As a rule, you need a credit card to pick up your hire car from the local car rental office. This is to ensure that in exceptional cases, such as damage to the hire car or traffic fines, the local car hire firm does not get stuck with the costs. However, nothing is withdrawn from your credit card when you make the deposit. What happens is that the rental firm puts a hold for the relevant amount on your credit card.
What are the payment options for booking a hire car?
At tuicars.com you can book your hire car with a credit card. But TUI CARS also offers other payment options when making a booking – the same applies for booking scooters or motorbikes. You can pay by means of:
- Credit card
- Direct debit (up to 500 euros)
- Bank transfer (up to 500 euros and 30 days before the pick-up date)
It is therefore not absolutely essential to have a credit card at the time of making the booking. You can freely choose between the different options.
Driver or person making the booking?
Whose name do I enter when I make a booking, the driver or me? The rule is: The person making the booking does not in principle have to be the driver. However, if the person making the booking is not the same person as the driver, then it is important to enter the driver’s details such as given name and family name in the relevant box. The driver is the person who has to present a credit card when picking up the car.
So it is important to remember when picking up a hire car: credit card = driver
The details given for the driver must match the name of the person holding the credit card. This is the sure way for a smooth pick-up at the car rental office.
Credit card, deposit
To get off to a good start to your holiday travel in your hire car you need to present a credit card and passport and make a deposit. The deposit is not actually collected at the car rental office, but the relevant amount for the deposit is blocked on your credit card to protect the car rental company in the event of damage or traffic fines.
Please note that for purposes of the deposit a prepaid credit card will not be accepted! Therefore, make sure you can present a “real” credit card.
TUI CARDs earn discounts
If you hold a TUI CARD Classic or TUI CARD Gold, you benefit from the following discounts:
- For a 7-day rental term you only pay for 6 days
- If you hire a car for 14 days, you only pay for 12 (max. 2 days free of charge)
Please make sure when booking that you use exactly the same personal details (full name as on your passport or ID card) as filed with your TUI CARD.
Go to www.meine-TUI.de to find out about more benefits when using a TUI CARD.