Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Truck rental without a credit card

We do the Dave Ramsey, no-charging policy in our home. People always wonder how you can operate without a credit card when it comes to things like hotels and car rentals. (We do have a no-fee card necessary for free checking at a particular bank, but we rarely--if ever--use it.) I was pleasantly suprised by the professionalism and service from Budget Truck Rentals today. Though they take debit cards, I was reluctant to use mine for the deposit. Sometimes it takes a while for the deposit hold to be released back into your account. They let me pay them in cash instead, keeping only my account number on file. When I return the truck, they will refund the difference between the deposit and my actual charges (somewhere around $100). I had cash on hand from my Craig's List transaction.

One reason I chose Budget is that the Postal Service issues a 15% off coupon when you change your address. I will never, ever, ever use U-haul again. Their fleet is aging without proper repairs. I've never had a U-haul truck that wasn't broken in some way. The Budget truck is shiny and updated.

Another pleasant discovery about reservations without credit: Hotwire.com now allows you to pay for your online reservation with Paypal funds. (Of course, you must have used credit or debit card to open a Paypal account in the first place.) But if, like me, you have a little extra sitting in your Paypal account, this was a convenient way to pay.

7 comments:

Someone Beautiful said...

This is great to know!
Happy Moving! :)

Andrew's triple costume is funny too!

MommyLydia said...

It must be new to have to use a credit or debit card to open Paypal, because my paypal has never seen my credit card.

I put my checking account on it. They did 2 deposits to the account. Then I told them what the amounts of those deposits were and it proved the account was 1. Working and 2. it was mine.

Meredith said...

Ruth, you're absolutely right. We used our checking account when we opened Paypal way back when.

Someone told me you had to use a credit card now. Let's hope I'm wrong : )

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, I don't understand the reference to the rental and the postal service offering a 15% off coupon. Coupon for what? Thank you so much about your U-haul experience...I needed to know that at this moment!

Meredith said...

That wasn't very clear--sorry, Anna!
I'm basically getting on Blogger and typing as fast as my fingers can this week--blogging is a nice break, but I don't have the time to edit well!

When you fill out a change of address form from the Post Office, you get coupons for various things like cable TV service, etc. Among them is a 15% off truck rental coupon from Budget. Every little bit helps!
I did my change of address online, but I think if you merely go GET a change of address packet from the Post Office, the coupon may be included in the application packet itself.

Anonymous said...

Mereidth:

I agree 110% with you about Budget vs. Uhaul. My expereinces with UHaul have been complete pains in the neck. On the contrary, the last time I moved I used Budget. It was cheaper, the truck was brand new,AND ready on time. A world of a difference!

DEBTective said...

I'm proud of you for doing things Dave's way. Stick with not having debt, and you'll find big-time wealth, baby! Way to go! www.debtective.com