I drove home from JFK, because the alternative was staying overnight in New York and waking up at 4:30 to get an early morning flight to BWI, fetching the train from BWI . . . and to hell with it, I'll rent a car.
At the National office at JFK I ran into a woman who was furious because National wouldn't take her debit card; they only accept credit cards. I sympathized because this had happened to me once on a trip to New York, at Budget; luckily, my mother had lent her credit card, going down on the rental as a second driver. The person in New York was not so lucky.
Returning the car at Union Station, I ran into another furious woman having the same problem.
I haven't been able to figure out why they don't accept debit cards, since presumably they could put a hold for the amount of the advance authorization they usually get on credit cards, but the fact is that at least in New York and Washington, they apparently don't. If you're planning to rent a car in the near future, don't show up with just a debit card in your wallet, or you'll be walking to your next destination.
Update In the comments, Freddie makes an interesting suggestion: having a credit card at least indicates that you have good credit: i.e., are not a total deadbeat who will abscond with the car. I never thought about it as a signalling mechanism, but this seems very plausible.
Aren't one-way rentals like yours extremely expensive?
The reasoning that was given to me was that the credit card wasn't used merely for protecting against failure to pay, but also as collateral against the destruction or theft of the car. I suppose you could have enough in a debit account to cover that cost, but most people don't, I'm assuming. Of course, most people probably don't have a high enough limit to cover an entire car....I guess the simplest thing to say is that getting a credit card requires at least nominally good credit, while a debit card does not.
Megan - I don't think you can "pre-authorize" a debit card.
Indeed, credit = trustworthiness in the world of impersonal exchange.
Another point to consider is that even if you hold the amount it would cost s person to use the car for say, a day, the account might not have enough to cover more if they decide to keep the car an extra day or two. A charge card can still be charged, even beyond its limit sometimes.
get a visa credit card: the best of both worlds
Megan - I don't think you can "pre-authorize" a debit card.
You definitely can, and such "holds" can actually cause overdrafts even if the amount ultimately charged is less than the hold.
You CAN use a debit card to rent a car with National (see here: http://www.nationalcar.com/itemDetails.do?HelpItemID=DEB), but there are conditions, such as proof of a round-trip ticket. Other rental companies have similar conditions or require a large (e.g. $300-$500) hold on your debit card at the time of pick-up.
If they have the credit card number they can also charge it with things like unpaid parking tickets that they may not be able to do with a debit card.
I know they do it for credit cards. I do not know if they can do it with debit cards.
eek. that should read:
get a visa DEBIT card: the best of both worlds.
A debit card is still a debit card, they may be accepted at places that take VISA/MC but they are not the same as credit cards, and rental companies can and will discriminate based on this difference.
One time, in a period when I didn't have a credit card, I tried to pay for a plane ticket with a personal check. No go -- I had to go down to the bank and get cash. Even though the check would have cleared or bounced weeks before the flight took off.
I've rented cars with a debit card before.
Having gone through periods without credit cards I learned to call ahead. I flew into JFK one night quite late to be turned down- even having checked before with the national office (of whatever rental company I was using). Angry phone calls were made, and it turns out local franchises in certain circumstances can make those decisions. Last checked none of the rental agencies at JFK accept debit cards.
In Fort Meyers, Florida I found that the airport concession accepted debit cards, but the off-airport branch didn't. (It cost me a couple of hours back and forth on the bus because the off-airport location had the car I wanted.)
So my advice is to first call the national reservation number to get your car, then find the number for the local branch and call them. Although things may have changed in recent years Enterprise has always taken my debit card.
Was there a scheduling reason you couldn't take Amtrak? (Or too much baggage to schlep between JFK and Penn Station?)
Esp since you ended your trip at union station anyway...