It’s a fairly straightforward question that I’m asking because I couldn’t tell you the last time I rented a car in any sort, much less on Expedia.
I intended to use a specific credit card to pay for it, but it wasn’t until I already received the confirmation email that I realized I never put in any kind of credit card info. I do have a username for Expedia, so did it remember my card? I don’t see any kind of charge on any of my cards yet…
Do I pay for the car when I’m at the airport actually renting it? Can I still use that other credit card? Or do I have to cancel and then re-rent?
I rented a car a few times this year (in Europe though) and in most cases I didn’t pay anything when I booked, although once they wanted a 10% downpayment, and when I picked the car up they just blocked the amount I was liable for (which also differed greatly) on my creditcard. Afterwards most agencies just freed up this blocked amount minus the charge for the rental. Once though, they just unblocked the amount and it took almost a week for the actual charge for the rental to show up.
It is a strange business, every time I look for a rental car it is a different “search engine” that gives me the best deal and those deals are always a lot better than booking through the rental company itself.
Just beware of the crooks. This gur rented a car though a reputable (he thought) agency, but the car hire people turned out to be a bunch of crooks. He was hiring a car in Spain and pre-booked through Atlas Choice.
Beware of two things that will likely happen at the airport counter. #1 They will charge you a higher price than what Expedia said because the Expedia price is for the rental only and doesn’t include an “airport fee” (probably $10 or so). #2 They will use high-pressure sales tactics to convince you to get extra options like gap insurance, GPS rental, and a tank of gas. (The “tank of gas” thing sounds nice at first, until you realize that if you bring it back half full they are still gonna charge you the price of an entire tank of gas.)
I have also run into shady car rental companies that insisted that I show them proof that I already have a car insurance policy with my name on it or else they wouldn’t let me rent the car without paying for daily full coverage insurance (roughly twice the price of the rental itself).
You’re lucky you booked through Expedia, so you can avoid another scam I ran into last time. I thought I was booking directly with the car company but it was actually a third-party website with a very similar name, like cheapo .com vs. cheapocars .com and when I showed up at the counter they insisted I had to pay a commission to the third-party website, on top of the rental fee, and the airport fee. It was either that or walk to another counter and try to get a car without a reservation (which costs about twice as much, assuming they have any cars available at all).
Make sure you know before you travel exactly what your insurance pays and doesn’t pay. If you’re lucky, you might have a credit card which provides gap insurance for free. Get your ducks in a row ahead of time. That way you can stare them down at the counter when they try to pressure you into getting gap insurance.
You provide a credit card for authorization when you pick up the car but they do not actually charge it until you drop it off. Most car rental agencies will not rent you a car unless you have a credit card (not a debit card).
Be aware of laws overseas. In Italy, it is required by law to buy the insurance coverage.