C.C. Authorization?
 

Hello All,
My cousin has a low limit CC and is renting a car at YYZ this weekend.
Would anyone know how much the car rental agency authorizes on a CC for a 1 day rental?

thanks

wali

I believe the amount is typically the insurance deductible - $500 in many cases. It may also include pre-auth of an amount for the rental and gas.
ckc

If the contract is for one-day, then I would find it hard to see how they could "block" more than a day plus any other charges/taxes that would apply. I believe this is the practice with hotels when they do the same thing, albeit with generally another $25 to $50 a night for possible incidentals.

Though it would be interesting to know how this process works. I always use my Amex card when I check in, but often then use another Visa or Mastercard at check-out so I don't loose any of my credit line from the "block".

So anyone who knows for sure, please do post.

Same goes for how restaurant/bar bills work. Afterall, they first run our card for the basic charge, but then must go back with the tip and run it through for the actual amount to be charged.

Hertz YYZ typically charges the forecasted cost of the entire rental plus about 60 bucks for incedentals. I rent with them a lot.

Avis normally charges me the rental cost plus $200-300 extra. Avis is my backup when Hertz is too expensive (rare).

I tried once to rent from Dollar and they told me because I had a local license they were going to authorize $1000 over the rental cost. I don't rent from Dollar.

It depends on the rental company. From the Budget website:

What kind of deposit is required when I pick up my car?
Your deposit type and amount will vary by Budget location. In the U.S. for corporate-owned locations, a credit card hold of $300 or total estimated charges (whichever is greater) will be placed on your credit/debit card at the time of rental. It's perfectly fine if you choose not to return the car on or before your schedule return date, but we will place up to three additional holds on your card (depending on how long you keep the car) to cover expected rental charges. Upon your return of the car, all holds will be released, and the actual cost of the rental will be charged. Please note that your bank may take up to two weeks to post the released credit hold to your card. Unfortunately, we cannot be held responsible for any returned checks due to debit card hold processing.

Canadian rentals require a credit card hold of $375 CAD for the first day, and $75 CAD for each additional day. Other countries and licensee-owned locations may vary.

To receive your quoted rate, some airport locations also might require you to present your airline ticket or boarding pass when you pick up your car. For full details, be sure to read the helpful terms and conditions that appear on steps 3 and 4 in the online reservation process and on your reservation confirmation page and/or e-mail.

Aprox. 250$ a day. You may want to ask this question in the forum for the car rental company in question.

If this helps here is an example

I rented last week from Hertz in MSP. My booking was for 3 days at $43.77/day and the amount they pre-authorized on my CC was $224.00 or ~ 2x. In ATL the week before it was pre-auth of $117 for 1 day at $49.86.

The real question is how long the pre-auth stands because my actual bill was only $162. So if the formula is ~ 2x the proposed rental amount and you have a low credit limit, you may get the car, but find yourself in a bind for hotels or restaurants??

DF

As a National Emerald Club member, they only seem to authorize the actual amount of the rental. I recall AVIS used to authroize an extra $20 or so.

As a Hertz CSR, I can confirm the authorization, in Canada, is the estimated rental cost + 60$.

Cheers,

Panzer

Thankyou everyone for the info.
I will relay it to him and give a response here when he finishes the rental!


wali

It may depend on a particular Hertz location. For example, for Hertz @ YYZ:

https://www.Hertz.com/rentacar/byr/i...ationsView.jsp

Or you may try and get a prepaid car rental through a travel agent. Then the car rental may only take an additional $50 or so for incidentals.

Try this company: http://www.autoeurope.com/

Well, maybe it's part of the fine print, but not enforced. All the RA's I've seen from yyz got the Amount + 60$ Auth.

The computer system is adding automatically the 60$ when we ask for the auth and print out the RA. There's a lot of things written on the website that aren't up to date and/or don't apply for canadian corporate locations... When I need to call in OKC, they are always like this : "Canada, hmm, up north eh ?"

Panzer

After speaking to my cousin, I was told the agent at NATIONAL Rent A Car at YYZ had only authorized the amount of the rental on his CC...approx $70.
It would take upto 3 days to remove the authorization because he paid the rental in cash upon returning the vehicle!!