No credit card - holiday ruined??

Some companies do specify credit card, not debit card. I know this because I had booked a hire car for holiday in Spain last month, but due to fraud on my credit card it was cancelled a few days before I went away, and the new one wasn't going to arrive on time.

OP - I was able to cancel my initial car hire booking - check the cancellation policy you have. I then rebooked with another company which did accept debit card - they held a charge on my card in case of any damage.

If you're going to Spain - I booked through an intermediary called Zest - they get good reviews on Which - and the car hire company was Centauro.

The other issue I came across with Spanish car hire companies was that they require you to have your full name on the credit card. Not just initials.

I think this might be right. I was in the same predicament a couple of weeks ago when I travelled to Italy. My new card turned up the day before we left.

Ive looked at the email I got regarding a credit card and it says that some companies will accept a debit card or a bigger payment.

I hired a car recently with just a cash deposit as my credit card didn't come through in time and the company I wanted to use just took credit cards so I emailed them to ask. Plenty of companies take debit cards though.
Have you already paid for the hire car from a specific company? If not, and it's cancellable, try looking on a comparison website for car hire. It should state whether you need a credit card or just debit card before you book. On travel supermarket you can filter by type of card needed.

@Rockmehardplace if you're going to Europe with the exception of Ireland, France and Portugal, a debit card should suffice.

check here

Where are you going OP? We rent cars every holiday in Greece. We choose a local company i.e. not Hertz or through the holiday company. Select full no excess insurance and pay in cash on collection. No cards needed at all.

Have you a non traditional bank account such as Revolut or Monzo? I haven't tried it, but revolut seems to indicate you could get approved for a credit card in minutes. You can use a virtual card if you don't have the physical card on time.

Are you sure they won't take a debit card? I have always rented a car with a debit card but sometimes you have to put down a deposit, which you get back when you've returned the car without incident.

It really depends on the country but we often forget to take our credit cards (or in my case entire wallet) on holiday and have always found a way to get around it. We did once have a ridiculous hold on a debit card (I think more than 1 to cover the amount!) and it was fine. Ring them and ask.

Also OP you can get an instance decision for credit cards via one of your bank accounts. Chase is pushing theirs if you’re an existing customer?

They just held the excess on my debit card. I ended up choosing the most bells and whistles insurance yo bring it right down otherwise I’d of had no spending money!

They often offer additional insurance as an alternative to the cc hold. This is usually somewhere around 100 - 200 but obviously varies.

As in a debit card and credit check was sufficient.

This happened to me and I found some companies don’t require a credit card but that’s specific to certain countries.
Was fine for me after ringing around in Lanzarote.

The bank might be much quicker. Can you call them tomorrow? I'm sure I got one very quickly from my bank after switching from another provider. You can usually just use the card in an app now too so don't have to wait to get a physical one.

Are pre paid credit cards or travellers credit cards a thing? No need for credit checks so fairly instant

No idea how much you'd need to deposit on the card to cover a hire car tho..