Excessive Deposits/authorizations on Car Rentals in Europe

MSF, note that the concept of Credit Cards providing insurance coverage is still (I think) a uniquely American thing. So its not surprising that a European rental agency does not want to deal with waiting for you to pay for damages while you collect reimbursement from your credit card and you are 3,000 miles away.

I’ve encountered similar charges from Europcar, €800 in Paris, €1,200 in Sardinia but have found it not to be consistent. Last September I had a Europcar and a Hertz rental in Italy with no credit card holds.

yes but in Paris, the credit card hold was going to be as high as 800 euros even if I DID purchase their insurance. In previous years when I have rented cars in Europe, the authorization amount was always the same as in the US - about 250 to 300 at the most - and I always have declined their insurance. This year it seems to have skyrocketed and I don't understand why.

I was charged a 5,000 euro deposit to rent a car in Dublin in May. It didn't bother me too much. I really only use that card for rentals/insurance. If anything happened to the car, it would be charged to my card anyway. I guess they wanted to make sure credit was available to cover damage since I wasn't buying their insurance. They refunded the 5,000 promptly when I returned the car.

OMG - what do people do if they don't have that much available? Do they warn you in advance? That was another thing - after my Italy situation, I tried to find out the amount of the deposit in advance for Paris and it was NOT specified anywhere. Furthermore, isn't the whole point of having insurance to protect you from having to pay a huge amount like that?
I definitely feel like something strange is going on - I've been renting cars in Europe for the past 5 summers and never had a hold of more than about $300.

OMG - what do people do if they don't have that much available? Do they warn you in advance?

I have found that usually insurance coverage can be a "hidden" cost if you are not working with a company that discloses up front what the cost is, and what the consequence (Credit Card Hold) is if you decline. In many cases, the "Rental Company" is using a contractor or franchisee in the local area, and only providing the rental, Insurance is dealt with by the franchisee, and where the franchisee makes their money (or maybe from collecting on "damages").

So it is no surprise that you find deposit amounts all over the map as well as different ways of handling it.

I have heard a number of stories of people renting a car with their one and only credit card, only to find that the deposit "maxed it out", making the card useless the rest of the trip. Worth noting that they do not actually charge you the amount, there is just a transaction hold on the amount, no money changes hands, on return they just release the hold or charge you for damages, and do not need your further approval to make the charge. If you are renting, it is a good idea to have multiple cards and ones that have high limits. I like to have three with me, all have limits above $20,000.

You can max out your credit card from the holds put on it by hotels (in the US and abroad)too, if they don't clear the hold quickly enough after you check out. Hotels typically put holds of hundreds in case you trash the room, clear out the min-bar, or steal the towels, etc. They dont have to tell you they're doing it either.

Holds like this are one of the reasons it's wise to travel with more than one credit card.

They are handing you a 20-30 thousand dollar car and an $800 hold (not a charge) is excessive?

That is not what this is about - if you want to take that stand, you could argue they should put a hold on your account for the total cost of the car - if not more. All I'm saying is that when I've never - in decades of renting cars, had a hold for more than $300 and it's usually $250 - then to suddenly to have holds of $600 and then $1000 is very unexpected and I'm just wondering why it has changed.

I'll guess that having a higher deposit requires the renters to have good credit and that the company can be more certain of payment. Both things would seem to make good business sense. Increased fraud and insurance costs probably enter into their equation as well.
My usual rental is three days so I buy ALL their insurance, if I was renting for three weeks I wouldn't get any of their insurance. I use an American Express for rentals which I believe has different hold limits and better insurance.

Well my credit is fine so I don't think that explains it. Anyway, IMHO, the bottom line is that car rental companies should be required to make it clear in the reservation how much the authorization could be. If it's a range, then they should be required to state the range, so that people are aware that it could be thousands of dollars/euros, and far more than the standard 250 or 300 above the cost of the rental that is typically required in the US.

Why would the range of card hold in America have anything to do with what’s done in Europe? Most of their cars are rented to Europeans, not Americans!

I have found that the deposits vary significantly between countries and the providers, but it’s never close to the max on my card, so it hasn’t been an issue. It’s not “outrageous” as you describe it, it’s just not the same policy as you have in America.

I can never understand why your coverage in America would cover you abroad. My U.K. coverage doesn’t cover me to drive to France unless I pay a surcharge and it doesn’t pay a cent towards any coverage in America. Maybe that’s why your insurance costs are so high.

It seemed outrageous because it was far more of a hold on funds I'd ever had before in the US or Europe - more than triple the amount it's ever been. You can go ahead and give a million reasons why you think it's justified and million more why people shouldn't care. But those who arrive from the US expecting it to just be a couple hundred because that's what they're used to should be warned that things appear to have changed and it might affect travel budget planning for some people. That's all. That's what a forum like this is useful for.

That last point is a good one. The practice of having large holds should be mentioned when discussing rental cars in travel guides. RS should include that info in the Travel Tips section on Transportation, Renting a Car.

This issue of high holds on European rentals has been reported here in the RS forum all the way back to 2011 (that I could find). It appears to depend on where you are renting and what you are renting how much the hold will be.

I checked a few of my recent rentals here in the US and found there were 2 holds placed: one for the amount of the rental rounded up to the next $100, and one for $250. Never noticed before since these amounts have negligible impact on my available credit on the card I use for travel.

Friends who have recently traveled to Europe have told me that if they got the fullest insurance coverage offered with zero deductible from the rental company then there was no extra hold placed on their credit cards. Anything less than that and they were still stuck with a hold of around €800.

Should the rental companies clearly show the hold amounts they are going to put on your credit card? Of course. Do they? I don't know since I have not cared. The notice on the Hertz rental agreements mentions their hold, but it is not until after you reserve the car that this is shown to you.

So the process is what it is now. You either have a credit card with enough available balance to cover the holds without impacting your other planned spending, or you purchase the maximum insurance with zero deductible from the auto rental company, or you don't rent a car. I find travel by train or bus much more enjoyable (and affordable) in Europe anyway.

It’s lucky that you aren’t going to Namibia. I have been looking to hire a car there and the CC hold equates to the best part of 2,000 usd!

I don’t know what website you are using to look at car rentals, but Holiday Autos (a consolidator) states the card hold clearly on their website, under “important information “.

Clearly it varies a lot more than it has in my previous experience, but no, there was nothing in the reservation specifying the amount of the hold. Anyway, I agree that train travel is by far the better way to go around Europe, so much more relaxing and immersive in the culture. Alas, I'm here for 3 months, partially for work, so my luggage is completely unmanageable by train, and expanding continuously with each irresistible street market or museum shop buy - I can barely fit it all into my little stick-shift Twingo with the 1,000-euro deposit!