Rent a car in Santorini without a credit Card

A common topic among travelers, as mentioned in numerous travel blogs and forums, is the difficulties they face when they try to rent a car without a credit card. The problem remains the same in different popular tourist destinations and in almost every airport around the world.

Unfortunately its a sad reality these days that most of the car rental websites, especially the very big ones like booking, or similar ones like rentalcars, have so many small letters hidden in the terms and conditions, that as it seems, not many users take the time to read...

THE BITTER REALITY : When a client makes a reservation in those huge portals, is usually offered a ridiculously low price, that could even be as cheap as 14 euro/day or even less !!! Dazzled by the low price, the users think that they found the car rental deal of the year! Unfortunately that is very far from the truth...
The story goes like this: The user is requested to pay the whole rental amount upfront. When its time to pick up the car ( most likely from the airport of the destination), the truth is revealed.
The people at the desk will ask for a credit card, ( only in the name of the driver ) where they need to block an amount that could vary from 700 to 1300 euro as a security in case of damage!!!
That is when some people ( quite a few actually) realize that the card they used to pay the booking is a debit card and not a credit card...and others that do have a credit card that they don't want to have so much money blocked and not available in their balance.


So what happens in that case?

1) The company will ask you to pay an extra insurance to make your responsibility smaller. That would usually add another 40 to 45 euro extra to your daily rate, and that smaller amount would still be blocked in a debit card ( IMPORTANT! the insurance offered by the website is in not recognized by the provider! the guest have to buy the one offered by the company!!)

2) The company proceeds to a cancellation with no refunds If client does not agree, a cancellation will take place and the money paid will be lost. As all the details are written in the terms and conditions, ( but not so easy to see when someone makes a booking) the rental cost is totally lost...

What should you do now that you know, but you still need a car ?
Without any doubt, a car is really useful in most occasions when someone wants to explore a travel destination and doesn't like squeezing in local buses. In Santorini especially a car could really be a great way to move around..
There are so many places of interest, so many beaches and beautiful spots to explore.
Luckily we have the solution!

For the island of Santorini we are able to rent our cars without a credit card!
We are maybe the only company that offers this advantage. When its time to pick up your car, the procedure can be completed without a credit card.
Trying to make things even easier, we can accept any debit card, bank card, prepaid cards and even cash for the car payment.

And how about the security deposit?
As highlighted in our Santorini Rent a Car front page, for most type of cars we do not get any security deposit at all!
This option can not be found in other companies.
While it may sound too good to be true, that is our actual policy. To be 100% honest, this is our policy for most types of cars, (the economy cars ). For vehicles like the Mini convertibles or the premium automatic cars and SUVs a security deposit might be blocked to drivers credit or debit card until the return of the car.
Drivers between 23 and 75, with a valid European license for at least 2 years that wish to rent small economy cars, will not have to pay any security deposit at all !


But how does our rent a car reservation system works?
Use our reservation system as many times as you want in order to see our prices for different dates and car types and also if you like to compare our rates with the competition. For example you can choose to get your rental car at the Port of Santorini. ( its called Athinios Port but your ticket might say Thira port. Don't worry, its the same place). Also we can deliver 24/7 at Santorini airport if you arrive by plane , or if you prefer you can pick up directly from your hotel.
You will not have to use any card or pay anything during the booking. The process is completed without any payment at all. Have a look at our brand new Reservations system by entering your arrival and departure details in this Santorini Car Rental booking form.

So how do you confirm the bookings if a card is not entered during the reservation?
After your booking is completed, you will receive an automated "thank you" message, saying that we received your booking successfully. After a few minutes you shall receive a hand written message from the email address SantoriniRentalcar@gmail.com that will inform you about the confirmation. It is very important to check all the files in your inbox, also the unwanted or offers as sometimes our message might go there.

Goal achieved! Now you can Rent a Car in Santorini without a credit card, and without a security deposit!

More good news!
All the above does not effect our cheap car rental prices! Our prices stay the same for our guests that do not have a credit card and that do not have any security blocked in their cards...

Any questions ?
If we were not clear enough or of you need further assistance we would be really happy to answer your emails or text messages. You can also contact us by whatsapp or viber with all the ways available in the contact page.

Don’t hesitate to contact us 🙂