Ahmed_Saad

Is it possible to rent a car with NO credit card in (Barcelona, Spain Airport), just paying everything in cash?!!
If so where and how?
And why exactly there must be a credit car for a car rental?

Thanks

ribeirasacra

Some ideas.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.php?t=442281
http://www.thrifty.com/car_rental_in...edit_card.aspx
http://instructions.wikihow.com/Rent...-a-Credit-Card

Rubicund

"And why exactly there must be a credit car for a car rental"

Because they need to identify you clearly and be sure that you won't steal their car or pay for it if you have an accident.

Think about it, why would someone let you drive away a vehicle costing thousands of €'s $'s or £'s without some form of redress against you. Since the heightened threat of terrorism, all rental car companies have to be as sure as is possible of your identity.

Ahmed_Saad

Its just sometimes they miss use us, by accusing you of car damage, charging you with too much even its not worth it.
doesn't feel safe.

they can take as much money as they want of the credit card? or only the deposit amount 200$ or so ?

I don't have a credit card that's why i don't know much about it.

Ackislander

I only got a credit card when I found that I could not rent a car without one. I pay it off every month. The numbers have been stolen twice, both times in Italy, but the credit card company reversed the charges when I proved I could not have made them.

You can always pay cash when you return the car; you just can't pay cash when you take it out. The same applies to many hotels.

Rubicund

When I hire a car, I use my phone camera to photo any damage to show it was there before I drove away. Most rental companies are reputable and won't rip you off, so stop worrying.

nytraveler

No one is going to give you a car without either 1) a credit card or 2) a large cash deposit - typically the deductible on the insurance - often $1000 or so.

They are trusting you with a vehicle - and if it never comes back - or is damaged - they have to know they have the funds for that up front.

But rules may vary from company to company - you need to check specifics.

(The last time I rened a car in NY some tourists from Sweden were trying to rent at the same counter. They had credit cards, but they were apparently maxed out - perhaps by "holds" put on by hotels. They had to go to an ATM to pull all of the funds out in cash - for both the deposit (deductible on the insurance) and the cost of the rental. I believe it can to more than $1500. And, no cash - no car, even though they had a reservation.

Robert2533

"And, no cash - no car, even though they had a reservation." Which is why you always book and pay for the rental in advance through a legitimate agency. When using a credit card you have the security of going back to the credit card company if you think you have been overcharged and taken advantage of in some way, one of the main reasons we use Amex for car rentals.

ira

Hi AS,

> why exactly there must be a credit car for a car rental?<

so that when someone drives away with the car and don't come back the agency can get the full price from the CC people.

The only time I heard of someone renting a car without a CC was when he put up the full retail price of the car plus the rental fee in advance.

ira

>doesn't feel safe.

they can take as much money as they want of the credit card? or only the deposit amount 200$ or so ?<

It is much safer than you think, and
No, they cannot take as much as they want.

You can dispute overcharges to your card.

In addition, the CC company will usually act as your insurer so that you needn't pay for the collision damage waiver.

lincasanova

"........In addition, the CC company will usually act as your insurer so that you needn't pay for the collision damage waiver...."

VERY careful with this statement. You really need to ask your CC company as this is not the case normally with non-USA cards.

Robert2533

As already noted, and as far as I know, only USA and Canadian based credit cards will cover the insurance requirement, but Amex is the only one that offers 100% coverage (at an extra charge for non-Platinum card holders).

Ahmed_Saad

thanks a lot for the support guys.

My girl has a credit card , is it possible that she can use it, but i will be the one driven?

The thing is i don't wanna add her as a driver since this will charge us a lot because she's 22 years old and whoever under 25 gets charged more and stuff, even though she won't be driven anyway .

lincasanova

credit card must be in the name of principal driver

lincasanova

Be sure to use coupons, retailmenot.com, carrentalsavers.com, etc. to find the cheapest rates.

Rubicund

I've recently hired a car in Spain using my credit card for my SIL without any problem, when I was not with them.

lincasanova

I don't see how that was done? You were not there to show the card plus your ID and they accepted it with another person's name as the contracting person?

Was this a local expat place or one of the major international sites? I'm more than pretty surprised since we tried to rent a car using my mom's card ( and she was with us but wanted to pay for the rental) but they were not allowed to do that at check-in. I think we could have changed it when we returned it but didn't bother.