No depositcar hireNothing frozen on your card while you are away
Pick-up & drop-off
Dates
Met in arrivalsno counter queueFree cancellationon most carsNo depositon many carsUnlimited mileageon most carsDeposit and covershown before you bookNo hidden feesprices in EUR
Pick-up
Dates
↳ Why it matters more than it soundsWhat the excess actually covers →
We rent both kinds of car, and neither one is the trick answer. A deposit is not a charge; it is a sum held on your card and released afterwards. A car with a deposit is usually the cheaper daily rate, and the money comes back. A car with no deposit costs a little more per day and leaves your card untouched while you are away. Which one is better is a question about your trip, not about the cars, and both are in the same search with the figure shown on each one before you book it.
The case for a deposit car is simple: it is normally the lowest price on the day, the hold is temporary, and if your card has room on it you will barely notice. The case for a no deposit car is about headroom rather than cover. Tenerife is a winter destination, so a lot of the driving here happens on two-week holidays rather than long weekends, and a fortnight is long enough for a held sum to matter if one card is also paying for the hotel, the meals and the flights home. Families travelling on a single card feel that most.
One thing is true of both, and it is the part worth reading twice: the deposit and the cover are separate. A car that holds nothing on your card can still leave you liable up to its excess, and what standard cover leaves out is the same either way. Choose the deposit on your cash flow and choose the cover on the roads you plan to drive.
↳ How a deposit actually worksSee the deposit on each car →
01 It is a hold, not a payment
The supplier reserves an amount against the main driver's card at pickup. The money is not taken, but it is unavailable, and on most cards it counts against your limit exactly as a purchase would.
02 The release runs on the supplier's clock
It comes back after the car does, on a timescale stated during booking and repeated on your voucher. Nothing about it is hidden; it simply is not instant, and it can outlast the holiday.
03 The amount is on the car, before you book
Every car in the results carries its own deposit figure and its own excess, and the two are different numbers. A car can hold a large deposit against a small excess, or hold nothing at all.
04 The card rule is separate, and it still applies
Most suppliers here want a physical credit card with raised numbers in the main driver's name even when they hold nothing on it, because the card is identification as much as security. Your voucher says whether a debit card is accepted. This is the single most common reason a pickup fails.
05 Fuel is the deposit's quiet cousin
Some suppliers price fuel full-to-full and some do not, and the rule on this island is to return it at the level you were given. Bring it back lower and you pay the difference at their rate; bring it back fuller and nobody pays you.
↳ Nothing frozen while you are awayAll pickup points →
Search your dates and the deposit is on every car in the results, including the ones that hold nothing at all.
Check dates →Live prices for your dates. Free cancellation on most cars.
↳ What it does not changeThe cheapest cars on the island →
Three things stay exactly as they were. You still need a payment card in the main driver's name, and often a real credit card with raised numbers rather than a debit card. You are still liable up to the excess if the car comes back damaged. And the standard exclusions still stand, so the wheels, the glass, the underside and the interior remain yours unless you take the extra cover. No deposit means nothing is held; it does not mean nothing is owed.
That distinction is worth holding onto, because "no deposit" is read by plenty of people as "nothing can go wrong", and the two are not related. What the cover leaves out is the same list on every car on this island: wheels, underside, windscreen, interior. If the week includes Masca or the old west coast roads, that list matters far more than whether a hold sits on your card, and the two decisions are best made together rather than one instead of the other.
↳ When it is worth paying a little moreWhat it costs to hire →
Compare the whole booking, not the daily rate, and the answer usually falls out on its own. A no-deposit car is often a little dearer per day. Set that difference across a fortnight against several hundred euros unavailable on your card for the same fortnight and beyond, and for most people travelling on one card it is not a close call. For a long weekend with plenty of headroom on the card, it probably is.
Two situations settle it outright. If the card that would carry the hold is also the card paying for the accommodation, take the no-deposit car. And if the driver collecting the car is not the person whose card has the headroom, take it as well, because the hold goes on the main driver's card and nobody else's, whatever the arrangement within the party. Both are worth deciding at home rather than at collecting at the airport.
↳ QuestionsFilter for no deposit cars →
The questions below are the ones that decide whether to pay a little more for a car that holds nothing: what no deposit means, what still applies, and why it is not the same thing as full cover. The rental conditions themselves are written out in full on the terms page.
What does no deposit actually mean here?
That the supplier holds nothing against your card for the duration. You still need a card in the main driver's name when you collect, and you are still responsible for damage up to the excess, but no money is frozen while you are away.
Is a no deposit car more expensive?
Usually a little, and not always. Compare the whole cost rather than the daily rate: a couple of euros a day against a few hundred held for a fortnight is a genuine trade, and which side of it suits you depends on your card and the length of your trip rather than on which car is better.
Do I still need a credit card?
Yes, in most cases. The deposit and the card requirement are separate things: many suppliers still want a physical credit card with raised numbers in the main driver's name even when they hold nothing on it. Your voucher says which applies to your car.
What happens if I damage a no deposit car?
The same as any other car: you owe up to the excess, and the supplier charges it after the fact rather than taking it from a held sum. The exclusions still apply, so wheels, glass, underside and interior are still on you unless you took extra cover.
How do I find the no deposit cars?
Search your dates and pickup point, and the deposit is shown on every car in the results. The ones holding nothing say so. There is no separate booking process and nothing extra to ask for when you collect.
How long does a normal deposit take to come back?
It depends on the supplier and on your bank, and the timescale is stated during booking and on your voucher rather than left vague. The release is not instant and the money is unavailable in the meantime, which is the whole reason this option exists.
Is no deposit the same as full insurance?
No, and conflating the two is the most expensive mistake on this page. No deposit means nothing is frozen on your card. Full cover means you owe less if the car is damaged. A car can hold no deposit and still leave you liable up to its excess, and the wheels, glass, underside and interior are excluded as standard either way.