Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Broomies Mate on 05 August 2013, 17:08:53
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I'm off to Spain in a couple of weeks and will be naturally hiring a Car.
All the sites are saying I need a Credit Card.... of which I don't own or wish to own.
Last year in the Canaries, I just gave them 200Euro's cash as a deposit. Is still still a viable option?
I will (as always) be taking out the extra damage waiver insurance thingymajig.
What exactly am I going to be asked for when I get to the counter? I've hired cars on all my foreign holidays and never needed a credit card before. :-\
(I do have a Lloyds TSB Visa Debit Card)
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The "Visa"part of your debit card should suffice. :y
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The "Visa"part of your debit card should suffice. :y
That's what I was thinking, BUTTTTTTT, the websites suggest otherwise :-\
They categorically say it MUST be a CREDIT card and not a DEBIT card. Confused.com
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Are you flying in to Malaga?
If so which outfit were you thinking of hiring from?
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Are you flying in to Malaga?
If so which outfit were you thinking of hiring from?
No, Alicante, and 'GoldCar' have been good in the past, and are keen on price. :-\
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Last one I hired from Malagacar looked like it had been in a destruction derby and it was only a few months old :-X
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Are you flying in to Malaga?
If so which outfit were you thinking of hiring from?
No, Alicante, and 'GoldCar' have been good in the past, and are keen on price. :-\
Yep. Often have big queues but that just reflects their status. Have a good holiday. Weather should still be nice but not burning hot...........
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Get yourself a top up credit card from a company like Cash Plus or Lebara. You can get Euro and USD specific cards which can save on currency conversion costs.
You may need to forewarn the credit card provider that you will be using it for hire car or hotel reservations and you will need to put enough on the card to cover any potential hire car as they will reserve a fixed amount as a deposit. It is the reservation of a fixed amount on why many hire car or hotel companies insist on credit cards.
They are convenient to have anyway as they will naturally limit the amount lost if they are stolen or abused by a 3rd party.
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.......
of which I don't own or wish to own.
......
digressing from the original question but .......
why? :-\ :-\ :-\ I've had one for the past 30+ years, and although I might have rung up a bit of debt on it when I was young & stupid, they're so convenient to use & just pay it off each month. :-\ :-\ They also give you a bit of consumer protection when you use them to pay for holidays/etc :y
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.......
of which I don't own or wish to own.
......
digressing from the original question but .......
why? :-\ :-\ :-\ I've had one for the past 30+ years, and although I might have rung up a bit of debt on it when I was young & stupid, they're so convenient to use & just pay it off each month. :-\ :-\ They also give you a bit of consumer protection when you use them to pay for holidays/etc :y
I know they do have their benefits, but money is a little tight at present, and I fear the lure of the CC might turn me into a bad person! ;D
If I can't afford it, I don't buy it, but only because I can't.... If I had the option, temptation would probably overcome me. :'(
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I know they do have their benefits, but money is a little tight at present, and I fear the lure of the CC might turn me into a bad person! ;D
If I can't afford it, I don't buy it, but only because I can't.... If I had the option, temptation would probably overcome me. :'(
Fairy Snuff! :y :y :y
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With top up credit cards you can only spend what you preload on to the card, so you never owe anybody any money. :y
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.......
of which I don't own or wish to own.
......
digressing from the original question but .......
why? :-\ :-\ :-\ I've had one for the past 30+ years, and although I might have rung up a bit of debt on it when I was young & stupid, they're so convenient to use & just pay it off each month. :-\ :-\ They also give you a bit of consumer protection when you use them to pay for holidays/etc :y
I know they do have their benefits, but money is a little tight at present, and I fear the lure of the CC might turn me into a bad person! ;D
If I can't afford it, I don't buy it, but only because I can't.... If I had the option, temptation would probably overcome me. :'(
You are old enough now to excercise restraint. Get a top up card!
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We used Auto Europe to hire our hire car in Alicante earlier this year the car was actually hired to us by Record , just be aware of the way they do the fuel part of the deal , I was charged 85 euros when picking up the car for fuel with no chance of a refund for anything unsed ,I had almost 1/4 tank left when it was returned . they also wanted 75 euros for CDW again on top of the original rental agreement so the cheap deal on the car hire gets a little expensive
Plus apparently its company policy to remove the car aireal so no radio oh and we had no spare wheel ::)
But the car was pretty new and we had no problems with it
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Had a quote from Europecar - Over double that of some firms.
I'm looking for something like an Astra sized car - So Focus, clit etc as we will be doing some miles in it and I couldn't manage even 50miles in a Ka or 107.
The fuel policy is quite standard, and not really an issue for me as over the 10 days we are looking to do around 1,000 miles.... The tank will certainly be empty when it gets returned.
Quotes of 155Euro are easy to come by, I'll then add on the extra Insurance to that (Paid locally)..... These hire companies sting you for something as small as a puncture.
A Top-Up CC looks like my only option, and an interesting concept. One of which I've never investigated before. :y
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Excellent - You can't use a Prepaid CC to hire a car.
Square one! >:(
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I've used Lara cars in Alicante a few times. No problems at all, and they didn't even care that I'd contacted the scenery a little. :-[
They did say last time that they are turning people away who don't have a photo ID on their driving licences, though.
The credit card issue might be that they "reserve" a large chunk of cash against the credit limit, and only release it when the car is back without a string of speeding tickets and parking charges to pay. In that case, a prepay card won't work.
I'd just turn up with a debit card and plead ignorance. If these guys were any more laid back they'd be asleep (in fact they often are - you have to bang on the portacabin!). ;D
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Excellent - You can't use a Prepaid CC to hire a car.
Square one! >:(
From the Cash Plus Q&A
"Are there any restrictions on where I can use my card?
Just a couple, so if you want to:
Buy petrol or diesel at a Pay at Pump, we’ll need to switch this service on. Please contact our Customer Services team, so that we can review your account.
Hire a car in the UK or abroad, we’ll need to switch this service on. Please contact our Customer Services team, so that we can review your account."
So, yes you can, but you will need a minimum amount on your card that they will reserve, so it will be money tied up until the hire period ends plus the time period for any potential cost of speeding fines etc.
For damage waver excess I have used UK companies for this as it was much much cheaper, 'Google' hire car excess insurance. This will pay out on any excesses you have to pay. Not that I've ever had to pay an excess, despite the slight valence and sump scratches where I was talking to the Mrs and missed the two narrow track bridge beams across a ditch, :-[ not to mention the sump on the centre sections of village dirt tracks. :-X