debit card works very well on internet POS etc.
So the impression I’m getting is that it was not the debit vs credit card issue, rather comparison site quote vs actual car hire company’s cost. The comparison site probably gets customers in, once you are standing at the counter 90% would have no option but to pay whatever is put in front. Thanks

evolving_doors · 29-05-2018 07:01AM

Nicknamed wrote: »

Thanks.
I got a quote from a comparison website. But when I went to get the car the actual price I had to pay was 4 times higher.
Agent says it’s because I’m using debit card. Sounded ridiculous but he showed me the small print outs. I was with family so didn’t want to make a scene or argue much.
Thinking of getting a credit card for this reason although have never needed it otherwise. Debit card works very well on internet POS etc.
So the impression I’m getting is that it was not the debit vs credit card issue, rather comparison site quote vs actual car hire company’s cost. The comparison site probably gets customers in, once you are standing at the counter 90% would have no option but to pay whatever is put in front. Thanks

Ya I got stung for this. The site accepted my booking no probs but when I went to the desk I had to take out full excess when they saw it was a debit card.

delly · 29-05-2018 07:16AM

There are a very few hire companies that will allow you to use a debit card, it's just not the done thing. When you do use it, they will either hold a crazy amount on pre auth or insist you take the zero insurance. I had a similar problem a few years back when the Celtic Tiger crash and my credit card parted ways. I never missed it except when it came to hiring a car.

Nicknamed · 29-05-2018 11:37AM

coylemj wrote: »

Only if your debit card cannot pony up a deposit to cover damage to the car. But because they are getting commission for selling you the insurance, they will attempt to use any leverage they can to get you to buy the insurance.

In practice (because they don't have enough money in their account), a lot of people renting a car using a debit card will have no choice but to accept the insurance. While most credit card users will have enough headroom in their account to deal with it.

Which insurance ? You mean that with credit card one doesn’t need insurance?

wonski · 29-05-2018 11:49AM

Nicknamed wrote: »

Which insurance ? You mean that with credit card one doesn’t need insurance?

There are two tiers of insurance. If you don't take their zero excess policy they will ask you for a larger deposit. If you have a credit card you are more likely to have some balance available than let's say 2k sitting idle in your current account just before holiday.

Their policy can easily double the rental price depending on location.

Your original quote didn't include additional insurance hence the higher price at collection point.

Nicknamed · 29-05-2018 11:56AM

wonski wrote: »

There are two tiers of insurance. If you don't take their zero excess policy they will ask you for a larger deposit. If you have a credit card you are more likely to have some balance available than let's say 2k sitting idle in your current account just before holiday.

Their policy can easily double the rental price depending on location.

Your original quote didn't include additional insurance hence the higher price at collection point.

This sounds familiar to what the guy was saying on the desk!
So In nutshell. I show my credit card and say I don’t wan’t their zero access policy and they can then hold higher amount of money from my card.

Is there any disadvantage of not taking the zero access policy ?

wonski · 29-05-2018 12:20PM

Nicknamed wrote: »

This sounds familiar to what the guy was saying on the desk!
So In nutshell. I show my credit card and say I don’t wan’t their zero access policy and they can then hold higher amount of money from my card.

Is there any disadvantage of not taking the zero access policy ?

If you damage the car, you lose the excess, which could be a lot of money.

If you buy the policy you return the car and don't worry about anything.

coylemj · 29-05-2018 04:10PM

Nicknamed wrote: »

So In nutshell. I show my credit card and say I don’t wan’t their zero access policy and they can then hold higher amount of money from my card.

They will still try it on with the insurance and people with debit cards appear to get screwed around badly in that regard - see posts above.

But people with credit cards can usually get away with declining the insurance. If you're dealing with the larger companies, they tend to not to push it too hard. All they do with credit card renters is that they ringfence a portion of your unused credit, you won't see it on your bill and if you return the car undamaged, it's a completely invisible transaction.

But as poster Wonski says, it comes with the risk that you will be liable for damage up to the excess covered by the standard insurance. So you are taking on risk but on a value for money basis, it's a complete rip-off. Hence the market for excess insurance independent of the rental company which a lot of people take out before going on holidays.

vandriver · 29-05-2018 04:31PM

I've used a UK company indigo car hire twice for hiring cars with a debit card.The hire company just block £200 on your card.
(Disclaimer:I've caved in and bought the hugely expensive zero excess insurance at the desk both times,so they may have taken a bigger deposit if I hadn't)

Samuel T. Cogley · 29-05-2018 05:23PM

Credit Card and 3rd party excess insurance is my advice.

tcawley29 · 29-05-2018 05:49PM

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Credit Card and 3rd party excess insurance is my advice.

Has anyone came across any of these 3rd party excess insurances that offer to people who are not a resident in Ireland any more?

