<p>My daughter’s boyfriend would like to visit her and needs to rent a car at BWI. He’s been told he can’t unless he has a credit card and pays 27 dollars a day underage fee. Has anyone delt with a car rental company that will let him pay with a debit card and avoid such a high fee.</p>
<p>No. You have to be 25 to rent a car (never heard of doubling fees for underage) and you need a major credit card regardless of your age.</p>
<p>UNLESS he also goes to school and there is that company - zip cars maybe? - that rents to college age kids.</p>
<p>I believe that my daughter’s roommate was able to rent a car at 21 last year. There is an additional fee due (something like $35 daily) which covers the extra insurance required by the agency. As for a debit card, if it is a bank card with a major logo (i.e., MC or Visa), that might also be accepted. It is probably best for your daughter’s BF to check directly with the rental agency directly to review his options.</p>
<p>This is what Hertz says:</p>
<p>"Question
What is the minimum age I can rent a car with Hertz?
Answer
On most rentals the minimum age is 25 without an additional Age Differential Charge, and 21 with an additional Age Differential Charge. However, the minimum age for the Hertz Prestige Collection (HPC) and a few select Fun Collection (HFC) vehicles have a minimum age of 25 to rent.</p>
<p>For more information/cost, click on “Reservations” on the navigation menu on the left hand side. Next click on “Qualifications & Requirements”. Then enter pickup location, next choose “Age Restrictions and Exceptions” from the topic drop down menu."</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/customersupport/index.jsp?targetPage=faqsRightNow.jsp&leftNavUserSelection=globNav_9_1[/url]”>Car Rental: Save More on Rental Cars, Vans & Trucks | Hertz;
<p>Check other car rental sites for similar information (can be found in the FAQ section).</p>
<p>Enterprise will do it for under 25 for an additional fee, but I’m not sure about the debit card. My daughter rented from them when she was 22 and 24. First time I ever heard her talk about being 25 as a positive thing. This site looks like it has more info [College</a> Age Car Rentals - Under 25 Rental Cars](<a href=“http://www.autorentalguide.com/car-rentals-under-25.shtml]College”>http://www.autorentalguide.com/car-rentals-under-25.shtml)</p>
<p>Different car companies have different rules. Different states have different rules. You need to check the different rental companies. For example, my son could rent a car in Michigan at 18 but not in Colorado until 21. I do believe, if memory serves me, that Hertz is the most restrictive in their “renting rules.” I have not looked into this for 3 years so things could have changed. I did find several companies that would rent to 21 year olds when I was looking 3 years ago.</p>
<p>S1 rented a minivan for he and his friends to drive to FL. for Spring Break when he was 21. He had his own credit card and they did charge them the underage useage fee. I think there were a lot of other “hoops” to jump thru too. I’m not sure what…maybe extra paperwork or higher deposit.</p>
<p>some of my daughter’s classmates rented Uhaul vans for various filming projects
( age 20 ) Doubt he wants to rent a van though :)</p>
<p>Have him check with his insurance company or credit union. Ours has a program that if you rent through their discount program the young driver fee is waived…even at Hertz.</p>
<p>Is Zipcar available in the area?</p>
<p>I’d go with Zipcar. Getting a card might take a while but I’m sure they can expedite the process. If he can find transportation from BWI to Johns Hopkins, they’re there.</p>
<p>Several and perhaps most major rental car companies will rent to 21-24 but with a daily surcharge. If you poke around on their websites you can find their age policies which will cover it. In addition some states, I think NY is one, have laws that require rental companies to rent to even under the age of 21 albeit with a surcharge. There are also some rental companies who’ll rent to under 21 even in states without the law but again, with a surcharge. EZ-Rent A Car is one of these.</p>
<p>I recently rented a car from Enterprise, and they would not accept my debit card. I had to use a credit card instead.</p>
<p>This was in Maryland and therefore probably relevant to BWI.</p>
<p>Can’t your daughter’s boyfriend just take the blue shuttle?</p>
<p>You can rent a car from any agency at 21, but you have to pay the fee (as others have said). The fees vary by company, with the cheaper car rental companies (ie budget) usually having lower fees. If he needs the car for the weekend or something, it is cheaper to rent from the companies, even with the extra fee, than to rent from zipcar. If you look around the websites they also sometimes have promotions to waive the extra fee.</p>
<p>Never, ever use a debit card to rent a car. The rental car agency will put a “hold” on the funds in your account for a multiple of the anticipated rental charge. </p>
<p>For example let’s say you have $500 in your account. Your rental should come to $150. You probably will have a hold for about $450.</p>
<p>You then buy something for $51. The charge will go through but you just overdrafted and will get a fee of around $30 depending on your bank. It takes a couple days for the rental car hold to come off your account once you return the car. You keep getting overdraft charges the whole time. </p>
<p>Never use a debit card for a car rental!</p>
<p>Zipcar is designed to be used when you need a car for several hours – not for a whole day or multiple days. My son uses Zipcar frequently for shopping and errands, but when he had jury duty and knew he would be gone all day, he took a bus. Having a Zipcar for the whole day would have been too expensive.</p>
<p>As for what you said, Iron Maiden, that’s an important point that I didn’t know about. I have used debit cards for car rentals, but the balance in my checking account was much larger than the amount the rental car agency would have put a hold on, so I never had a problem. I didn’t realize that there could be issues for people who maintain lower balances.</p>
<p>Well…first off (I know this advice wasn’t solicited…but here goes anyway)…I would make sure the kiddo has a credit card. It can have a low limit, but both of my kids actually used them for emergency situations and we were very glad they had them. </p>
<p>Some colleges have arrangements with rental companies, but I don’t think it’s for situations like the OP is asking about. For example, when my kiddo was at Boston University, Enterprise had a deal whereby BU students could rent a car for a day for something like $15. DS used is a number of times for trips out of the area for a day or two (or four when they drove to Stowe for a spring break ski trip). No surcharge…but it was a special arrangement. I suppose the OP’s kiddo could check with the college student services to see if their school has such an arrangement.</p>
<p>BTW…<em>I</em> have been refused a rental car when trying to use a debit card. They wanted my credit card…and believe me, I’m WAY over 25.</p>