Avis car hire rules - anyone experienced this problem ?
 

Hi. I've booked a hire car with Avis, picking up at Venice airport, through Airmiles (UK). I've now received the documentation which includes an Avis leaflet, which states that a guarantee is required in the form of a credit card in the name of the principal driver. Problem - DH doesn't have (and doesn't want) a credit card and I don't drive. Anyone know if they enforce this ?

We've rented cars lots of times before, in different countries (including Italy) & with different companies (although presumably not Avis) and I've never come across this before.

I know I could get him a 2nd card on my account but it seems a lot of hassle.

You have a credit card, right? Call the card company and get an additional card in your husband's name. Can probably be done immediately.

I don't know about Europe, but one will have a lot of difficulties traveling in the US without a credit card for hotel and rental car reservations.

It's not whether he &quot;has one or wants one&quot;. He <b>needs one</b>, period.

It's not just an Avis rule. Can you call Avis and ask if they accept a cash deposit instead of the credit card guarantee?

Well thanks, but...

Like I said, it seems a lot of hassle to get another card on my account.

And also like I said, we have never experienced this rule with any other car hire company, over many holidays in different European countries and at home. Him as the driver and me as the credit card holder has never been a problem with any of the companies we've hired from before.

And DH gets by just fine without a credit card, living and travelling in Europe. He has no intention of travelling in the US.

And I don't want to leave a cash deposit or indeed any deposit at all. The credit card guarantee is just in case of any damage. I purposely don't use companies which require a deposit - most here don't.

Why don't you rent the car in your name and add him as a second driver. Then he just needs to hold a valid drivers license.

Getting a card in his name is the easiest method of all. Call, and you're done in 5 minutes.

Why is there a lot of hassle? Instead of posting here, asking there, calling various rental car companies, sending direct deposits, etc...

I agree with the previous poster. It's simple process to get another card on your account with your husband's name.
As for the suggestion about asking the rental company if it'll take cash instead a credit card when booking...forget it!

What would you do if you lost your card and he doesn't have one?

Or, why am I such a wuss that I need &quot;Plan B&quot; all the time...?

Use to be you could actually rent a car without using a major credit card but you had to put up a LOT of cash up front. Perhaps now that option is out of the question.

Don;t know any company that will let you rent a car without a CC in the name of the driver (that's who is responsible and has to be insured - and be able to pay in case of an accident). You should be able to get him another card on your account in a couple of days.

And were you planning on spending all that money on buying tons of insurance versus the free insurance provided by the card?

Caroline - do you have a dirver's license and just don't drive, or do you not have a license at all?

If you have one, I'd agree w/ luvtotravel and just rent in your name/your credit card and add DH as the 2nd driver.

But if you don't have a license, that won't work. In that case - just get him a card on you acct. He doesn't need to ever use it anywhere else (and it might come in handy some time)

Going to Europe and renting a car without a credit card is like going to Europe without your luggage: no clothes, no medicines, no convenience items.

If your husband is of Scottish ancestry, as the name suggests, he must be like my great uncle Pugh Hollinger. A harder head never existed. He kept his money in one Prince Albert tobacco can buried in the backyard. He kept his bills in a Prince Albert can on his desk.

At the end of the month he would take his money and pay the bills, if he could. Anything left over, he put in his pocket. If the money did not stretch far enough, somebody had to extend credit or start legal proceedings.

The point is that Uncle Pughe had credit whether he wanted it or not. So unless you want to make a very awkward situation out of one that does not need to be all that awkward, just stay the course. It will become even more awkward.

The last I heard in Switzerland, I could rent a car without a credit card IF I deposited money equal to the market value of the car!!

The rental companies do not want your credit card; they want proof of financial responsibility. With an international customer of unknown origin and no other pedigree, a credit card is at least a token of financial worth sufficiently suitable to let you drive off in a piece of potentially lethal machinery.

I personally don't see what the big darn deal is. You don't leave home to travel without your clothes, unless you are going to a nudist colony, and even there you will need to pay!! So in that respect a credit card is more important than your clothes.

My suggestion is to join the 21st century and quit putting money in a tobacco can like my Uncle Pughe.

I bet he doesn't use a cell phone either. Darned electronic gadgets.
Not worth a dram until you need one, like on the side of a highway in a broken down car in the middle of the night.

