Renting a car in the USA and driver's civil liability. (page 4 of 5)

Hello. No way, Djalma, Sunny Car is 10,000,000 €. So you can run over 2 dogs 🤪🤪 🤪

My bad, I misread. I’m definitely reassured now. 😉

It turns out my credit card covers my civil liability abroad up to 5,000,000 €.

Just make sure to read the contract carefully. There’s a good chance it won’t cover you as the driver of a vehicle. A subtle detail that can make a big difference! I looked into this and came to that conclusion after carefully reading the terms for my Visa Premier.

For civil liability when renting a car in the US, I actually noticed this summer that, for example, Avis reduced their coverage from $2M to $300,000. Without stirring up controversy, you might wonder if that’s enough...

It turns out my credit card covers my civil liability abroad up to 5,000,000 €.

Just make sure to read the contract carefully. There’s a good chance it won’t cover you as the driver of a vehicle. A subtle detail that can make a big difference! I looked into it and that’s the conclusion I came to after carefully reading the terms for my Visa Premier.

...speaking of Visa Premier, the guy at Dollar told me, "we can’t take the deposit on that, it’s a debit card," so I pulled out my AMEX, but this isn’t the first time this has happened to me—it’s weird...

Always pay attention to this when renting cars: make sure you have a card that says "Credit" on it! !

...about the Visa Premier, the guy at Dollar told me "we can't take the deposit on it, it's a debit card," so I pulled out the AMEX, but it's not the first time this has happened to me—it's weird...

A credit card, as opposed to a debit card, is a deferred debit card. I’ve never run into this issue with that type of card.

About Visa Premier, the guy at Dollar told me "we can't take the deposit on it, it's a debit card", so I pulled out the AMEX, but it's not the first time this has happened to me, it's weird...

What's weird is that the other times it worked! For a few years now, many on the forum have been warning about this risk or sharing their misadventures with a card labeled "Debit".

@ Djalma:

A credit card, contrary to what some may think, is a deferred debit card. I've never encountered this issue with this type of card.

Totally agree with you on the semantics. That said, rental companies only look at the logo on the card: - "Debit" = They won't rent to you (even if the booking is already prepaid) 😕 - "Credit" = They'll rent to you 🙂

Yes, but on a deferred debit card it says "Credit"—that’s the case with the one I have now, a MasterCard from Fortuneo, and it was the same with the other cards I had before this one.

Totally agree with you. Same for me. Even if it says "Credit," it's a deferred debit card. What I meant is that rental companies in the US only care about the "Credit" label, which is enough for them to be guaranteed (from their perspective) for the deposit.

Always pay attention to this when renting cars: have a card that says "Credit" on it!

Hey, most "immediate debit" Visa Premier (and above) and Mastercard Gold (and above) cards are actually Credit cards, even if it says Debit on them. Regular Visa and Mastercard cards aren’t. It’s a little game French banks play to subtly (or not so subtly) make you pay more for things that were often free before (most French bank cards are Credit cards). Proof: I’ve rented cars in many countries with my immediate debit Visa Premier card, and the rental companies’ blocked deposits were never actually charged. Back in the day, I asked my bank (La Banque Postale) about it, and they just gave me the runaround in their replies. They couldn’t explain why the rental deposits abroad weren’t charged to my immediate debit card. For this reason and many others, when I have to go to my bank branch, I drag my feet—like they say 😏

I found this on a bank's website:

Most car rental agencies abroad require their customers to present a credit card when picking up the vehicle. Why? The rental company will block a deposit to cover them in case of damage or theft. With a debit card, the rental company can also block this deposit, but they only have 7 days instead of 45 to claim the blocked amount in case of an incident.

This explains why a credit card is usually required.

---/--- Additionally, some rental companies actually charge the deposit even on a deferred debit card (i.e., a credit card). (This is stated in the rental terms.)

This can be problematic with volatile currencies... (Well, you can also get more money back when you return the car than you did at the start—I’ve had that happen before.)

And then, you need to have the amount available to advance...

But we’re getting way off topic now...

Proof—I’ve rented cars in many countries with my immediate-debit Visa Premier card, and the rental companies’ security holds were never actually charged.

Some rental companies in certain countries do accept debit cards, but it’s definitely not the norm. A credit card (i.e., deferred-debit card) is usually required. Debit cards are often refused… Attila explains the reason well: being able to hold the security deposit for long enough.

