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Hertz Deposit Question for Visa - 2018 Edition

Hertz Deposit Question for Visa - 2018 Edition

Old Jan 6, 2018, 4:51 am
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by rcspeirs
"Guess I'll never use Hertz if I ever rent outside of USA."
It's the US that is different. Expect a hold on your card, in every country (except US) and with any rental company. USD200 is low, it can be a four figure number on high value cars in Europe.
Correct. Hertz in VIE holds EUR1000 or $1200 on any car!!!
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 10:18 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
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My experience when using a Visa card in the USA is a hold equalling the unpaid rental costs plus 10%. If the rental is prepaid then there will is no hold. (10% of 0 =0).
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:54 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by kilo
My experience when using a Visa card in the USA is a hold equalling the unpaid rental costs plus 10%. If the rental is prepaid then there will is no hold. (10% of 0 =0).
You have a strange experience. I rented 33 times with a Visa card last year + today. It is NEVER more than the actual charges (I don't do prepay). Never.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 2:40 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by matthewqb
See, to me, that's absolutely ridiculous... no car will be rolling in empty and needing $450 of gas, and it's highly unlikely you'd extend your reservation up to it being that much extra... I've heard people arguing, attempting to justify the large deposit by "Well, they are letting you drive off with a $30,000 car for a tiny fractional percentage of the price..." True, but totaling or even being involved in a fender bender in said car will result in damage that far exceeds $450. That's what insurance is for, on credit cards, personal policies, or purchased from the car company. It's just ridiculous.

Guess I'll never use Hertz if I ever rent outside of USA.
I'll be honest with you, as a former rental car manager: if someone can't handle a $200 deposit on their card, I don't really want them renting my car.

You haven't had to call two dozen overdue renters twice a day who won't return their car and won't answer your phone calls and whose cards are declining for the balances due. You haven't had to resort to spending hours Googling for social media profiles to send messages to demanding the return of your vehicle. You haven't had to spend your days combing through neighborhoods and peering in garage door windows to look for your missing car. You haven't had to call all the local taxi companies and put a $200 bounty out for your missing car and pay out on that when the car is called in. You haven't had to call the police and fill out all the paperwork to report a car stolen, wait weeks for a recovery, wait weeks more for the cops to hold it in evidence, and then have to deal with trying to collect hundreds (or thousands) of dollars from the customer for days or weeks of back-due rental rates, fuel, damage, cleaning fees to get the dog hair and smoke and weed smell out of the car, towing and impound fees, etc., etc., etc.

Is a $200 deposit a guarantee that won't happen? Does that happen with everyone who doesn't have $200 to spare on their card? No, but I will say that in the 15 years I've been in this industry and the tens if not hundreds of thousands of rental transactions I've touched, almost every single problematic renter either had only a debit card or a credit card that was maxed to the point it couldn't even take a couple hundred bucks extra. Turns out there's some statistically-significant correlation between people whom banks trust enough to give a credit line large enough that customers can absorb a relatively trivial security deposit of a couple hundred bucks and people who can be trusted to treat the car reasonably, not use it in the commission of a crime, return it on-time or at proactively extend it and willingly pay the extra rental rate for doing so, not just "forget" to return the car, not disassemble the car for parts for their car (need a replacement bumper for your Dodge Charger? why not just rent one and take the bumper off of it!), and not outright steal the car.

Yes, other mitigating factors are a decent credit score, proof that you're an out-of-town resident and are flying out (in the form of an airline ticket), a checking account with a decent balance in it, etc., but honestly, if I were to open my own rental franchise (not something I'd recommend--the margins are slim to negative unless you really work to hire and train a top-notch crew of productive salespeople), I would decline all those rentals and only rent to credit-card holders that have at least a few hundred bucks extra they can spare for a security deposit. That one thing cuts out like 98% of risky renters right there.

Last edited by jackal; Jan 6, 2018 at 2:49 pm
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 4:21 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by jackal
I'll be honest with you, as a former rental car manager: if someone can't handle a $200 deposit on their card, I don't really want them renting my car.

You haven't had to call two dozen overdue renters twice a day who won't return their car and won't answer your phone calls and whose cards are declining for the balances due. You haven't had to resort to spending hours Googling for social media profiles to send messages to demanding the return of your vehicle. You haven't had to spend your days combing through neighborhoods and peering in garage door windows to look for your missing car. You haven't had to call all the local taxi companies and put a $200 bounty out for your missing car and pay out on that when the car is called in. You haven't had to call the police and fill out all the paperwork to report a car stolen, wait weeks for a recovery, wait weeks more for the cops to hold it in evidence, and then have to deal with trying to collect hundreds (or thousands) of dollars from the customer for days or weeks of back-due rental rates, fuel, damage, cleaning fees to get the dog hair and smoke and weed smell out of the car, towing and impound fees, etc., etc., etc.

