Did You Know…. Renting a Car with Your Debit Card Can Hurt Your Credit Score?

Need to rent a car and you plan to use your debit card? If you don’t have a credit card, you can do this, but did you know if you use your debit card, that can hurt your credit score?

Why? Because most rental car companies view renting a car to someone without a credit card a risk. That’s right. Rental car companies see debit cards as negative. So, if you’re using your debit card, a rental car company may run a credit check on you, and by doing that, your credit score will go down a few points.

Check with each rental car company to find out what is required to rent a car with your debit card. Some may perform a credit check, require proof of insurance, ask for cash payment, or limit the type of car you can rent.

Just remember, if you’re using your debit card, you’ll need to have money in your back account to cover the cost, and some rental companies might lock down that amount in advance.

So, call around and find out what’s required to rent a car with your debit card. If the car rental company tells you that they will run a credit check, that can hurt your credit score.