Use debit card with Hertz....get credit check????

Jthamilton

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Okie182
So flew into KGJT this evening. Went to Hertz counter to get our reserved car. Pulled out my debit card and was advised that they would run a credit check and that this may affect my credit score.

Well I said to hell with that and told the wife to pay with her company credit card. We don't have personal credit cards haven't for several years and I'm darn proud of it.

So....it seems the more conscious I am of maintaining my credit the more I'm getting burned.
 
You should have a personal credit card. Don't run a balance, but situations like this are a good example of why you need it.
 
I think I'm going to be forced to get card for a little other company I have some rental properties in. Even when I had one I didn't maintain a balance but it's the principle of the matter.

But it really chaps my butt, funny how even cash isn't worth much any more.
 
I think I'm going to be forced to get card for a little other company I have some rental properties in. Even when I had one I didn't maintain a balance but it's the principle of the matter.

But it really chaps my butt, funny how even cash isn't worth much any more.

Don't blame you a bit! Good attitude. :yes:
 
You know what, maybe I'm all worked up for no reason at all.

I just noticed Budget only requires 3 forms of ID to use a debit card. If I don't have my passport with me I can can just carry a Utility bill, cellular phone bill, bank statement all of which must be within the last 60 days.:mad2:
 
I'm with ya. We had a "just in case" credit card for years. After 6 years of no purchases, they canceled us, and my credit score has been dropping ever since.
 
My cable company does that too. Credit check unless you give them a CC when you sign up.
 
I don't think it's so unreasonable for someone who is handing you the keys to a $20000 car to want to know you have more than $200 to your name first.
Jon
 
I'm with ya. We had a "just in case" credit card for years. After 6 years of no purchases, they canceled us, and my credit score has been dropping ever since.


Well it is a credit score after all, if you don't have any history of using credit....


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You know what, maybe I'm all worked up for no reason at all.

I just noticed Budget only requires 3 forms of ID to use a debit card. If I don't have my passport with me I can can just carry a Utility bill, cellular phone bill, bank statement all of which must be within the last 60 days.:mad2:

:confused: I use Budget all the time with a debit card, toss it and my DL on the counter and I'm driving away in a few minutes.
 
My friend has not had any use of credit for over 8 years. He needed to buy a car this last winter and I was with him. He wanted to finance part of the purchase. But because he had not used ANY credit for 5 years he had an atrocious score that ended up costing him extra in interest. Had he obtained a card, used it and paid it off regularly he would have saved money on his loan.
 
My friend has not had any use of credit for over 8 years. He needed to buy a car this last winter and I was with him. He wanted to finance part of the purchase. But because he had not used ANY credit for 5 years he had an atrocious score that ended up costing him extra in interest. Had he obtained a card, used it and paid it off regularly he would have saved money on his loan.

The correct answer is "buy the car you can buy with cash."
 
The correct answer is "buy the car you can buy with cash."

hhhmmmm, maybe that is why I drive a 13 year old Saturn :D
 
First, I absolutely hate debit cards and will not carry one, when the banks sends them to me, I cut them up and toss them! :nono: I do have an ATM card, two company and one personal credit card.
Second, I can find no upside to debit cards. I pay my credit cards, personal and business, in full every month, no interest. Plus, I get a 20+ day float. :D
I just don't want anyone to have direct access to my checking account. Let's say you wreck the rental car, or someone steals it, do you think Hertz is going to ask you politely to pay for the lost rental income? Or are they going to zap your debit card?:dunno:
Be aware that business debit cards have different rules vs consumer cards. You don't have the same type of fraud protections.;)
As far as credit scoring, the system likes to see several credit lines, credit cards, mortgage, installment accounts etc. The "man" wants to see some responsible use of credit to offer the best rates on loans and insurance. I got a break one my homeowners because of my credit score. :D
 
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Yep, anything over $1200 is just buying status and luxury.
Luxury is a $1200+ car now. Hmmm, by that standard, any plane is just for Über-wealthy, who should be taxed for being so ostentatious. ;)
 
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My friend has not had any use of credit for over 8 years. He needed to buy a car this last winter and I was with him. He wanted to finance part of the purchase. But because he had not used ANY credit for 5 years he had an atrocious score that ended up costing him extra in interest. Had he obtained a card, used it and paid it off regularly he would have saved money on his loan.

I haven't had a credit card in prob 4 years, and I have a darn nice credit score that I've acquired for being a financially responsible adult.The debit card has worked fine or I wouldn't have been able to use it this long without any trouble.

There must be another another method for confirming abilities to pay. Then again why does it hurt you just to check your score? where's the sense in that?

