George Kamel - I Tried Renting a Car Without a Credit Card

Episode Date: January 17, 2024

Do you need a credit card to rent a car? A lot of people seem to think so. In today’s video, I call car rental companies across the country to find out what it takes to rent a vehicle without a credit card. Links: Order George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke. EveryDollar budget deal: I love a good deal, and when you sign up using this link, I’ll hook you up with a 14-day free trial and $15 off your first year of the premium version of EveryDollar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know, I try to have thick skin, but I'm tired of people giving me a hard time about this whole credit card thing. I mean, when I start talking about why I love life without one, people tune me out like they do Uncle Terry at Family Functions when he starts talking about the lizard people again. I'm not listening to you, you're crazy. Or they start sharing all the reasons they want to hang on to that plastic little crutch. Like this comment from Alex 182618 saying, you can't rent a car without a credit card at the Knoxville Airport. And this one, from the same guy, but on a different. video saying basically the same thing. Okay, we get it, Alex.

You had a bad experience at the Knoxville airport. Settle down. Cool the Jets. It's time to stop! But people give me crap like this all the time. They think they need a credit card and credit score to do normal things like rent a car. But jokes on you, I've successfully rented a car with a debit card plenty of times. So what gives?

Are there certain companies that accept debit cards and certain ones that don't? Do different locations have different debit card policies? Well, in today's video, I'm going to contact rental car companies from across the country to find out straight from the horse's mouth if I can rent a car without a credit card, and if so, what would it take? Because I want to shut this argument down once and for all. I'm done with it. We've got to move on, guys. There's more to life. And you better believe I am contacting the Knoxville Airport to help my friend Alex 1826188 out. You would do that for me? But before we take this ride, do me a favor and subscribe to this channel, like this video, and share it with all of your friends who have also had an unpleasant experience.

at the Knoxville Airport. All right, let's make some calls. I'm just curious, do you guys do rentals with a debit card? I just don't own a credit card and don't have any debt. We will do a rental with a debit card, but we ask for a $200 deposit with a major credit card, but a $300 cash deposit without a credit card. Oh, okay.

So it's $100 more and that gets refunded when I return the car? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yep, that gets reprinted when you return the car. Awesome. And I don't have a credit score either because of having no debt and no credit card. Is that a problem or is that fine? No.

No, it's, that's not a problem. Okay. That was easy. Thank you very much. There you go. We got a slightly higher deposit, but no problems with the mom and pop shop. So respect. Let's see if we can do this again with a national company.

I was just wondering, am I able to rent a car using a debit card? I don't own a credit card. Yes, there could just be like some additional. documentation you need to bring in like a couple bills. So I would just need to bring like a utility bill or a cell phone bill? Yeah, just two of those. Two of those and there's no extra deposit or anything? Not extra. There's a $300 deposit, but I mean, that's normal.

We hold that for everybody. Awesome. And I don't have a credit score either because I don't have debt. That's not a problem. No. We don't need credit checks. Easy. Well, thank you so much for your help. Again, no big issues there. It's very much possible. But just to prove to you that this wasn't a fluke, let's call another national company. Am I able to rent a car there if I have a debit card? Not same day.

You'll have to book it 24 hours in advance. Okay. And there's a couple other qualifications as well that I could go over with you. So, of course, you've got to book it that 24 hours in advance. It's got to be 25 years, age or older. You can't book anything bigger than a full-sized car. So like no SUVs or nothing. It's going to be a $500 deposit on top of the total of the $3.

rental, but you will get the deposit back once you return the vehicle. And it's going to run a soft credit check. And then for that credit check, we will need a second form of identification. So like a Social Security birth certificate passport, anything like that. And then you could get approved to deny on that. And if you get denied, you won't be able to rent with the debit card. You'll have to use a credit card. And what's the normal deposit? You said there's a $500 deposit with a debit card. For the credit card, it's $200 deposit plus the total of the rental. Okay. So you're basically paying an extra 300 bucks in deposit that you get back with a debit card plus a few forms of that ID and documentation. And then renting 24 hours in advance.

Yes, exactly. You got that right. Okay, not too bad. All right. Got any other questions? I think that's it for now. You've been very helpful. So there you go.

There's a few more steps involved with that one, but it's not impossible. You need a little more documentation, another form of ID, rent 24 hours in advance. Big whoop. You can absolutely do this stuff. I think you might be right, boss. Now, before we end, let's do one. one more to help out my boy, Alex 182618. We are finally going to get to the bottom of this situation at the Knoxville Airport.

And by the way, for those that don't know, Knoxville is a college town in East Tennessee, not too far from Nashville where I'm at. Now, I will say, we tried to get in touch with the Knoxville Airport car rental companies and simply could not do it. They will not pick up the phone. But I am able to contact them through the online chat. Let's go to the laptop.

