I searched and the most recent answers for credit cards seemed to date to 2007, so I thought I would ask again in the event the policy has changed.

I have a rental in April (basic Preferred member) for 3 days, $85. Based on things I have read the pre-auth amount will be anywhere from $85-$300 for this rental (at CMH).

I called Avis and they advised me to call the location directly, but every time I try to call them they are busy and I get routed to the general Avis call center.

Thanks in advance.

I believe Avis just holds the amount of the rental on a credit card. On a debit card, at least the ones I have visited, they will put a hold of the total rental plus $150.

Great, thanks for the response.

Whenever I rented from them, they held the excess amount (unless I took out the extra insurance), plus the amount of the rental. It usually reverted back within two business days of returning the rental.
Oh, and fyi - if you're a young driver, then they held double the excess amount (admittedly, that may only be in Europe/Middle East...)

You posted just as I finally got through to the desk at CMH.

At least at the CMH airport, I was told if it is a credit card, they just place a hold for the estimated amount of the rental, for debit cards they place $400 and do a credit check.

Lol. Glad that you managed to get through.
I just realised (thanks to your post) that I forgot to mention that my experience with the above is with a credit card - the rental station that I used the most often didn't wish to accept debit cards...(which was the reason for me getting my first credit card at the time )

+1

Avis has only ever held the amount of the rental on my credit card as a pre-auth, same as Alamo and National. This was also when I was under 25, hence why me and my low-limit CC gave those three a lot of business!

This could, however, just be the policy in the US/Canada. Here in Europe (and in my experience, the Middle East), they can take the full amount of the waiver

Yeah my experience is only US and Canada, which I figure helps as the OP is renting from a US airport. From what I've seen, all the major companies have different hold policies in Europe and beyond.

By my experience, it totally depends on the location. I have had some Avis locations simply authorize the indicated rental amount plus taxes and fees, while I have had other Avis locations authorize a flat $250 or $300 when the rental total was going to be less than $100, which is what happened to me recently in Missouri. YMMV of course!

Most non-NA locations will hold the total rental plus taxes. Some will also tack on the LDW margin should you decline it.

In some countries, mostly eastern Europe, Africa and some Asian, they'll make you sign a paper charge slip that includes all those costs but will give it back when the car is returned. Usually they do not put a hold on or process that slip.

There are some conventions for this, but you need to allow plenty of "open-to-buy" margin because there is less consistency than you'd like.

BTW, one way rentals, especially multi-country ones, are a completely different issue.

Anyone have any new information? I have back to back rentals in several cities next week, and the authorization amount might be a factor...

Thanks!

My most recent rental at DCA, from 4/1/2011 - 4/4/2011 was for $99.31, including taxes and fees, and that was exactly the amount of the credit card hold.

In the US, the hold on my credit card has always been for the amount of the estimated charges and no more.

In the Dominican Republic, Avis' site seems to say that if your credit card doesn't have car rental insurance, they'll put an extra $1,000 hold on your card, but then goes on to say that they don't do that if your card provides insurance.

It'll be interesting to see what documentation they require when I'm there in June, as my Capital One card has a stupidly low limit (only about twice the expected rental charges), and I'd prefer to use it if possible since they won't charge me foreign transaction fees or inflated currency conversion charges like Amex does.

And the answer in the DR for an intermediate with under $500 in expected charges is: $2000. "Oh, but if you take our LDW, we can do less"

Needless to say, I did not rent from them. I'm fine with pretty much any policy that they want to tell the renter about in advance. What I have a serious problem with is their just making up whatever they feel like on the spot, even when it's exactly the opposite of their written policy. Avis corporate was sympathetic, even going so far as to acknowledge that I was asking only for what was written, but was ultimately unable to help since they (along with all the other agencies in the DR) are franchisees.

I can t help but wonder if they would have been easier to work with if the rate had'nt been so low to begin with.