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If debit card transaction is refused, the rental company is left holding the bag. CC transaction has much greater chance to come through, and if the cardholder
by smsm42 5y ago
If debit card transaction is refused, the rental company is left holding the bag. CC transaction has much greater chance to come through, and if the cardholder has no money, it's CC company's problem now.
This can be solved for debit cards by charging at the start of the rental, but what if the renter damages the car (or doesn't fuel up, or does anything else that needs additional charge), and again the charge is refused? The debit again is much more dangerous for the rental company here - CC can be charged (provided the limit hasn't been used up) much easier. True, people can default on CC payments - but it's not the rental company problem, it's the bank's problem. That's why they charge the outrageous interest on cards (20%+).
- rightbyte 5y agoThe CC can't be charged for any big amount though. I don't think the value of a 1000USD credit compared to the value of a car is of any assurance in practice. Also the CC can be almost maxed out anyway. I guess the rental companies that fuss about CCs has some kind of kickback.
- aiisjustanif 5y agoI’ve made an $8000 purchase on a credit card. You can do much more with a quick call. I’ve even made a $25,000 purchase that I was reimbursed for.
- smsm42 5y agoWhat's "big amount"? I've charged multiple thousands of dollars on my cards, many times. Of course, you need a high-limit card, but if you have a good credit score, no problem getting at least one card with 20K-30K limit - you could literally pay for a whole car with such a card, if the car dealership agreed to eat the processing fee (they probably won't). And AFAIR there are ways to check how much is left to the limit.