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[Broomies Mate]

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)

[henryd]

The "Visa"part of your debit card should suffice.

[Broomies Mate]

The "Visa"part of your debit card should suffice.

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

[Varche]

Are you flying in to Malaga?

If so which outfit were you thinking of hiring from?

[Broomies Mate]

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. 

[henryd]

Last one I hired from Malagacar looked like it had been in a destruction derby and it was only a few months old

[Varche]

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...........

[Rods2]

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.

[Andy B]

.......
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 

[Broomies Mate]

.......
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 

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! 

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. 

[Andy B]

....

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! 

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!     

[Rods2]

With top up credit cards you can only spend what you preload on to the card, so you never owe anybody any money. 

[Varche]

.......
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 

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! 

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!

[LFF64]

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

[Broomies Mate]

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.