Before connecting to representative, Please tell me your first and last name. I'm an honest man. Email address. Bleep this out, editors. All right, I don't need emails from the jackals in the comment section. I need to know if I can rent a car with a debit card. I don't have a rental reservation.

Oh, they're connecting me with the representative. Okay, this is a good part. Shanita has joined the chat. Hi, my name is Shanita, and I can check on this for you. Wonderful. Thank you for your health. Policies vary by location. Which location are you renting from?

Knoxville Airport. She said thank you. You are most welcome. Will you have a return travel itinerary to present at pickup? Yes. So what she's asking is, am I flying into Knoxville? I got to be flying out of Knoxville.

So do I have return travel? Great. Tell me more, Shanita. Yes. You can rent with your debit card. God bless America. We did it. We did it.

So here's what we learned. You can rent a car without a credit card. Sure, there may be some more steps involved, depending on the company's policy. You may have to put down an extra deposit, but it's very much possible. And this might blow your mind. But under the right circumstances,

every car rental company have researched allows you to rent with a debit card, even if you have no credit score. And I'm talking about the big dogs, like Alamo, Avis, budget, dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. Google it. They each have a debit card policy,

but the rules and restrictions vary by location. So here's the key to all of this. Do your due diligence. Don't send me hate mail because you didn't bother to take a few minutes to check the policy or call ahead, and now you're stranded at the Boise Airport, and you have to sleep on a chair in front of the CNBC Smart Shop, and all you have for a pillow is a T-shirt with a potato on it.

That's oddly specific. But seriously, I've rented a car with a debit card countless times with no issue. So let me walk you through a foolproof plan for a no-stress, no credit card rental car experience. Now, it may be way easier than this, but these steps will cover all of your bases. Step one, choose a company and location that lets you rent with a debit card. This one's pretty obvious. Call ahead, ask about their policy when it comes to debit cards, and if you don't like what you hear, move on to another company.

Step two, research your vehicle options. If you're paying with a debit card, some companies may limit you to economy, compact, intermediate, standard, and full-sized cars. So if you need a specific type of vehicle like a PT cruiser, do your homework. And also, have better taste. That hurt my feelings. Step three, bring additional forms of ID. In addition to your driver's license, you might need an alternative debit card, a passport, recent utility bill, or a store membership card like your Costco or Sam's Club card if you're a wholesale hound like me. Step four, be prepared for credit checks. Now, don't let this one scare you. What they're looking for here is a bad or low score.

If you have no score, you'll be just fine. Step number five, pay attention to travel plan requirements. This one is crucial. At airport locations, you might need to show a ticket or boarding pass as well as proof of a return flight. That's what happened here in this online chat. She wanted to make sure that I had return flight itinerary. In step six, budget for extra holds or deposits.

Now, this goes with all of life. You should have a buffer in your checking account for authorization holds and security deposits, which could be anywhere from 200 to 500 bucks depending on the company. Remember, you're going to get this money back within a week or two of returning the car, so it's not a huge deal. Unless you absolutely destroy the car, in which case you might not get that back. Yeah, you better give me the insurance, because I am going to beat the hell out of this. And that's it.

Aside from some vehicle restrictions and additional deposits, it's a nearly identical experience to renting with a credit card. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. And in the rare scenario where you're not able to rent a car, you're still not up a creek. You can always use ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft to get around, and there's newer options for renting with a debit card through car-sharing marketplaces like Truro or Zipcar, and you may want to check those out too. And here's a pro tip on car rental insurance.

Check with your insurance to see if rental cars are already covered through your existing policy. That way you can firmly but politely deny all of those last-minute extras and upsells they throw at you, which can be annoying, especially when you've been waiting in line 37 minutes after traveling all day and desperately just want to be in a mediocre hotel bed, getting some shut-eye under a comforter that's probably never been washed. So, you now know it's possible to rent a car with a debit card, and you know how to do it. But I know. Even after all of this, some of you are still going to be hesitant to ditch your credit cards.

And if that's you, comment below and let me know why. What specific thing do you absolutely need your credit card for that you could not live without, that you could not do with a debit card? And don't tell me cash back and rewards. Those are not worth it. Give me a legitimate reason why you cannot live without a credit card. And if you want more info about how to live a great life, sans credit cards and build wealth a different way,

check out my new book, Breaking Free from Broke, the ultimate guide to more money and less stress. You can get your copy with the link in the description below. As always, don't forget to like this video, subscribe to the channel, and share this video with all of your friends who plan on traveling to the Knoxville Airport sometime soon, or the ones who aren't planning on it,

but we'll end up there somehow. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.