Very possibly, urban. I think that some companies are still trying to work out the bugs to accept them at all.
So, my final solution:
Budget Rent A Car takes Visa check cards, puts a hold of the estimated cost of the rental plus 25% on at the time of pick up, and charges your card when you return the car. I was able to reserve my car online without giving up any money, the money will be held when I go to pick it up, and the only possible penalty is for cancellation- they charge you 1 day of rental if you don’t show to pick up the car (which is why you have to reserve it with a CC, I suppose)
So alls well that ends well- at least I’m all set. I just wanted to document how it turned out in case anyone else runs into this. The nicest thing to know is that if you don’t have the cash in your account the day you make the reservation, it’s OK- you can make it ahead of time and they don’t hold your funds until you pick up. That’s made all the difference in this situation. I even think I can probably submit the reciept for the reservation as an expense and have them cut me a check for the amount. We’ll see…