I talk to people all the time who’ve rented cars abroad in the past and have found it to be quite a traumatic experience. The first thing I always suggest? Make sure you rent with a reputable company! Preferably Avis of course. 
) If you deal with a company that has a global presence then you’ve got someone to turn to in your home country if something goes wrong. At Avis you can always deal with someone in the HQ of the country you live in and you don’t have to worry about language barriers and time differences if there’s something you want to talk about after the event.
But it’s peace of mind in advance that most people want and the most common issue that people raise after the event are “extra charges”, something that car rental has a bit of a reputation for. ( Also, people want to be on their way as quickly as possible when they finally reach their holiday destination , and don’t like hanging around waiting in queues or trying to make decisions about “extras” when they’re there.
I’ve put together some top tips for having a hassle free holiday rental. Now I have a few so I’ve decided to write this in two parts. Come back next week to check out Part 2!…
1. Book with a reputable company, preferably Avis )
2. Read my tips to Return your car with less stress
3. Always make sure that you know what is included in the rate that you’ve booked. For example, most rates will include mandatory charges and cover for 3rd party damage and damage to or theft of the Avis car. But there is usually an excess, so check this before you travel, and find out how much you would have to pay to reduce your excess liability. You can then decide whether you want to take the chance and travel with an excess risk, or pay a little more to reduce it.
4. Remember to allow for any additional costs for any extras you may need that cannot be booked in advance e.g. satellite navigation, additional driver, etc. (we are working on the advance booking bit)
5. Have all your documents ready in advance, your drivers licence, credit card etc, that will speed up the process for you. Even better, join our Avis Preferred membership, so you can just show your licence collect your keys and go at most locations.
6. Decide in advance if you want to pay in sterling or local currency. You’ll automatically be billed in sterling if you’re a UK resident unless you specify otherwise. That has the advantage of your knowing exactly what will appear on your credit card statement afterwards, but you might sometimes get a more advantageous rate from your credit card company so it’s worth thinking about that in advance.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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I have rented an Avis car for our family holiday this summer. I am picking the car up in Boston , and dropping it off in Toronto. However, the friends we are visiting in Toronto tell me it is diffcult (if not impossible)to get hire cars over the border, for security reasons. Is this the case? If so- why was hiring mt car this way so easy?!
Chris
The US Customer Service Manager has kindly provided the answer below..
The only restriction really is that Canadian law states that a Canadian citizen cannot drive a US car into Canada. For a UK resident or any other citizen, to drive a US car across the border, all that is required is a non-resident insurance card to be in the car. There’s no charge for that card and if the reservation has a notation the renter is traveling to Canada, it will be automatically placed in the glove compartment.
Please reassure them there is no anticipated problems for them at all!
Take care!
Pat Maxwell
Avis Customer Services Manager
indigoduck@gmail.com for ideas from anybody.
I live in the east coast (Fort Erie, ONT) and I plan to fly from Buffalo (cheaper than flying out of Toronto and closer) to Seattle in order to and rent a car to visit Vancouver, BC. I’ve booked my flights, planned my itinerary, made all the reservations and I just learned about *the rule* and I’m freaking. Anyone know of a good *legal* story that will allow me to pass ?
Here is what I’ve come up with so far….
Version 1:
“I was in BC and [somehow, ie: took greyhound, got a lift] I arrived in Seattle. Upon arriving Seattle, [something happened, ie: received a phone call] that required me to return to Vancouver to [get my household goods/personal effects]. The solution was to rent a car from Seattle to drive up to Vancouver.”
What would make this story possible ? What is this hardship circumstance ? Could the hardship be that my buddy from BC who on their way to California gave me the lift to Seattle in order to send me home to Fort Erie, and I realized i forgot something, and I have no way of getting back ?
The more complicated *the lie*, the harder it is to cross the border back into Canada.
Any good stories based on the rules and conditions given below ?
THE RULE:
Canadian citizens are prohibited from driving a non-Canadian rental vehicle into Canada, except under hardship circumstances
cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5056-eng.html
cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cm/d2-4-1/d2-4-1-e.html
THE CONDITIONS FOR CANADIAN RESIDENT TO BRING A US RENTED VEHICLE INTO CANADA
- the conveyance, while in Canada is to be used solely for the transportation of a resident and accompanying persons from the point of arrival in Canada directly to a specified destination in Canada and from the specified destination to a destination outside Canada;
- in the case of a resident other than a commuter, the conveyance is to be imported only for the purpose of transporting his household or personal effects into or out of Canada, or for personal transportation as a result of an emergency or unforeseen contingency
Hi John, we’ve just heard back from our colleagues in the US and unbelievably this law does apply. Apparently it is a law from about 100 years ago which prevents Canadians from “importing” goods and services from the US. The experience of my US colleague is that as long as you present your rental agreement to the guard at the border then it is usually ok but I must stress this comment is purely anecdotal and I cannot guarantee this will happen.
