Car hire please advise

[keri150107]

We are staying at AKL for 3 weeks arriving in 12 days. were going to hire a car for 10 days in the middle of holiday to visit Universal etc but due to some issues with visa card I can't charge it to that. Should I cancel car hire? if so what is th best way to get about outside the world OR should I hire with cash - how much deposit are they likely to require?

 

[hrmom26]

hi
when you say hire a car do you mean rent a car or hiring a car to drive you from point A to point B ? either way you said you had cash so you could also use a debit card. i had a driver pick up us and take us to sea world and i used a debit card. there is how ever busses and trolleys you can use i was going to try that but we would have had to switch busses and it would have been a pain. when i say busses i mean normal city busses by the way. hope this helps have a great trip!

 

[Rob562]

hi
when you say hire a car do you mean rent a car or hiring a car to drive you from point A to point B ?

Those from across the pond say "hire" when us Americans say "rent".

As for his options, I would suggest to the OP to contact the rental agency directly and/or check their website. Rental companies have differing policies when it comes to cash. I've never actually looked into it very much.

Other options would be to contact Mears about shuttle buses to other places like Universal, or as the other poster suggested, check into towncar services.

-Rob

 

[Courtman]

keri,

I'll take a guess here: you are a Brit and trying to use a Visa DELTA card (debit card)?

I've had this problem before, they won't allow you to hire a car without a credit card. You can do it, but its a bit more complicated. I've done it with Alamo/National - you have to basically submit to a credit check. Best bet is to ring the reservations now and see what they'll offer you. If its a debit card, say so - and then see if you can be credit checked or similar. That credit check then stays on your file at Alamo/National for a period of time.

I got fed up with the hassle and just use the credit card now, but it always seemed daft that with my debit card I HAD to have the money in the account for the transaction, whereas a credit card just seemed to be a way of building my debt up - but I think there is something where having the credit card means they can get the money if you leg it with the car or similar.

 

[Rob562]

I got fed up with the hassle and just use the credit card now, but it always seemed daft that with my debit card I HAD to have the money in the account for the transaction, whereas a credit card just seemed to be a way of building my debt up - but I think there is something where having the credit card means they can get the money if you leg it with the car or similar.

Side note:
While you need a credit card to rent a car in most places, when you return the car you can almost always pay the bill with your debit card rather than the credit card you left on file when you picked the car up... The credit card secures the rental, but the actual payment comes out of the debit card.

It's kind of like the room charge at the Disney hotels... You can leave your credit card number at the desk so you can have charging privliges, but the night before you check out, you can go down and settle up your bill with a debit card, cash, etc and nothing actually gets charged to the credit card.

-Rob