5 ms·

Rental car companies loathe debit cards, for reasons so sane person can fathom. Last time we rented, they (Hertz, as it was) outright refused our debit card.

avalys 3y ago
They don’t like renting to people with bad credit.
- deathanatos 3y ago
  … you don't need to care about credit if you accept cold, hard cash. (Even still, I don't think "has credit card" is a good proxy for credit worthiness.)
  - mattmaroon 3y ago
    You do if there are potential further charges like damages. “Has credit card” is obviously a coarse filter, just as creditworthiness is a coarse filter for “won’t wreck my car” but I’d bet you anything you’d see at least a 150 pt FICO spread between people who pay for things with debit vs credit. There’s only one reason to use a debit card and not get the rewards of credit (assuming the price of either is the same) and that’s that you cannot be trusted by a bank and/or yourself to not spend money you don’t have. This is particularly exacerbated with car rentals in particular since so many credit cards include car rental insurance, making it significantly more expensive (either in immediate cash or expected value of risk) to use debit.
  - avalys 3y ago
    It’s not about payment of the $250 in rental fees. It’s about them giving you possession of their $25,000 asset. And, “doesn’t have a credit card” is actually a pretty good proxy for either “not creditworthy” or “some kind of weirdo”, with neither of these being the people you want to let use your $25,000 car for $250”.
mattmaroon 3y ago
It’s quite fathomable: they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car to your credit card and then it’s your problem. They can’t do that with a debit card if you don’t have enough in the account, it will reject. Also debit cards are typically used by poorer people who are riskier for them. Debit cards save them on processing so they would prefer it if all else were equal. They’re not all stupid so the reasons must be sound.
- Filligree 3y ago
  Seems to be a US problem, though? Few people here have credit cards, so everyone accepts debit. That includes Hertz.
  - mattmaroon 3y ago
    I am sure it varies by region.
- deathanatos 3y ago
  > they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car to your credit card and then it’s your problem. Credit cards have limits, too, just the same as debit cards. Again, let's look at the last time I rented: you can't do what you're suggesting, as such a charge would be (instantly) declined. > They can’t do that with a debit card if you don’t have enough in the account, it will reject. Ironically, it is more likely to decline on the credit card we gave them, than on the debit card we were trying to give them; the limit on the debit card is higher (since it's backed by cash, and not credit…) > they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car (This would have been a specific violation of the contract we had with them, as the car was insured with them. But I do understand some people insure through their personal auto, but even there, the matter is going to need to be settled via the insurance.)
  - mattmaroon 3y ago
    Well, you may be perhaps an edge case, but most people have much higher limits on their credit card than money in their checking. I’ve probably got an extra zero. Your contract with them probably gives them the right to do this. I don’t know what to tell you, these are the reasons. They don’t just want to pay an extra 2.5% processing. As a general rule, you can assume if all the players in a large and competitive field do the same thing, and it doesn’t make sense to you, and the alternative you think is better is both obvious and easy to implement, then it’s because they know something you don’t. I assure you, major car rental cos know everything they need to about the difference between debit and credit cards.

avalys 3y ago

They don’t like renting to people with bad credit.

deathanatos 3y ago
… you don't need to care about credit if you accept cold, hard cash. (Even still, I don't think "has credit card" is a good proxy for credit worthiness.)
- mattmaroon 3y ago
  You do if there are potential further charges like damages. “Has credit card” is obviously a coarse filter, just as creditworthiness is a coarse filter for “won’t wreck my car” but I’d bet you anything you’d see at least a 150 pt FICO spread between people who pay for things with debit vs credit. There’s only one reason to use a debit card and not get the rewards of credit (assuming the price of either is the same) and that’s that you cannot be trusted by a bank and/or yourself to not spend money you don’t have. This is particularly exacerbated with car rentals in particular since so many credit cards include car rental insurance, making it significantly more expensive (either in immediate cash or expected value of risk) to use debit.
- avalys 3y ago
  It’s not about payment of the $250 in rental fees. It’s about them giving you possession of their $25,000 asset. And, “doesn’t have a credit card” is actually a pretty good proxy for either “not creditworthy” or “some kind of weirdo”, with neither of these being the people you want to let use your $25,000 car for $250”.

mattmaroon 3y ago

It’s quite fathomable: they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car to your credit card and then it’s your problem. They can’t do that with a debit card if you don’t have enough in the account, it will reject. Also debit cards are typically used by poorer people who are riskier for them. Debit cards save them on processing so they would prefer it if all else were equal. They’re not all stupid so the reasons must be sound.

Filligree 3y ago
Seems to be a US problem, though? Few people here have credit cards, so everyone accepts debit. That includes Hertz.
- mattmaroon 3y ago
  I am sure it varies by region.
deathanatos 3y ago
> they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car to your credit card and then it’s your problem. Credit cards have limits, too, just the same as debit cards. Again, let's look at the last time I rented: you can't do what you're suggesting, as such a charge would be (instantly) declined. > They can’t do that with a debit card if you don’t have enough in the account, it will reject. Ironically, it is more likely to decline on the credit card we gave them, than on the debit card we were trying to give them; the limit on the debit card is higher (since it's backed by cash, and not credit…) > they can charge the arbitrary amount of damage you do to the car (This would have been a specific violation of the contract we had with them, as the car was insured with them. But I do understand some people insure through their personal auto, but even there, the matter is going to need to be settled via the insurance.)
- mattmaroon 3y ago
  Well, you may be perhaps an edge case, but most people have much higher limits on their credit card than money in their checking. I’ve probably got an extra zero. Your contract with them probably gives them the right to do this. I don’t know what to tell you, these are the reasons. They don’t just want to pay an extra 2.5% processing. As a general rule, you can assume if all the players in a large and competitive field do the same thing, and it doesn’t make sense to you, and the alternative you think is better is both obvious and easy to implement, then it’s because they know something you don’t. I assure you, major car rental cos know everything they need to about the difference between debit and credit cards.