I’ve done a bit of digging and there are some stupid laws in the UK too. I’ve just found this hilarious website: http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~jimella/laws02.htm. For example, did you know that in the UK it is lawful to to kill a Scotsman in York if he is carrying a bow and arrow? Also, according to the website it is legal to shoot a Welsh person with a bow and arrow in Chester, inside the city walls and after midnight!
Anyway sorry I can’t help any more! I hope you make it to Canada ok!!
I have been with AVIS as a preferred member for some 4 years now and generally think they do try harder-but not hard enough. We hire AVIS cars in France and Portugal at least 4 times a year and the success of each hire is entirely dependent on the initial call to book. 50% of our bookings result in a problem with the price, the type of car, or even not being sent the prepaid voucher (this has occurred twice} so that the wrong type of car is supplied on collection. The resultant customer dissatisfaction and fight for refunds etc. mars the experience. Generally, we have found that the staff at the office where we collect the car are helpful and want to repair the problem caused on initial booking but they cannot refund when we have been overcharged and this results in tedious calls to customer services. AVIS need to try harder with their initial booking facilities and obviate the mistakes which necessitate lengthy customer services calls after the hire on costly 0870 tel nos.
Hi John, thank you for the comprehensive feedback. How did you make your booking? In fact do you have some examples of reservation or rental agreement numbers where this problem occurred? If so could you email them to comments@avis.co.uk? We really need to investigate the root cause of the problem and plan any necessary work required to resolve whatever bug is responsible (if it has not already been identified and planned in).
Rob
I am looking to rent a car in Lisbon but I do not hold credit cards. However I have debit cards. Will I be able to rent a car?
Hi Manuel, we do accept Visa Debit card at Lisbon. Is this a card type that you have?
Rob
i have recently got back from crete where i hired a car from avis in haraklion the contrct was very unclear and was asked to show passport driving licience and credit card then after she filled in the greek paperwork i was pointed to where i was to sign . needless to say my creditcard was debited for more than the aggreed price . i now have to wait 2 weeks for a decission to be made as to whether avis thnk im pulling a fast one or ive been ripped off
Hi I Jones,
From your comment, I presume you have contacted our customer services department already.
If you can send your rental agreement number to comments@avis.co.uk, I will chase this up for you.
Regards,
Stephen
Yes Rob
I hold a Visa Debit Card. So will this card be acceptable and will the price to hire a car be the same? What about the excess?
Thanks Manuel
Hi Manual, using a Visa Debit card should be fine but if you could let me know what location you are renting from then I can double check this for you.
If the rental location definitely does accept Visa Debit card then this should not affect the excess levels. The level of the excess is provided when you make a booking, although if you could let me know what car category you are intending to book in addition to confirming the location then I can check this for you.
Rob
I have a visa debit card. Can I use this to hire a car in France? I am travelling next week and cant find anyone that accepts visa debit in pick up. They all ask for credit cards. I may have to cancel the holiday if not. Whats the excess likley to be? I am flying into Nantes. cheers
Hi Jo, Visa debit is fine (although we do not accept Visa electron). The excess depends on the car size but ranges from €600 – €1,900. If you let me know what car size you are looking to book I’ll be able to confirm what the excess will be. Otherwise, when you get a quote on avis.co.uk and you select your car size, the screen that follows will provide the excess levels on the bottom left corner.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Rob
Hi Rob,really struggling here,I go on holiday next week,flying into Marseille airport,and I only have a Visa debit card,will I be able to hire through Avis,or is their a divorce on the horizon for me.
Thanks,Iain
Hi Iain, your Visa Debit will be fine in Marseille.
Have a great trip!
Rob
Mega!! thanks for the swift reply Rob,that’s great news,I’ll be booking the car on Friday.
Thanks again,and I might not even support Croatia tonight after all…..
Iain
No probs! Let’s hope it’s a decent game for a change. The only time England put in a good performance was Soccer Aid… not that I’ll be able to watch the game tonight anyway!
Just back from a great holiday,great service from Avis,brand new Clio,perfect.although the fuel gauge was dodgy and no matter how hard we tried,even creating a large puddle of diesel on a garage forecourt on our last day,the gauge refused to register full,however I’ll defo book again and maybe even get one of those fantastic Fiat 500,the next time.
Great, thanks for the update! I’ll forward your feedback on to the team in Marseille.