TomOnBoard · 29-05-2018 05:51PM

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Credit Card and 3rd party excess insurance is my advice.

+1

And a good inspection of the car when you get it to make sure any damage both inside and outside are logged on the rental documents.

I've hired cars in many places in Europe and US. I would never hire without buying an excess insurance policy independent of the hirer. I've also tended to avoid the cheaper outfits and use cars from the established multinationals like Hertz, Europcar, Avis etc.although I've also had some bad experiences with them. However, I've hardly ever hired from some of the other outfits without incurring significant extra charges and loads of hassle when handing the car back. And of course, they have you over a barrel when you're handing the car back coz they know youre in a big hurry to catch your flight...

Also, I never wait until I get to the desk to hire. any of the companies I've mentioned will have OK prices on the Ryanair or Aer Lingus car hire tabs or you can use someone like autoeurope.ie

HTH

TomOnBoard · 29-05-2018 05:58PM

tcawley29 wrote: »

Has anyone came across any of these 3rd party excess insurances that offer to people who are not a resident in Ireland any more?

Depends on where you do live I suppose. I know that car hire excess offers in UK as well.

tcawley29 · 29-05-2018 06:03PM

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Depends on where you do live I suppose. I know that car hire excess offers in UK as well.

I'm in the states now. Although I haven't looked too hard either. Some day I'll hopefully get a chance to sit down and look properly.

I was just taking a long shot that someone here may know

vandriver · 29-05-2018 09:46PM

Are there any websites/companies that quote for the full package including zero excess?

TomOnBoard · 29-05-2018 09:53PM

vandriver wrote: »

Are there any websites/companies that quote for the full package including zero excess?

Autoeurope.ie sometimes do a Zero excess package. However I think its just that they agree to cover the loss of excess, rather than the hire company so when you get to the desk, I'm not sure what they would do if/when you would give them a debit card rather than a credit card.

Pat Mustard · 29-05-2018 09:59PM

For flights, hotels and car rental, use credit card.

If you use your credit card and something unusual happens where you get charged for something that you shouldn't, it's the credit card company that pays the merchant. You will have time to dispute an unfair or inappropriate debit that shows up on your credit card account.

If you use your debit card, the merchant takes your money out of your account. I won't say that you won't get it back if it was taken unfairly but it can be a pain to do so.

Safer to use credit card for car rental, imo.

EDIT: Just realised that I haven't answered the question that was actually asked!

Nicknamed · 17-06-2018 08:39PM

Rightoz. Thanks for your helpful inputs.
I’m attaching a quote now for some dates in July.
What do you think I will end up paying at the desk? It’s 87 here.
(Assuming I will use a credit card and I will say to them that I don’t want zero excess insurance)

TomOnBoard · 17-06-2018 08:43PM

Nicknamed wrote: »

Hi recently rented a car in my debit card.
The agent said some charges were avoidable if it was a credit card not sure which ones.
Have a look on the section of receipt attached.
My question is if I get a credit card which of these items would become less expensive?
Thank you.

You were charged to reduce the LDW to 0. If you had used a credit card, this would be optional.

km991148 · 17-06-2018 08:45PM

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Depends on where you do live I suppose. I know that car hire excess offers in UK as well.

insurance4carhire. Can reside anywhere in EU. A friend claimed on them recently as well and was easy process.

L1011 · 17-06-2018 08:50PM

tcawley29 wrote: »

I'm in the states now. Although I haven't looked too hard either. Some day I'll hopefully get a chance to sit down and look properly.

I was just taking a long shot that someone here may know

That cover is usually offered by premium credit cards in the US.

Some banks will hold the 'temporary hold' for up to three weeks on a debit card. The money is unusable at all during that time period. I would recommend never using a debit card for stuff designed for a credit card - car hire, hotel pre-auths and card payment fuel pumps basically.

TheChizler · 17-06-2018 08:53PM

If you can afford to be without the excess cost until you give the car back or it won't put you over your credit limit then get excess cover with a third party provider. I've used Blue Insurance but there are loads others. The rental company might offer insurance for say €100 but you can get it elsewhere for €20 for example.

If you buy their insurance they know for sure any damage is covered and don't need to pay the excess up front, if you go elsewhere they can't be sure it will be covered so take the excess/deposit to be safe. If something happens they take the cost of repair from that and you claim back from the third party provider.

If you do this it's not unknown for them to lie and say you need to get their insurance, for example imply that you won't get the excess back, or use other dirty tricks to confuse you. Just be firm with them and refuse to take it.

L1011 · 17-06-2018 09:08PM

Blue Insurance's excess cover goes to 7,500 - the excess on the "no insurance" with Hertz starts at 10,000 for a Cat A and goes up. So there can be a significant shortfall if you write off the car depending on the rental firm.

Credit card vs debit car for renting a car from Dublin airport.

Comments