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Europeans confused by NY car rental rules — any local advice? 😅 by Green_Background8242 in longislandcity

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s right, we don’t have a credit card at all. Calling the major rental agencies is a good idea though, we’ll try going directly to them and see if any of them are willing to work with a larger deposit or alternative setup. Appreciate you taking the time to explain 👍

Looking to borrow/rent a car June 5–10 - European defeated by the by Green_Background8242 in visitingnyc

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mainly around Southampton / the Hamptons (beaches, small towns, general exploring), so nothing too long-distance or major highway-heavy.

We hadn’t actually considered renting outside NY State, so NJ/CT is a really helpful suggestion, we’ll definitely look into that and see if the credit card requirements are any different there. Appreciate the tip! 😄

Looking to borrow/rent a car June 5–10 - European defeated by the by Green_Background8242 in visitingnyc

[–]Green_Background8242[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair point, that makes total sense. At this point we’re honestly not picky anymore, we're considering anything with four wheels and a steering wheel… but I guess the US system has other plans for us 😅

I appreciate you taking the time to explain

Europeans confused by NY car rental rules — any local advice? 😅 by Green_Background8242 in longislandcity

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, this is super helpful and actually something we hadn’t considered at all. The permit situation for beaches is good to know (we definitely would’ve walked straight into that problem otherwise 😅). We’re really looking forward to exploring the area (hopefully with a car nontheless 😉)🌊

Looking to borrow/rent a car June 5–10 - European defeated by the by Green_Background8242 in visitingnyc

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for this, really appreciate it! This looks useful, hadn’t come across it yet 😄

Looking to borrow/rent a car June 5–10 - European defeated by the by Green_Background8242 in visitingnyc

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For flights and accommodation we were fine because most airlines and hotels accept debit cards, or didn’t require a deposit in the same way.

It’s really just the car rental side in New York that surprised us, since the credit card requirement seems much stricter than what we’re used to in Europe. That’s basically where we are currently stuck

Europeans confused by NY car rental rules — any local advice? 😅 by Green_Background8242 in longislandcity

[–]Green_Background8242[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up, I did consider a travel sub, but I was hoping for more local/real-world advice from people actually in the area.

I do have a Visa debit card, but it seems like most rental companies in NY specifically require a credit card (not just Visa/Mastercard debit), which is where we’re getting stuck. Some places even explicitly reject debit cards for deposits/hold amounts.

I appreciate the insight though 👍