If you are moving and want to rent a U-Haul, you may be considering using a debit card. You want to know if you can actually use your debit card to rent a U-Haul. Let’s find out and see.
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Can I Rent a U-Haul with a Debit Card?
Technically, yes, you can rent a U-Haul using a debit card. However, it can’t be run as a debit. It has to be used as a credit card so that U-Haul can get their money regardless of if you try not to pay them or not.
Why Won’t U-Haul Accept My Debit Card?
While in most cases, including online, you are able to rent a U-Haul and U-Haul equipment using a debit card but it is charged as a credit. This is so that if a person decides to steal the truck or refuses to pay, U-Haul can still get their money.
With a debit card, it can be so easy to not pay U-Haul. And as you can probably imagine, no one wants to be jipped out of their money. If you rent a U-Haul, it is only right that you pay for it completely.
If U-Haul did allow people to pay for U-Haul rentals with a debit card, they could not put money on the card and the payment will not go through. Sometimes overdraft will cover the costs but a lot of times this is not the case. The bank will refuse to pay for the rental and there U-Haul is experiencing a loss.
Using debit cards is a very risky situation for a business and this is a risk that U-Haul is definitely not willing to take. They also run the risk of overdraft actually paying the amount of the U-Haul rental but you deny those charges.
What Alternative Payment Methods Can I Use?
There are some alternative payment methods that can be used to rent a U-Haul truck. You can use a credit card as an alternative payment method if you would like. U-Haul would love to accept your credit card as payment for a rental.
This is one of the best alternative methods that you should use to rent a U-Haul truck. You want to use a payment method that U-Haul trusts because this will make your situation that much easier. If U-Haul doesn’t trust your payment method, they may refuse to accept this payment method.
What Other Payment Methods Does U-Haul Refuse To Accept?
U-Haul has a few different payment methods that they won’t accept. While some people may tell you that U-Haul accepts all or most forms of payments, that is not 100% true. There are a few payment methods that U-Haul refuses to accept.
U-Haul doesn’t accept gift cards, prepaid cards, or reloadable cards of any sort. Why? Because it is so easy for them to be scammed out of a truck or equipment using these payment methods.
If U-Haul allows a customer to pay with let’s say a prepaid card and the person only has $20 on there but their rental comes out to be $100, U-Haul is not going to get their money. With prepaid cards, you can’t get more off of the card than what is on there and if it is not the whole amount you won’t be able to get anything off of the card.
Therefore, if a person decides to run off with a U-Haul, they can’t be charged because they used a prepaid card. So by refusing these kinds of payment methods, it actually serves as a protection for U-Haul. U-Haul has to watch their own backs.
What to Do If I Don’t Have a Credit Card?
If you don’t have a credit card you will have to use another payment method. Since you don’t have a credit card, you may be able to use a debit card and run it as a credit card. On the other hand, this may or may not work out for you.
You could also just pay with cash. Being able to pay with cash is really the best option because as long as you have enough money to cover the costs, this may be the better option for you. However, I think the overall better option is to get a credit card because when you rent a U-Haul, the price could change and you can just charge it to your card at any point in time.
Can I Use My Debit Card to Rent a U-Haul?
Yes you can use a debit card to rent a U-Haul but it has to be run as a credit card. You cannot run the card as a debit and it works because U-Haul wants to make sure they get all of their money on time.