Hi Caroline,
You may be able to request a card for him on your account online. In the US, this is how I've requested a card for my husband on my account. It's called an &quot;authorized user&quot; card. I just log in to the &quot;My Account&quot; section and click the link for &quot;add authorized user&quot;. The card usually arrives within a week to 10 days. After the trip, you can have it canceled if you wish with just a phone call. We rent from Avis often and it is indeed a firm requirement in our experience at least.

Thanks for trying to help, people - but nobody actually knows the answer to my specific question, then, it seems.

luvtotravel &amp; Janis : I don't have a driving licence.

rkkwan : I have now actually tried to request a card on my account in his name but it wasn't 5 minutes - it was an hour on hold, then half an hour on the phone with an offshore call centre who kept putting me on hold, before eventually telling me they'd send me an application form in 1-2 weeks. I can't wait that long if I need to cancel and rebook with someone else.

SuzieCII &amp; bobbrown : we both have debit cards, which are much more widely used here. Bob - &quot;going to Europe without a credit card &quot; ?! - we live here ! And travel to the Continent several times a year ! And note that *I* have a credit card, anyway. BTW DH is actually Welsh.

nytraveler : as I said, twice, we've done it many times before. I'm guessing it must be just American companies that have this rule. I don't understand your question, &quot;And were you planning on spending all that money on buying tons of insurance versus the free insurance provided by the card?&quot;. But we never take the optional excess waiver insurance if that's what you mean. You don't seem to realise we would be using a cc - but mine, not his.

Gosh, I thought I had phrased everything very carefully and specifically, but rather wish I hadn't bothered now - there are a lot of people who don't read things properly, it seems.

caroline - I am really sorry your credit card has such poor customer service.

I've recently requested additional American Express and regular Visa and Mastercards for my parents here in the US, and each time it took me 5 minutes or less to finish the process. No forms to fill, nothing except basic information.

I guess it wasn't as easy for you in Scotland.

Thanks for your kind thoughts rkkwan - I think the problem is not so much Scotland as the international bank (HSBC)/Indian call centre combo.

Hi Caroline.

I rent cars in the US quite often and to the best of my knowledge, they always need a credit card from the person renting the car in his/her name.

Also, when my husband and I both intend to drive we both need a valid license. But of course you don't drive, nor do you intend to.

I have seen times in Florida (I believe) when some companies allow people to rent without a credit card. At least I have seen signage to that effect posted in the rental car office but this was a local rental company and not a national company.

I guess they want a paper trail.

I realize that in Europe, as I have looked into it, that you have companies that will insure your rental car without the bother of using a credit card nor the expensive CDW that the car agencies charge. So you probably have never had to rely on the coverage that a lot of Americans depend on.

Good luck.

Hi CE,

A. Call Avis to see how rigidly they enforce the rule.

They might require a hefty cash deposit.

B. Call www.auto-europe.co.uk at
0800 358 1229

See if they can do something for you without a CC.

((I))

Caroline, your specific question was if anyone knew if the CC rule would be enforced.

The answer is, based on my and apparently others' experience with AVIS, is that you will be dealing with an Avis clerk in Venice who will know only to ask for a CC imprint. And it is an imprint, or at worst a 'hold' against your card, it is not a deposit.

I understand you don't like the rule. But the rule it is, and good luck trying to avoid having it applied to you. You have no leverage here, your differing experiences with other firms notwithstanding. In fact, your past experience goes against you - if you were a longtime customer of AVIS, you might get a perk or two - but it sounds like you've never rented from them before. In other words, to them you are an unknown quantity. My experience with such matters tells me that the clerk will be more concerned about saving his butt, and the manager his company's car, than either of them will be about saving your business, particularly non-revenue business like Airmiles.

You are not without choices: you can use your Airmiles for something else (say a night's stay at a participating hotel chain, say) and go with another car firm.

Best of luck with your plans.

The ansewer to your question is that Avis can and WILL deny you the rental and/or charge you extra fees because of your issue. How you have gotten around it in the past is beyond me, but apparently you have. You have the Avis leaflet which outlines thier policies. I fail to see why you think Fodors is going to be more accurate then that. (And what were you planning to do if we said it's no problem and Avis then enforeced their rule?)

You have two options. Roll the dice and hope you get lucky or get DH a credit card. If the car is vital to your plans I suggest getting the credit card.