Wildrage2, I have rented from AVIS for years, and yes, they are expensive. What I did to resolve this is to get a credit card and ask for CLI's until I had enough were I didn't have to worry about the hold put against my CC. Meya's comment about Enterprise is correct, the lien isn't as bad. Its the same for hotel rooms that you want to reserve, not without a CC.

Once you acquire your CC of choice, make sure to take advantage and pursue CLI's when you can. Once you have a large limit, then consider Avis. They are expensive but they are everywhere and if your time is important to you, then I would consider them.

Wildrage, I don't think I would have went as far to let someone from a rent-a-car business have my ssn. That is very scary! I don't what the procedures are in your state, but yes avis is really expensive. They had me stuck in Los Angelas, CA because I rented one car and needed something bigger than what they actually showed me. When I got the second car, they put two $500 holds on my card and when I went to purchase something it was declined. I had to call them, and then call my bank to ask them to remove one of the authorizations from my card to free up some money.

You should use Enterprise rent-a-car. They never took no more than $300 from my card as an authorization and it drops in 24-48 hrs. I usually pay them with the debit card when I return the car and they do not charge for milage. I do not like Avis, Alamo, nor Budget, they authorize way too much from your card.

I think this was a good wake up for you to get your credit started and I wish you all the luck with your future credit building. Majority of us are all in the same boat here and I applaud you for sharing your story.

Hi All:

I thought a thread like this might be useful. My quest for rebuilding my credit started this past November when I attempted to rent a car on a business trip. I had no problems in the past using my debit card, just as long as there was more than enough in the account to cover it, but while at an AVIS in Hartford, CT, after swiping my debit card they asked me for my SSN. I thought it was just for security, but they actually pulled a hard inquiry against my equifax. I guess they didn't like what they saw (probably around a 600 at the time), and I was told that I couldn't rent a car unless I produced a credit card. The people there were very nice to me, but unfortunately since I hadn't had a credit card since I screwed up my credit in college (I'm 26 now), I had to move on to another rental facility. Since that time I have vowed to get my credit better in check.

Some rental companies put large holds on credit cards. This can be a problem if you only have a $500 limit, and a company like avis wants to put an authorization for $500 security plus the estimated rental charges.

To plan for my trip in CA last month I found that both National and Alamo don't put on any authorizations, and only charge you when you return the car. This is a nation-wide policy (apparently).

I thought it may be helpful for others to share their experiences with different car companies, as it's somewhat related to credit and credit cards.