Is a $200 deposit a guarantee that won't happen? Does that happen with everyone who doesn't have $200 to spare on their card? No, but I will say that in the 15 years I've been in this industry and the tens if not hundreds of thousands of rental transactions I've touched, almost every single problematic renter either had only a debit card or a credit card that was maxed to the point it couldn't even take a couple hundred bucks extra. Turns out there's some statistically-significant correlation between people whom banks trust enough to give a credit line large enough that customers can absorb a relatively trivial security deposit of a couple hundred bucks and people who can be trusted to treat the car reasonably, not use it in the commission of a crime, return it on-time or at proactively extend it and willingly pay the extra rental rate for doing so, not just "forget" to return the car, not disassemble the car for parts for their car (need a replacement bumper for your Dodge Charger? why not just rent one and take the bumper off of it!), and not outright steal the car.

Yes, other mitigating factors are a decent credit score, proof that you're an out-of-town resident and are flying out (in the form of an airline ticket), a checking account with a decent balance in it, etc., but honestly, if I were to open my own rental franchise (not something I'd recommend--the margins are slim to negative unless you really work to hire and train a top-notch crew of productive salespeople), I would decline all those rentals and only rent to credit-card holders that have at least a few hundred bucks extra they can spare for a security deposit. That one thing cuts out like 98% of risky renters right there.
You can justify that for infrequent or one-off renters but you cannot justify that for a frequent renter. I am a Hertz President's Circle member. I am not going to run off with the car, steal parts off it, use it in a commission of an offense or some other ridiculous action. In a calendar year, I will rent 40+ times (each rental spanning multiple days usually).

Yeah I can handle $450 deposit from Hertz. Doesn't change the fact it's ridiculous. National and Enterprise doesn't charge me any deposit at the airport.

Yeah I don't call to extend my rentals, why should I? I've never had a branch call me asking me when I am going to return the car, I show up whenever I am ready to return the car and they bill me accordingly. That is the convenience offered.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 5:18 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by matthewqb
rune87, would appreciate you checking back in on how the USAA rental goes especially. Have heard some bad things about Hertz and USAA elsewhere on the internet.
i have been both A Hertz Customer and USAA member for over 20 years. Use the provided CDP code discount regularly.

Whatever reports of problems or negativity you have heard of are unfounded. Oftentimes the USAA rate offers exceptional values and of course some of the backend policies are beneficial too.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:12 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by manohman
You can justify that for infrequent or one-off renters but you cannot justify that for a frequent renter. I am a Hertz President's Circle member. I am not going to run off with the car, steal parts off it, use it in a commission of an offense or some other ridiculous action. In a calendar year, I will rent 40+ times (each rental spanning multiple days usually).

Yeah I can handle $450 deposit from Hertz. Doesn't change the fact it's ridiculous. National and Enterprise doesn't charge me any deposit at the airport.

Yeah I don't call to extend my rentals, why should I? I've never had a branch call me asking me when I am going to return the car, I show up whenever I am ready to return the car and they bill me accordingly. That is the convenience offered.
I agree that the chances of a PC, 5*, or even regular Gold member running off with a car are pretty slim. But if you're a PC, then chances are your credit is good enough and your credit limits are high enough that you wouldn't even notice if Hertz put a $200--or maybe even a $2,000---hold on your card. In fact, I'm a multi-year PC member and didn't even notice until this thread brought it up that my rentals with my Visa aren't getting hit with a $200 deposit. Why should I? I have thousands of dollars of available credit on my card. The authorization falls off after a week or so. I don't even notice it.

Regarding not feeling it necessary to inform them that you won't be returning the car as expected, you may end up paying for that privilege now that Hertz is starting to roll out late-return fees at more and more locations.

Originally Posted by flyupfrnt
I have been both A Hertz Customer and USAA member for over 20 years. Use the provided CDP code discount regularly.

Whatever reports of problems or negativity you have heard of are unfounded. Oftentimes the USAA rate offers exceptional values and of course some of the backend policies are beneficial too.

The very vast majority of my rentals over the years has been with the USAA discount, as it indeed generally offers a great rate with good benefits. I have never once had or heard of any problems or issues using it. Of note, though, I just discovered today that independent franchisees are not obligated to extend the USAA discount's benefits to customers. :/
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 8:02 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by jackal
I agree that the chances of a PC, 5*, or even regular Gold member running off with a car are pretty slim. But if you're a PC, then chances are your credit is good enough and your credit limits are high enough that you wouldn't even notice if Hertz put a $200--or maybe even a $2,000---hold on your card.
No, I'm pretty sure I'd notice and I'd make a big stink if I had a $2,000 hold on my credit card over a car rental seeing as my credit limit is about $3,000. I haven't requested a higher credit limit because I don't particularly need one and I only make a modest salary. We cannot all be rich, corporate clients or on six figure salaries.

Regarding not feeling it necessary to inform them that you won't be returning the car as expected, you may end up paying for that privilege now that Hertz is starting to roll out late-return fees at more and more locations.
The minute Hertz charges me for late-returns is the same minute I move all my reservations back to Enterprise/National and never look back. Their loss..
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Old Jan 7, 2018, 2:08 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by jackal
I'll be honest with you, as a former rental car manager: if someone can't handle a $200 deposit on their card, I don't really want them renting my car.