Rob
Would love to rent with Avis but Toulouse Airport is showing no automatic cars on the booking system for the weekend that I want (end of this month). They will take a booking by telehone but the price given is nearly 3 times what it would normally be. They tell me to book group H on the online system and request an authomatic to get the correct price. Online system does not give groups so telephone Avis Preferred reservations. They put the request through, take my email address and tell me I will hear in 72 hours. They also say that if the request is refused I should call back and they will see what they can do. After 72 hours nothing. Call Avis Preferred again. They tell me the request was refused but there was no email address on the booking. Also say that nothing can be done. We Try Harder? I think not.
Hi Denyse,
Firstly my apologies that you did not receive the email informing you that the car had been denied. Once the office has confirmed or denied a booking then the email is sent through shortly afterwards however it seems to have been delayed in this instance.
I’ve spoken to the Toulouse office with respect to your booking and they said that normally they only have very limited supplies of automatics. Unfortunately they are already all sold out for those dates and would be unable to supply an automatic for the weekend selected.
Apologies
Chris
would I be able to hire a car with a maestro debit card in lisbon?
If not what about a prepaid mastercard cash card?
Or can you recomend a rental company that can and that I can trust.
Regards,
Hi Luiz,
Unfortunately we don’t accept Maestro Debit cards or prepaid Mastercards, you would need to have either a Visa or Mastercard Debit card or a credit card.
I am also unaware of any companies that would accept these types of cards. Perhaps you could try looking at local companies in Lisbon via the internet?
Good luck
Chris
Hi,
i’m flying to Lisbon this week and only have a visa debit card. Is this still an acceptable form of payment at the lisbon airport avis? and if so, do they have to run a credit check?
thanks,
k
Hi K,
Portugal do accept Visa Debit cards provided that all it says on the card is Visa and the word Debit, i.e. not Electron, Maestro, Solo, Switch etc.
They don’t run a credit check but will obtain authorisation and hold an amount on the card, if you have prepaid for the rental then normally they hold the equivalent of $110 for fuel and then any extras that you may take e.g. GPS, excess reduction etc.
I hope that helps
Chris
Hi Chris,
I just called the avis airport location to confirm, as i leave tomorrow, and they said that no, they do not accept anything but a credit card. can you provide any confirmation that I can use to collect the car with a visa debit?
thanks again,
K
Hi
We are travelling to France this summer by Eurostar and needing to pick up a car at Calais Frethun TGV station. However, the train does not arrive until 5:30pm on a Thursday and I want to drop it back off on a Saturday. When I try to book this online it just tells me the office is closed at these times, however, we did the same trip last year and the office was open for pick-ups and there was an out of hours key drop box. Can you advise whether or not I am stranded?
Hi there,
You are certainly not stranded! The website won’t let you book an out of hours pick up but if you call our reservations team on 08445 81 81 81) they’ll be happy to request this service for when you arrive on the Thursday. They do also have a keybox which will let you drop the car off on the Saturday when the office is closed.
I hope that helps
Hi K,
I am very sorry for the late response, the comments were not moderated on Friday and Monday as they normally would be as it was a bank holiday.
Our policy in Portugal has previously been to accept Visa Debit cards but I have now been informed that this is no longer the case. I am very sorry that you were not provided with the most current information. I will make sure that all of our reservation agents are now fully up-to-date with this change of policy.
In the meantime I can only hope that you were not left without a hire car. If there is anything else I can do then please do not hesitate to ask!
Chris
I like the info, but need more detail about local car hire places near to Pefkos in Rhodes Greece- unable to find on the site- have had good avis in larger places.
Hi Pam,
Sorry I’m not sure I understand what you are asking. From what I can see on the map the nearest Avis office to Pefkos is in Lardos. What further info do you require?
If you let me know I’ll answer as best as I can.
Chris
Hello,
I’m flying to Bergamo Airport (Italy) this week and only have a Visa Debit card. Will my Visa Debit card be accepted for payment of both car hire and deposit?
Thanks,
Allan.
Hi Allan,
I’ve spoken to Bergamo who have said that providing it is just a Debit card (not Electron, switch etc) with the raised “embossed” numbers and sufficient, available credit (around €250) then they will accept the card.
Chris
I want to rent a car in Nice, South of France for one week during the summer. I live in London but I have a Greek (EU) driving license for the last 21 years. Unfortunately the license is in Greek and not in Roman letters. Will I have any problems renting a car with the French Avis people at Nice airport?
Unfortunately unless the licence is in the Roman alphabet, you will need to get an international driving permit to rent a car in France.
The permit will act as a certified translation so will need to be presented along with your license to collect the car.
I believe international driving permits can be obtained from your local post office.
I want to rent a car in either Nimes or Arles from Avis but are having a difficulty understanding the insurance. Other websites such as [a competitor] state that the rate they quote include fire and liability insurance. However, when I tried to look into Avis, their website has an optional liability insurance for $9.20 a day. Does Avis quote not include the third party damage? or is this optional liability insurance increases the coverage beyond the basic third party damage inclusive in the quote?