I'm with Henning, don't buy a car unless you can't pay it off with cash. But sometimes this isn't for everyone and a newer shiny car is what they want.
 
You think they're going to trust you with a $40,000 car on a debit card without checking to see if you're somehow good for the money involved?

Ever take a car for a test drive at a dealership? There's good reason they look at your license first (gives them more than they need to pull credit).
 
Well it is a credit score after all, if you don't have any history of using credit....


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I understand that, but I do have a history of borrowing money and paying it back quickly. I just don't go around with a bunch of open accounts. I've proven to be trustworthy time and time again, but I suffer a little because I don't continually put sh*t on credit cards. Stupid!
 
Luxury is a $1200+ car now. Hmmm, by that standard, any plane is just for Über-wealthy, who should be taxed for being so ostentatious.

I see reading comprehension is not your strong suit, that and you are a not particularly effective troll with weak bait.

Luxury is anything beyond what is required to make the situation more comfortable; the amount of luxury people want to pay for is up to them.

I have no problem with the uber wealthy as long as they SPEND THE MONEY AS FAST AS IT COMES IN! That is the key to having a successful capitalist economy. The money has to stay in circulation. The more cash and bullion that is hoarded, the worse the economy gets.

We base our entire economy on consumerism, in order for it to work the money needs to stay in motion. This is the basis for the "Trickle Down Economics" the Almighty, wise, great, powerful, honest, Ronald Reagan sold to the nation in the midst of Alzhiemers.

This is the same economic principle that we currently base ourselves under, and it doesn't work because the people on top shut off the tap, and kept the economy running by having us take responsibility for billions of dollars of fresh cash from their private bank, The US Federal Reserve, exclusively licensed to print money at our expense. Henry Ford said, "It's a good thing the American people don't understand the banking system because if they did I fear a revolution by morning."

Even Alan Greenspan who had congress block the one person who was trying to prevent the melt down of 2007 back in the 90s under Clinton, admitted in front of congress that "I was wrong, there was a fundamental flaw in my perception of how the world works."

Ayn Rand made the same mistake as Karl Marx and Adam Smith and that was to assume that the system would be run for the greater good, and that is a huge oversight given the history of humanity. Everything we do is operated for the greater greed. Wealth is not a problem, degenerate billionaires who spend money in obvious and opulent lifestyles I don't have that great of an issue with because they drive large economic sectors with a lot of good paying jobs that go multiple support and manufacturing layers deep. Some even give back projects that are looking to humanitarian playoffs.

It's what sits in banks that kills economies, and right now most of the money the Federal Reserve printed under Quantitative Easing is sitting back in the Fed with them paying interest to the banks they issued it to. So we are paying for that money 3 times, to issue, a direct rate to the Fed, and a secondary rate to the Fed to pay the bank to put the money back in the Fed rather than in circulation to build the economy and small business to help local employment.

The people involved in all this are the tiniest subset of the über wealthy, and they should be taxed of everything above $10BB globally to put into energy and water infrastructure to bring us to the modern era and turn our economy into an energy and water exporting economy as well as manufacturing all the new accoutrements of the new technology. You cannot save the future by living the past, you can only build a future on top of the past. Without building and development, there is no future, only destruction and decay.
 
Be aware that business debit cards have different rules vs consumer cards. You don't have the same type of fraud protections.;)

It's my understanding (at least with my business card) that you DO have the same protection, just a shorter time period in which to notify the credit card company.

First, I absolutely hate debit cards and will not carry one, when the banks sends them to me, I cut them up and toss them! I do have an ATM card [snip]

I didn't know one could get an ATM card that wasn't also a debit card. I'll have to check into that and see if US Bank offers that option. I like it!

I never use my debit/ATM card, I use my credit card for everything because, as others have mentioned, I get almost a month of float and I also get a minimum of 1% cash back. Since my credit card is also with US bank (my bank) it works as an ATM card at their locations (I found this out completely by accident one day when I stuck my credit card into the ATM machine by mistake instead of my debit/ATM card).

So, the ONLY reason I carry my debit/ATM card is for getting cash at other banks when there is no US Bank around. Though I've never tried to use my Credit Card in a foreign ATM to see if it'd work as a ATM card in it also.
 
Tim, my ATM card just says ATM on it. :D The banks always offers me debit cards, so I think at least at my bank they can be different. :D
The time frame is shorter for business cards vs consumer cards.
I understand the banks will refund stolen money to your accounts, BUT it takes time, 3-5 days maybe longer. In the mean time your checks or auto pay accounts are bouncing.:mad2:

It's my understanding (at least with my business card) that you DO have the same protection, just a shorter time period in which to notify the credit card company.



