Rental Car Deposits by Company, and Why a Debit Card Can Keep Your Money Longer

Rental car deposits by company are not one number. Sixt adds $200 to a standard rental at most US locations. Budget adds up to $200 at the counter, and Hertz up to $500. Enterprise gives no figure at all. With a credit card it is a hold. With a debit card, real money can leave your account for days.

Here is the catch. The company may release your money the same day. Your bank decides when you can spend it again.

How Does a Rental Car Deposit Work?

At the counter, the company blocks or charges money on your card. It covers the rental itself plus a cushion for things like fuel, damage or a late return.

With a credit card, