So, you want to reserve a car on Avis car rental, but don’t have a credit card with you?

Normally, you’re required to perform a credit check when using Debit cards. But what if you’ve provided the information needed for the check and you got denied?

If got your Avis credit check is denied, this article covers everything you need to know: what went wrong, how to fix and alternative methods.

Why does Avis run a credit check?

By now, we all know that most car rental companies do run credit checks occasionally, especially when a renter intends to perform something they feel is financially risky.

An example of this financially risky movement is when you intend to rent a car with a debit card.

In fact, most car rentals don’t accept debit cards and would only work with payment methods that would affect your credit history if you messed up with them.

Why?

Well, to them, debit cards are just a risky option.

This is because car rental companies are likely to run into an insufficient funds to cover any additional cost or damage, aside from the security deposit, that pops up if a debit card is being used.

Read Also: Does Alamo run credit checks?

Plus, in the case of theft or debt from a customer, it won’t affect their credit history. Which is, of course, something risky.

This is the reason most car rentals just goes off to decline payment made through debit cards.

However, car rentals like Avis, they’ll accept debit cards, provided some conditions are met. And that’s where the credit check comes in.

Some of these conditions include:

  • Meeting up to a required age
  • To pass through a credit check
  • Proof of insurance
  • additional IDs, etc.

‘This is exactly what happens at Avis.

In line with all this, users renting cars through debit cards on Avis also get a higher security deposit. And if you’re under 25 years of age, you won’t even be permitted to rent with a debit card.

Why was your Avis credit check denied?

There are tons of reasons that could lead to your Avis credit check getting denied.

The company, using its in-house research system, performs a thorough credit check to customers intending to make payments with a debit card.

Based on this, there could be a wide reason why your Avis credit check was denied, as the company doesn’t openly tell what they look into when they perform their credit check.

However, based on what we’ve seen from other companies, the Avis credit check covers or come across:

  1. Mortgages
  2. Outstanding Balances
  3. Student loans
  4. Auto loans
  5. Missed payments
  6. Foreclosures
  7. Bankruptcies

Based on this, it’s safe if we say that these could also be the cause of your Avis credit check getting denied.

Read Also: Does Avis Car rental have cameras?

One or a few of these checks on your credit history is permittable, but when it gets to multiples, you’ll have a hard time passing through several credit checks, as well as the Avis car rental credit checks.

From this, the question you might want to yourself is how many mortgages, outstanding balances, unpaid student loans, auto loans, missed payments, foreclosures, and bankruptcies, have you gotten on your credit card, over the recent years?

If your answer is “several,” there you have it…

Your Avis credit check was declined because you are guilty of one of this.

How to get Around a Denied Avis Credit Check

If your Avis credit check was denied, there are a few things that could have gone wrong. Thankfully, there are also fixes.

Below is how to fix or get around a denied Avis credit check:

  1. Use a credit card
  2. Improve your credit score

Use a credit card

The fastest option to get around a denied Avis credit check is to use a credit card.

As we said earlier, it’s all a bed of roses, not until you use a debit card.

When using a debit card at Avis, you’re required to perform a credit check, meet up with an age requirement and even have to pay a higher security deposit.

But, on the other hand, by using a credit card, you get a free-flow payment system. The company doesn’t even need to perform a credit check.

So, this is probably the best option to fix a denied Avis credit check.

Improve your credit score

Ultimately, the reason why your Avis credit check was declined is that you have a poor credit score.

Reversely, if possible, you could try improving your credit score to get your credit check approved at Avis. However, this is usually a long-term contract that should take time and effort.

Below are some quick tips that could help you improve your credit history:

  1. Always track your bills and ensure to pay them on time
  2. Get a credit builder card
  3. Avoid relocating from town to towns
  4. Pay debts on time
  5. Avoid taking unnecessary loans
  6. Never declare a bankruptcy
  7. Always review your credit reports

Final Thoughts

There are a ton of reasons that could get your Avis credit card denied. However, it boils at one thing -you have a poor credit score. As we said earlier, the best fix to this is to make use of a credit card.

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Author

A lover of advance technology and a skillful driver, Ebubechukwu is the owner of Tekitora. He has been in the car rental industry since 2018, with experience in 3 different car rental companies which include Enterprise, Budget and Turo.