You haven't had to call two dozen overdue renters twice a day who won't return their car and won't answer your phone calls and whose cards are declining for the balances due. You haven't had to resort to spending hours Googling for social media profiles to send messages to demanding the return of your vehicle. You haven't had to spend your days combing through neighborhoods and peering in garage door windows to look for your missing car. You haven't had to call all the local taxi companies and put a $200 bounty out for your missing car and pay out on that when the car is called in. You haven't had to call the police and fill out all the paperwork to report a car stolen, wait weeks for a recovery, wait weeks more for the cops to hold it in evidence, and then have to deal with trying to collect hundreds (or thousands) of dollars from the customer for days or weeks of back-due rental rates, fuel, damage, cleaning fees to get the dog hair and smoke and weed smell out of the car, towing and impound fees, etc., etc., etc.

Is a $200 deposit a guarantee that won't happen? Does that happen with everyone who doesn't have $200 to spare on their card? No, but I will say that in the 15 years I've been in this industry and the tens if not hundreds of thousands of rental transactions I've touched, almost every single problematic renter either had only a debit card or a credit card that was maxed to the point it couldn't even take a couple hundred bucks extra. Turns out there's some statistically-significant correlation between people whom banks trust enough to give a credit line large enough that customers can absorb a relatively trivial security deposit of a couple hundred bucks and people who can be trusted to treat the car reasonably, not use it in the commission of a crime, return it on-time or at proactively extend it and willingly pay the extra rental rate for doing so, not just "forget" to return the car, not disassemble the car for parts for their car (need a replacement bumper for your Dodge Charger? why not just rent one and take the bumper off of it!), and not outright steal the car.

Yes, other mitigating factors are a decent credit score, proof that you're an out-of-town resident and are flying out (in the form of an airline ticket), a checking account with a decent balance in it, etc., but honestly, if I were to open my own rental franchise (not something I'd recommend--the margins are slim to negative unless you really work to hire and train a top-notch crew of productive salespeople), I would decline all those rentals and only rent to credit-card holders that have at least a few hundred bucks extra they can spare for a security deposit. That one thing cuts out like 98% of risky renters right there.
That's okay then - if I encounter a manager that feels like that, I'll walk across the hall to another agency where I won't have a problem and will be treated with respect and professionalism - like Enterprise. I've got a good credit score, and a couple of good credit cards, but lenders won't give me a higher limit due to my short history. I could pay cash for my trip, in fact I have all the funds for this one set aside so that as the charges post I immediately pay them. But we all know rental companies don't go for cash, even for debit cards require return tickets and credit checks (all of which I could provide and be approved) but why the hassle? And then I don't get my coverage through my card company. Ouch.

All business involves risk. I encounter lots of people that look down on me for my age for "inexperience," but they don't know me or the details of my life and business, and they're often not worth my valuable time. So I've learned to just walk away from that (and post a review on my experience, and if I've really been mistreated, call corporate. Which I have done, and I have gotten apologies and extra points, coupons, vouchers, partial or total refunds, all due to rude salespersons, managers, and ticket agents.)
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Old Jan 25, 2018, 10:30 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
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Originally Posted by CalItalian
You have a strange experience. I rented 33 times with a Visa card last year + today. It is NEVER more than the actual charges (I don't do prepay). Never.
I guess you are probably right - it might just be the Hertz 'partners' Thrifty and/or Dollar that take 10%. I'll look out next time.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 10:29 am
  #26  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
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DP: Rented twice in the last 10 days on one-way rentals, was hit with a $200 deposit both times. Not a Gold Plus member though, since I'm still under 21.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 12:08 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by matthewqb
These replies are fantastic - my confidence is soaring!



rune87, would appreciate you checking back in on how the USAA rental goes especially. Have heard some bad things about Hertz and USAA elsewhere on the internet.
Sorry I never checked back in. Completely spaced. No $200 hold showed on my card, nor for any subsequent rentals I've had.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 2:14 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
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I've been Gold for 20 years, currently 5 star, and on my third rental with them this month (this time in MCO) I see a 600 "pending" charge on my mastercard. Maybe they've always done this and this is the first time I've noticed?
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Old Mar 16, 2018, 8:05 am
  #29  
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I rented a car from Hertz, for one day, in Geneva, Switzerland last week, and the hold on my credit card was CHF 450 (~$475).

Originally Posted by manohman
My VISA just got dinged $450 deposit at YYZ.

Jesus Christ.
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Old Mar 24, 2018, 2:43 am
  #30  
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Update: I was disappointed to find that on my first Hertz rental about a month ago now, I was in fact charged a $200 deposit on top of my $300 rental reservation with my Visa. Because of this, I had to rearrange my travel plans at the last minute. I had $200 locked up that I had allotted to a certain hotel and had to stay somewhere less impressive at the last minute. I was very disappointed. I will just have to mentally add $200 to any reservation total I see online from now on, and I'd suggest people plan for that, as it is listed in their policy, and if the hold does not hit your card, you can consider yourself lucky and take it as a pleasant surprise.

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