Need a car rental company that accepts debit cards
 

hi im new
not sure if im posting in correct forum but

i need your help

im flying to lax airport in june
i need a car rental company that accept debit card as a deposit as my husband does not have a credit card
ive emailed many but there vague and not all have replied
also i need to know whats the best vehicle to book thats not too expensive for 12 days rental 4 adults and 8 peices of luggage
many thanks
i would pre book and print voucher and pay deposit with debot card at counter

any ideas?

Welcome to FlyerTalk, amberpearl.

I've moved your thread to the Los Angeles forum in hopes that someone might be familiar with the rental car company policies there.

Carol
Community Director

Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Autoslash? Any of those could have at least put you in the ball park for what rental car companies are available and what prices would be.

For four adults and eight pieces of luggage you will need a minivan or SUV. Last time I rented from Enterprise I ended up with a Dodge Caravan which would be perfect for your needs. That rental was from Priceline or Hotwire however so it was really just luck of the draw that I ended up with a minivan that I didn't need. Fox rental car in their ads specifically state no credit card needed and their policy appears to be debit card friendly.
http://www.foxrentacar.com/rental-policies/lax.aspx

Phone the rental companies. Don't rely on e-mail.

I used to rent from Avis using a debit card all the time, no problems, all over the place.

They'll just say "We need to put a five hundred dollar hold on your debit card" and I'm not actually sure what a "hold" means, but... uhh, make sure you have some spare money in that account.

Most of the majors will take a debit card, I believe, though the amounts they will put on hold will vary.

This is taken from an upcoming reservation I have w/Dollar:

A hold will be placed on all credit/debit cards for the estimated amount of the rental plus 15% OR a minimum of $400.00, whichever is greater. We will remove the hold at the end of the rental when the final charges are settled.

As another poster above said, make sure you have additional funds in your account since the amount the car rental company puts on hold will not be available to you for the duration of the rental as well as up to a week after.

Using a debit card, the hold will usually last for 5 days after the rental is returned. I would call and ask the company how long the hold usually lasts. If they say it is released once its returned, they are lying. If you're lucky, the hold is taken off that night at mid night. But it is definitely NOT immediately.