Measured across 34 airports
Car hire with a debit card: where it is actually possible
Most suppliers want a credit card in the main driver's name, because that is what a deposit can be pre-authorised on. Some accept a debit card. Which ones, and how many, varies enormously by airport.
Why it varies this much
The deposit is the reason. A credit card can be pre-authorised and released; a debit card cannot be held the same way, so accepting one is a risk the supplier chooses to take. A prepaid card is a different thing again and is almost always refused - we never claim one will be accepted.
If you only have a debit card, filter for it before you fall in love with a price. At some airports the choice is wide; at others there is effectively none.
Where it is best, and where it is worst
34 airports, each figure a median across every sweep of that market. Click through for the full report on any of them.
| Best for you | The share of cars accepting a debit card | Worst | The share of cars accepting a debit card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) | 54% | Dublin Airport (DUB) | 0% |
| Alicante Airport (ALC) | 51% | Lisbon Airport (LIS) | 1% |
| Madrid Airport (MAD) | 49% | Porto Airport (OPO) | 1% |
| Barcelona Airport (BCN) | 47% | Faro Airport (FAO) | 2% |
| Larnaca Airport (LCA) | 46% | Bodrum Airport (BJV) | 8% |
| Nice Airport (NCE) | 42% | Keflavik Airport (KEF) | 10% |
Every figure here comes from searches we ran ourselves and kept — no supplier supplies us with data, and nothing is estimated. How we measure this.
Which companies take a debit card
From DiscoverCars' own listing for every desk we check at 25 airports (1 October 2026 to 7 October 2026): 62 of 196 companies took a debit card for the deposit at one or more of their desks. These are the ones taking it at the most airports.
| Company | Debit card at | Airports |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | 18 of 24 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · HER · EDI · LGW · LHR · STN · MAD · AGP · MAN · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO · TFS |
| SIXT | 16 of 25 | ALC · BCN · CTA · EDI · LGW · LHR · STN · MAD · AGP · MAN · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO · TFS |
| Avis | 16 of 24 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · HER · FAO · LIS · FNC · MAD · AGP · MXP · PMI · CDG · OPO · FCO · TFS |
| Dollar | 16 of 20 | ALC · BCN · CTA · EDI · LGW · LHR · STN · MAD · AGP · MAN · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO · SPU |
| Hertz | 14 of 23 | ALC · BCN · CTA · EDI · LGW · LHR · STN · MAD · AGP · MAN · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG |
| Alamo | 12 of 24 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · HER · MAD · AGP · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO |
| Enterprise | 12 of 24 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · HER · MAD · AGP · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO |
| National | 12 of 18 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · HER · MAD · AGP · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · FCO |
| Flizzr | 11 of 17 | ALC · ATH · BCN · HER · MAD · AGP · MXP · NCE · PMI · CDG · TFS |
| Record go | 9 of 12 | ALC · ATH · BCN · CTA · MAD · AGP · PMI · FCO · TFS |
| Keddy | 8 of 24 | CTA · EDI · LGW · LHR · STN · MAN · MXP · FCO |
| Centauro | 8 of 14 | ALC · BCN · CTA · MAD · AGP · MXP · PMI · FCO |
| Europcar | 6 of 25 | EDI · LCA · LGW · LHR · STN · MAN |
| Thrifty | 6 of 16 | CTA · MXP · NCE · CDG · FCO · SPU |
| Surprice | 4 of 15 | BCN · LCA · MAD · AGP |
| Alquicoche | 4 of 4 | ALC · BCN · MAD · AGP |
| Arnold Clark | 3 of 3 | EDI · LHR · MAN |
| Aura Car Hire | 3 of 3 | LGW · LHR · STN |
| Locauto | 3 of 3 | CTA · MXP · FCO |
| Maggiore | 3 of 3 | CTA · MXP · FCO |
"18 of 24" means: of the airports where we found Budget, its desk took a debit card at 18. 42 more companies took one at fewer airports. Acceptance is set per desk and often per car, and the card must be in the main driver's name; prepaid cards are a different thing and almost always refused. Check the deposit terms of the exact car before you book - our search shows them on every car.
See it for your own dates
These are typical values from repeated searches. The only way to know your price — and your deposit — is to search the dates you actually want.
Search a rental →More measured conditions: the typical deposit held · the share of desks shut by 22:00 · the typical second-driver fee · every airport we measure