I didn't know one could get an ATM card that wasn't also a debit card. I'll have to check into that and see if US Bank offers that option. I like it!

I never use my debit/ATM card, I use my credit card for everything because, as others have mentioned, I get almost a month of float and I also get a minimum of 1% cash back. Since my credit card is also with US bank (my bank) it works as an ATM card at their locations (I found this out completely by accident one day when I stuck my credit card into the ATM machine by mistake instead of my debit/ATM card).

So, the ONLY reason I carry my debit/ATM card is for getting cash at other banks when there is no US Bank around. Though I've never tried to use my Credit Card in a foreign ATM to see if it'd work as a ATM card in it also.
 
I am no fan of carrying credit card debt, or really much debt at all, but I find it very easy to pay either cash for small purchases or credit card for times when I don't have cash on me. I review my credit card on line a couple times per month and pay it 3-5 days before the due date. :D
We run into this occasionally primarily with people over 50, they have very little credit history, no bad credit, just they pay cash and don't have a mortgage. :dunno:

I understand that, but I do have a history of borrowing money and paying it back quickly. I just don't go around with a bunch of open accounts. I've proven to be trustworthy time and time again, but I suffer a little because I don't continually put sh*t on credit cards. Stupid!
 
I see reading comprehension is not your strong suit, that and you are a not particularly effective troll with weak bait. ...blah blah blah....
I see you require :)s on posts so not to take them seriously
 
You think they're going to trust you with a $40,000 car on a debit card without checking to see if you're somehow good for the money involved?

Ever take a car for a test drive at a dealership? There's good reason they look at your license first (gives them more than they need to pull credit).

I'm driving anything but a $40,000 car today! I never said I don't understand why but they too have insurance to deal with issues that arise. I seriously doubt that the person who is going to steal a car or beat the crap out of one is going to care less which card they put down.

My debit card has visa in the corner, I tell who ever runs it daily to run it as a credit card. When Hertz was told this I was told they couldn't.

I've never been in a flying club, do they require a Credit card to join the club or do they ask for financials before allowing you to join. (This is a question)
 
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They have insurance but they have costs involved if you get tickets, wreck the car, fail to fuel it, etc.... They want to make sure you're good for it. A debit card doesn't given them any assurances over what they authorize.
 
I've had the same experience for decades.

I too have had same experience, however apparently things are changing.

We all have had done things financially In the past we have regretted. I remember during the lean years being unable to pay off my card I had $2000 accrued during college. Nowadays you open a card it's on your credit report. You cancel a card it affects your credit. We mold our future off the mistakes of the past. Credit cards are a big one for me even though I chose to spend the money.

I think its sad that we're now being forced to give in to this just to be able to function on a daily basis
 
Interest aside, is it better for your credit score to pay your CC in full every month, or carry a small (10%) balance?
 
I've used a credit card as a purchase tool for years and just pay it off each month. I can't believe people actually do and can afford to carry balances with those interest rates.


Funny story though, fresh out of high school I was renting my first place for college. Went to sign up for gas service and they wouldn't do it because I had no credit history. I had money, I needed service.... couldn't get it because of credit. Fortunately our landlord worked at the gas company office and was able to push it through.
 
I'm driving anything but a $40,000 car today! I never said I don't understand why but they too have insurance to deal with issues that arise. I seriously doubt that the person who is going to steal a car or beat the crap out of one is going to care less which card they put down.



My debit card has visa in the corner, I tell who ever runs it daily to run it as a credit card. When Hertz was told this I was told they couldn't.



I've never been in a flying club, do they require a Credit card to join the club or do they ask for financials before allowing you to join. (This is a question)


The transaction can be processed as if it were a credit transaction (signature, no PIN) but it is still directly debited against your balance and there is no credit line available to them in case of trouble. So to Hertz it doesn't really help them to do so. Having a real credit card with a line of credit allows them to wait until the rental is complete and then hit you for the total -- with a debit card, even processed with a signature, that transaction may bounce and they're screwed. That's why some hotels will accept the card but preauthorize a huge amount.
 
We don't have personal credit cards haven't for several years and I'm darn proud of it.



So....it seems the more conscious I am of maintaining my credit the more I'm getting burned.


First, it's good that you're being financially responsible. But, your credit score isn't a measure of your financial resources and ability to pay off a debt -- it's more accurately a measure of how well you've used credit in the past and how much you have available at the moment. So by not even having a credit card I would assume your credit score is quite low -- and if you're the type who doesn't use credit then you really shouldn't care if they do pull your history (and one pull won't hurt anyway).