Proof: I’ve rented cars in many countries with my immediate-debit Visa Premier card, and the holds placed by rental companies were never actually charged.

Some rental companies in certain countries accept debit cards, but it’s far from the norm. A credit card—meaning a deferred-debit card—is usually required. Debit cards are often refused. Attila explains the reason well: to be able to hold the deposit for a sufficient amount of time.

This has nothing to do with what I explained in my previous post, which basically means that "debit" bank cards are actually "credit" cards where the rental company’s hold (the deposit) isn’t charged. What Attila added doesn’t relate to what I’ve experienced many times, since my rentals were all over 7 days and lasted around 20, 30, or even 40 days. On top of that, her post doesn’t include the URL of the page she found from a bank (a bank she didn’t name). Regarding my car rentals abroad, no rental company ever noticed that my card was a "debit" one. And since the holds weren’t charged, it *is* effectively a "credit" card. But banks don’t want to admit that because their goal is to push an extra "credit" card on us.

What Attila added doesn't relate to what I've experienced many times, since my rentals all exceeded 7 days and lasted around 20, 30, or even 40 days. Plus, their post doesn’t include the URL of the page they found from a bank (a bank they didn’t name, either).

I think you didn’t quite get it.

And since the deposits weren’t charged, it must be a "credit" card.

No, that’s not what I meant. I have a credit card (deferred debit), and once a rental company took the deposit on the very first day of the rental. They probably had the right to do so—it was written in the fine print of the contract, which I only saw after signing.

What Attila added doesn't relate to what I've experienced many times, since my rentals all exceeded 7 days and were more or less 20, 30, or 40 days long. Also, their post doesn’t include the URL of the page from a bank (a bank they didn’t name).

I think you didn’t quite get it.

And since the deposits weren’t debited, it’s clearly a "credit" card.

No, that’s not the same thing. I have a credit card (deferred debit), and once a rental company charged the deposit on the first day of the rental. They probably had the right to do so; it was written in the fine print of the contract. Something I saw after signing.

We won’t understand each other because I’m talking about my debit card and you’re talking about your credit card. So, it’s a no-go 😄

What Attila added doesn’t apply to what I’ve experienced many times, since my rentals all exceeded 7 days and lasted more or less 20, 30, or even 40 days.

As Djalma also told you, you didn’t quite get the meaning of the quoted excerpt.

Plus, their post doesn’t include the URL of the page they found from a bank (a bank they didn’t name).

I’ll leave it to you to do your own research since you don’t believe me.

And since the deposits weren’t debited, it’s clearly a "credit" card

No connection.

Good evening Jacques, It turns out my credit card covers my civil liability abroad up to 5,000,000 €. Would you happen to have Taylor Swift’s address (I’d even have a little left over to buy her some flowers)? 😉

I’m referring to what Caussat said and which I may have mentioned recently in another thread.

One fine day, I woke up—or rather, I summoned up the courage—and read all the terms and conditions of my credit card. I should mention it was a Gold card. So, it did cover quite a bit, except for accidents occurring in a means of transport. I don’t think it was limited to being the driver. Anyway, you may have already taken a look by now.

The worst part is that you have to read them all over again every year since what was valid in year N isn’t necessarily still valid in N+1... 😏

Good luck! !😉

As Djalma also told you, you didn't quite understand the meaning of the quoted excerpt.

I'll leave it to you to do your own research since you don't believe me.

And since the deposits weren't debited, it's clearly a "credit" card

No connection.

I didn’t say I didn’t believe you—I just mentioned (basically) that you could’ve shared the URL of the bank’s relevant page to maybe learn more. Then, your excerpt proves what I wrote earlier: that a debit card is actually a credit card since the rental company’s deposit isn’t debited. So, immediate debit cards like Visa Premier (and higher) or Mastercard Gold (and higher) are indeed credit cards (deposit not debited), even if they also have a debit function written on them (banks’ tricks, as mentioned above).

That's not it. I'll let someone braver than me explain it to you.

And Avis the rental company has understood this well since they now accept debit cards that block the deposit without actually charging it. https://faq.avis.fr/question-category/payment-options/#

Good evening,

I understand this might be your job, and that you have a bias in that direction. But for those who already wear both belt and suspenders, nothing, ever, will take away the fear of losing their pants. (Aristippus of Cyrene)

Michel