A debit card and/or a check card that withdraws the funds directly from your checking account may be used as payment for a rental car at many of the rental car companies; however your checking account must have all of the funds available to cover the initial price of the vehicle plus any of the surge charges that are incurred upon renting the car. Although you are sometimes able to use your debit or check card as payment for the vehicle that you have rented, a prepaid or stores value card cannot be implored to make a reservation on as a payment.

Even though there are many of the car rental establishments that will accept a debit card as payment for the rental car, this option of payment is only available at certain locations; therefore, you need to make sure that the rental car company that you have selected located in your destination will allow you the option to pay for the rental with a debit card.

In order to use your debit card as a form of payment, the rental car company will place a hold on a certain amount of the funds that are available. Then when the vehicle is returned to them, they simply deduct what is owed from the car’s use, and release the placed on the funds that are remaining.

Unfortunately, there are some of the car rental companies that will not allow you to make a reservation for a vehicle using your debit card. Some of these companies require that you reserve the vehicle with a major credit card. The positive side is that you will not have to pay for the rental car with the credit card itself. Often they will allow you upon returning the vehicle to pay with your debit card.