Can I use a walmart prepaid card to rent a car? Question: I'm 22. I don't use credit cards I just think it's better for me financially anyway not to. I want to rent a car because I'm driving from Maryland to Alabama and my car has some mechanical issues. I have a walmart prepaid visa card with plenty of funds on the card to cover the costs of rental for 2 days. It has a visa logo and I use it for a lot of things since it's easier than carrying cash around. Can I use it to rent a car? I understand there will be additional fees and that is fine. I heard I can at enterprise.
Answer:
First of all, most companies impose Underage Renter Fees on renters between the ages of 21-24, and for my company that is $25 a day, plus the rental.
Now to answer your question, it depends on the rental car company, and for most of them, absolutely not.
A prepaid card to rental companies is just like using cash to rent a vehicle, no matter how much funds you have on the card. It is not a secured method to use as a deposit. In order to rent, most companies require a valid credit card at the time of rental. For these companies, your credit history basically serves as the deposit for the rental when using a credit card. Other companies that may take prepaid cars usually require a ridiculously large deposit upfront on top of the cost of the rental, which is only refunded after you have satisfied the rental requirements (i.e., no damages to the vehicle, gas tank full, returned on time, etc.)
I can't tell you how many times that my company allowed people to use debit and prepaid cards, and were burned in the process. People would rent and wound up with no funds on the card after the rental, and often times, we would end up with no car. Now that my company put a stop to that and requires credit cards only, we get ours regardless.
Keep in mind: you are trying to get a $20,000+ investment from someone to do as your are pleased. The rental company is going to take every precaution to make sure they get their investment back, and in one piece.
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