My preference is to rent with Avis not [a competitor]. I hope that the rate does include the third party damage otherwise it would be a lot more expensive than what other companies are offering.
Thuy
Hi Thuy,
Third party insurance is always included in our rates. In this example you will have an excess for damage and theft which you can reduce to zero by purchasing the extra insurance for €9.20 per day.
I hope that makes sense.
Chris
Thank you Chris for the clarification.
Hi Chris,
One more question if you don’t mind.
I wanted to get the cheaper rental rate by picking up the car at the downtown location in Arles at Garage Forum Automobiles.
However, I’m not sure how to get there? Does the train station office offer a shuttle bus to the downtown location?
Or how would I get there?
Thanks for your help.
Thuy
Hi Thuy,
I’m afraid that Avis doesn’t offer a shuttle service to the downtown office so you would need to make your own way there.
Apologies
Maxiema
I will be traveling to Toulouse in April with my daughter for a skating competition. I have only a Visa debit card, will I be able to rent a car with this? thank you
Hi,
I’ll be traveling to Trieste Aiport, Italy next week and I just phoned the Avis branch over there, and they make it clear that Visa debit card will not be accepted. Please advise. Thanks.
Hello Brian,
The Avis branch’s in Italy have been instructed to accept Visa Debit cards. They will not however accept Electron or Switch cards.
I hope this helps,
Michael
Hello Julie,
Yes, Toulouse will accept Visa Debit, however they will not accept Switch or Electron cards.
Michael
hi im looking in to hiring a mini car from bergamo airport in june i dont have a credit cars but my wife has a visa debit card i am the only driver would i be able to rent a car in these curcumstances thanks.
hi again how much money would i have to leave as a deposit on my card if i can use it there and what would happen if there wasnt suficient funds in my acount thanks.
Hello Rob,
We will accept the Debit Card of your wife but she must be added as an additional driver. However, it must be Visa with the word Debit, i.e. not Electron, Maestro, Solo, Switch etc. To avoid the additional driver charge you would need your own Debit/Credit card. You both need to be over 25 with full clean licences.
To answer your second question about what is held, if you have prepaid then they usually hold the price of a tank of petrol/diesel and when you return it full they will release this amount. If you are paying at the desk then you will have to have the price of the car hire, excess reduction(if you want to reduce the excess), any extras like GPS or child seats. The excess depends on the car size but ranges, from €600-900. To reduce the excess you can pay €15-€18 per day and this will reduce the excess.
If you don’t have sufficiant funds then unfortunately the branch will not release the car.
Any other doubts please let me know
Michael
HI
Can you tell me if I can use a visa debit card from the uk, to hire a car in Canada when I travel?
regards
Jackie
Do you accept VISA debit cards in Jersey, Channel Islands for the excess?
Hi Victoria,
Debit cards are accepted all over the UK, as long as your card is a plain Visa debit card. Debit cards with the Maestro, Switch, Electron logos are not accepted. Bascially, if the numbers on the card are raised, it’s fine to use.
Regards,
Maxiema.
Do Avis at Nice Airport accept visa debit card at pick up. We have had so much trouble on our last visit there as they said they only take credit cards.
Hello Mandy,
Avis France have been instructed to accept Visa Debit, however they will not accept Maestro, Solo, Switch etc.
Regards,
Michael
Hi we’re trying to book a car for a 9 day trip to Nice at the end of August. You are probably fed up with people asking this- but will a Visa Debit card be acceptable? It is identical to a credit card- not an electron/maestro. If it is ok to use, how much would be blocked on it? Was looking to book Opel/vauxhall zafira or similar. I do also hold an actual ‘credit’ card, but the limit on it is only quite low. Have also joined Avis preferred- whether or not that makes any difference! Many thanks:)
Hello Rosie,
We will accept the Visa Debit Card. However, as I say above it must be Visa with the word Debit, i.e. not Electron, Maestro, Solo, Switch etc.
The question about what is held is a tricky one. If you have prepaid then they usually hold the price of a tank of petrol/diesel (released on return if tank full). Some branches also hold part of the excess (€1000 in this case) but this can be reduced at the office. It costs €12.54 per day to reduce it.
If you are paying at the desk then you will have to have the price of the car hire, excess reduction (if you want to reduce the excess) and any extras like GPS or child seats. If you don’t have sufficient funds then unfortunately the branch will not release the car.
Being a member of Avis preferred won’t change the excess but you should go to the “Preferred” desk and you will get you car faster.
Any other doubts please let me know and enjoy your trip.
Michael