Nowadays, renting a car is more convenient than before because you can either choose between credit card or a debit card, though there are some factors that you need to consider because of its way in affecting one payment method which can be better than the other.
Below, let us take a look at a comparison between a credit card and debit card when it comes to paying up, and reserving a rent a car for your planned trip either at another city or another country courtesy of LAX Car Rental.
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Credit card.
Rental car companies’ current policies regarding payment methods, as well as deposits, and holds on funds varies widely, both by the company as well as the individual rental services, because within the same rental car company, there could be two local rental offices which might have different kinds of policies on debit card acceptances, deposits, as well as holds on credit cards, and also the reservation policies that customers have to strictly follow.
If ever you reserve a car, you should review your current location as well as location-specific rental agreement, provided your rental car company will allow you to view it when you plan to book a car for rent. This kind of rental agreement will tell you to whether you can pay it with a debit card and not a credit card, while, if you are unable to view your agreement, you can always call the car rental office right away, in case if it is located in another country, you should ask for other payment options for your planned reservation.
Generally speaking, paying with a credit card is the best choice considering that you are not required to give the rental company a direct access to your bank account, and to add more, you can also dispute charges through your credit card company if there was an error while charging your pay, and you are not required also to undergo a credit check which usually a very hassle method and can also affect your good standing credit rating.
Debit card
For those who are renting a car within the United States, there are some downsides when you plan to use your debit card to have a reservation for your car rental.
A lot of United States car rental companies accept debit cards when it comes to payment when you return the car, however, you are required to provide your credit card information when you pick up the car, and this is the same method used by the majority of Canadian rental car companies as well.
Those car rental companies that allow you to pick up the car using a debit card are typically permitting you to use your debit card by guaranteeing them your rental if you pass their credit check, which means that there is a chance that your reservation will be declined based on their decision by viewing your credit standing. However, this does not mean that there is no good when it comes to using debit card for renting a car, it is actually a lot easier than credit card, as long as you have the money to pay for the rent and can guarantee the car rental company that you have a good credit standing with your bank.