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In that case you've voluntarily constrained yourself from using the full range of options available. I don't know what your rationale for not having a credit ca

In that case you've voluntarily constrained yourself from using the full range of options available. I don't know what your rationale for not having a credit card is, but if it's control, you should know that ZipCar still holds you liable in much the same way a regular rental do, they just trust you enough to not require "collateral" in form of a credit card.

alexkus 14y ago
Don't know if the US is the same but with UK Zipcar over 21's can pay a small amount (£15/month or £99/year) to reduce the damage fee waiver to £0. That way there's no liability except if you use the car for things that Zipcar prohibit. We do this for each rental after being stung for damage done to the vehicle after we'd returned it[1]. It's an annoying flaw in their rental model; I now take photos/video of the car after I've returned it to hopefully prevent getting the blame in a future similar scenario. 1. You're essentially liable for any damage up until the time that it is next booked out. We had to pay as there was nothing we could do to prove it wasn't us. That damage even includes things like "damage caused by unavoidable events such as floods, hail, wind, trees falling, etc."
samstave 14y ago
I have impulse control issues coupled with procrastination :) This makes credit cards a bad thing for me personally. So, several years ago - I decided I would live completely within my means and not do anything on credit. If I cant pay cash for it, I dont need it. This personal choice has its issues, sure, but I have been happy for 7+ years this way, and aside from the one time I tried to rent a car at SFO to take for a weekend getaway, it has never been a detriment to my lifestyle.
- mseebach 14y ago
  Hmm, so what you need is a credit card with an extremely short billing cycle (i.e. settled daily using your debit card) and limited to a single "class" of expenses (car rental). I've spend some time thinking how a kind of Twilio for credit cards would work - an API to generate an instant card number with the exact terms you need. The main use case I considered was a card for online shopping that would only be good for use with one single merchant - then I can shop without worrying what will happen if they haven't secured their database correctly.
  - fragmede 14y ago
    > The main use case I considered was a card for online shopping that would only be good for use with one single merchant - then I can shop without worrying what will happen if they haven't secured their database correctly. BofA at least already does this - https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsafe.go https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsaf... ..and a better frontend to it would be great!
    - mseebach 14y ago
      I've seen this in a few places, but it seems to only be limited by expiry. Yes, it's a little easier to deal with if the number is compromised and you have to cancel it, but it doesn't actually offer any added protection - I think?
    - mmt 14y ago
      So does Citi, for the record: https://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/messages/van/index.htm https://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/messages/van/i...

alexkus 14y ago

Don't know if the US is the same but with UK Zipcar over 21's can pay a small amount (£15/month or £99/year) to reduce the damage fee waiver to £0. That way there's no liability except if you use the car for things that Zipcar prohibit. We do this for each rental after being stung for damage done to the vehicle after we'd returned it[1]. It's an annoying flaw in their rental model; I now take photos/video of the car after I've returned it to hopefully prevent getting the blame in a future similar scenario. 1. You're essentially liable for any damage up until the time that it is next booked out. We had to pay as there was nothing we could do to prove it wasn't us. That damage even includes things like "damage caused by unavoidable events such as floods, hail, wind, trees falling, etc."

samstave 14y ago

I have impulse control issues coupled with procrastination :) This makes credit cards a bad thing for me personally. So, several years ago - I decided I would live completely within my means and not do anything on credit. If I cant pay cash for it, I dont need it. This personal choice has its issues, sure, but I have been happy for 7+ years this way, and aside from the one time I tried to rent a car at SFO to take for a weekend getaway, it has never been a detriment to my lifestyle.

mseebach 14y ago
Hmm, so what you need is a credit card with an extremely short billing cycle (i.e. settled daily using your debit card) and limited to a single "class" of expenses (car rental). I've spend some time thinking how a kind of Twilio for credit cards would work - an API to generate an instant card number with the exact terms you need. The main use case I considered was a card for online shopping that would only be good for use with one single merchant - then I can shop without worrying what will happen if they haven't secured their database correctly.
- fragmede 14y ago
  > The main use case I considered was a card for online shopping that would only be good for use with one single merchant - then I can shop without worrying what will happen if they haven't secured their database correctly. BofA at least already does this - https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsafe.go https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsaf... ..and a better frontend to it would be great!
  - mseebach 14y ago
    I've seen this in a few places, but it seems to only be limited by expiry. Yes, it's a little easier to deal with if the number is compromised and you have to cancel it, but it doesn't actually offer any added protection - I think?
  - mmt 14y ago
    So does Citi, for the record: https://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/messages/van/index.htm https://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/messages/van/i...