I have a friend who is looking to rent a car in Orlando, Florida with a prepaid credit card. Unfortunately, she can pay at the end of the rental with a prepaid card, but can not reserve or drive a car off the lot with a prepaid. She must have a major credit card, which she does not possess.

We've run the gamut with ideas online tonight and looked at every rental agency we can find. Surely not every person out there has a major credit card in order to rent a car, but maybe so in this day and age.

So, do my helpful Fodorites have any advice? Is it possible to rent a car in Orlando, Florida (or anywhere for that matter) w/o a major credit card?

Some cos. will allow it IF you leave a cash deposit. Since you don't actually pay for a rental until you return the car, a credit card is used for security. Without that, they need something and SOME will take cash. Doing a simple online search for car rentals without credit card in Orlando, I found this
http://www.excastle.com/blog/archive...4/05/4820.aspx
and this which suggests Dollar may be an option.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...o_Florida.html

I would also check Enterprise.

But the bigger issue will be hotels I think. Does your friend realize that with a debit card or prepaid credit card hotels may put a hold on some of the funds?

I was looking at pretty much the same thing as mclaurie it can get confusing if they put a hold on because it takes a period of time to clear. Budget looked like they would take a cash deposit Enterprise it's up to the location.
Is there someone willing to put the car on their card for her and she can still pay the agency.

Thanks for the input. She doesn't have a problem with the funds being on hold, but all the agencies are saying that she has to have a credit card in order to drive the car off the lot.

We have also looked into me reserving with my cc and putting the charges on that until she returns the car and pays cash, but in order to do that "I" have to be there to sign on "my" cc. Which is understandable. So, that won't work either.

We're still looking. Thanks for the tips and links.

What's your time frame? Had a good buddy in the same position.We had a couple of weeks.The only alternative we came up with was to add him as an authorized signer on one of my credit cards, which I received in less than 7 days.Made the reservation, he had no problems.When he got home he paid me cash-o-la for the rental and I cancelled him off the credit card.Yes, thats a bit extreme, but it's someone I would do that again for.

Cars are very expensive pieces of equipment, obviously, so most companies won't rent to someone with such poor financial situation or history that they can't even get one, which is very easy to do nowadays. Even college students can get one. I think part of the problem isn't just the rental fees, but the idea that they could charge damages to the card if necessary, or what if the person doesn't even return the car? Prepaying won't guarantee anything to a company because there is no guarantee you will return the car on time. I think you friend is out of luck if she can't get a real credit card. IF she can, and just doesn't want to, she should change her mind on that one. Same with hotels, and it's not just a prepayment problem, I don't think, but the idea that they might need to charge your card for something like damages, room service, etc., that they can't predict in advance. I think it is much easier to get a cheap motel room somewhere without one, if you prepay, than a car rental, though, as cars are much bigger financial investments for a company.

Is there a chance that she can get a regular CC to use for this trip, pay it off and then cancel it if she doesn't want to keep it? Seems like that might be the easiest route - other than BeachBoi's suggestion.

Thanks for the further replies.

Christina, this friend is not in a situation where she can't get a cc, but rather she has just preferred not to in recent years after being debt free for a long period of time. However, she is now seeing that at least one cc account is almost a neccesity for things like this, but with the trip being in another couple of weeks it's too late to get a card now.

So, Beachboi, yours is an idea to consider. We do completely realize the reason rental agencies demand a cc, and even moreso than hotels due to the property you are renting being "moveable." We were discussing that issue before I posted this thread but I just figured that certainly somebody here has been in or known someone who's been in this situation, so thanks for the input.

We are still looking and are only finding that some companies will accept a "debit card" for rental reservations, or a cash deposit with a debit card, but we can't seem to find anyone who will take a "prepaid credit card." McLaurie, we've checked out all your suggestions and came across the same thing there (some take debit, but not prepaid). I don't see where there is much difference between the two if they both have access to only a certain amount of funds.

BTW - I was wrong about the city she's renting in. The car would be rented at Fort Lauderdale airport in order to drive it to Orlando.

Anyhow, we'll keep searching and thanks again for the help. It's too bad that there just isn't enough time to now apply and get a cc before the trip.

I just checked Hotwire's "Hotwire Discount Rate" and Priceline's "Name your own price".

Hotwire says the driver needs credit or debit card. The amount on hold will depend on the actual agent.

Priceline also says credit/debit card. The amount on hold is $200.

So, it seems like if she has a debit card with $200 or more on it, she can indeed rent by using Priceline.

She doesn't have a debit card, only a prepaid credit card which no one seems to accept.

The trouble with a debit card is that you can;t put a "hold" on it - like you can with a credit card.

If she can find a company that will take a debit card that's fine - but suggest for the future she get a real credit card.

Even if you don;t use them at all (and you really should for any major purchase so you have the safety of getting money back if there's a problem) they really are necessary in emergencies.

There's no need to run up bills or pay any interest - just because you have a card.

How come she doesn't even have a debit card? Does she have any bank account? Any bank will give you a debit card to use.

Does she have a bank account somewhere? Most banks offer some sort of Master Card or Visa through their bank (not a debit card) that maybe they could expedite since she has a relationship with the bank? A lot of cards only take 10 days and that's if no one is'helping' the process along. I would make a phone call or two if I were her.

We are in the West Indies and the bank on our island takes 4 weeks to issue a debit card or credit card. They leave in 2 weeks.

Our island is very small. Most places do not take credit cards so that is the reason they are not a necessity here. She planned to pay cash for the trip and only when trying to reserve the car has found this problem.

I will tell her to talk to the bank manager, though, and see if they could expedite something. Thanks for the tip.

In this situation you need to deal with the rental car company and perhaps even the local office at the destination. Hotwire and Priceline do not set the policies of the rental companies.
If you check on their websites you can find each companies terms and conditions. Some will take cash in the amount of the rental agreement or a minimum figure whichever is greater to be able to drive off the lot. I have found a couple that will take a debit card and waive responsibility for any returned checks if their hold was not released in time.