I guess what I'm asking is: what are you trying to accomplish? If you're just being disciplined with spending and only pay cash, then who cares if Hertz pulls your credit history? If you're trying to "maintain [your] credit" as you say, then you should get a credit card and just not use it except situations like this because that will actually help you. Make a rule to pay it off immediately, before they even bill you, if you want to.
 
They have insurance but they have costs involved if you get tickets, wreck the car, fail to fuel it, etc.... They want to make sure you're good for it. A debit card doesn't given them any assurances over what they authorize.

Exactly. Heck, I won't even let you rent a hotel room at my place without some skin in the game. And I'm insured up the yin-yang.

The hard part is when someone wants to pay cash. We accept it, of course -- heck, we prefer it -- but we still need either a credit card on file (to serve as a damage deposit) or a $50 cash deposit, refundable when you leave. (Presuming the room is undamaged. Yes, we check.)

We are debating whether we even want to mess with the cash deposit anymore. With $5000 worth of stuff in an aviation themed hotel room, WTF good is a $50 cash deposit? All it really does is weed out the riffraff, which has been good enough -- but if someone wants to take the HDTV off the wall, it won't help much.

I like when someone hands me a debit card to use as their deposit, and then tells me there's nothing in that account. WTF would you give me a card KNOWING it was worthless? lol

This problem has progressively grown less significant with each passing year. The vast majority (like, 95+%) of our guests pay with a credit card. (When we started in this business, it was more like 80%) Nonetheless, of that remaining 5% who pay with cash, some just don't understand that we are a business, not a charity. I'm not going to let anyone in a room without proof that they have the financial capacity to pay for it, and to cover any damage they may cause. I certainly don't expect a rental car agency to do any less.

An aside: Every now and then we get an employee who questions the "fairness" of requiring a cash deposit from "poor people" who don't have credit cards. I look them squarely in the eye and say "You are free to waive that deposit at ANY time -- but understand that YOU are then personally responsible for any damage that guest may cause."

Funny how those employees become religious about remembering to collect the deposit -- even from their friends and relatives... :lol:
 
Why would you ever want to use a debit card? Thats just dumb for many reasons. You should not even possess a debit card. . . . a cash card to get money from your bank sure - but a debit card? No.

Here is the simple reason: if your debit card number is compromised whose money gets stolen? How many other transactions and checks bounce before you get to your bank and fix it all? How much fun will you have trying to contact everyone whose transaction or check bounced? You ever tried to convince a bank that a transaction that obviously happened - the theft of your money - did not happen?

You gotta run your life the way you want but debit cards are plain stupid from a security perspective - and there is no reason why you cannot get a credit card and pay it off every month and never put your own money at risk . . .
 
You ever tried to convince a bank that a transaction that obviously happened - the theft of your money - did not happen?
.

Yes. Just last week. From my experience with B of A, the process was identical between a compromised debit card and a compromised credit card.
 
A credit score is composed of 3 primary factors: revolving debt (credit cards), term debt ( car loans, etc) and housing/long term (mortgages). Lacking recent records in one category hurts a bit, more for multiple categories. So it is good to use And pay off credit cards. At least from a credit score perspective.

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Debit cards where supposed to be the cards that benefited all involved. Now when you say debit everyone runs for cover,they all prefer credit cards. Must have to do with the guarantee on credit cards by the banks.
 
There are certain 'by law' protections that credit cards get that debit doesn't. Ant the resolution of fraud is faster. Companies like Hertz prefer it cause they can put a large hold against them, and they demonstrate a level of creditworthiness. Really best to rent against a credit card, then pay on return with debit. Travel is one area that is very hard without credit card.

As for scores, in most states insurance companies (car and home) use credit scores as one element of rate setting. I learned this when I got a slightly less than very best rate because I had/have no "term" loans (car loans, etc) to factor into the score, and despite a proven 25 year risk record with that company. If your score is knocked down due to lack of a credit record in certain types of debt, its highly likely that you will pay more for insurance.

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Interest aside, is it better for your credit score to pay your CC in full every month, or carry a small (10%) balance?

What influences your credit score (in the credit cards departing) is what's call the revolving credit utilization.

When the CC closes, the balance is reported to credit agencies. It's not on the due date, it's on close. At least that was always my experience.
So if you have only one credit card with $10000 in limit, and by the close you have $9500 in balance, your credit utilization is 95%, even if you pay it before due date and don't carry a balance.

As a side note, the limit and balances of all credit cards gets added for this calculation.
I usually pay my credit cards several times per month. I guess now I could just let it close, but I got used to it.

You want to keep revolving credit utilization to no more than 20%.
 
One more thing: If you hate credit cards, but don't want to damage that part of your credit score, just get one credit card, put some fixed price bill in it (like cell phone), set up auto payment for that amount one day after the close, and forget it exists.
 
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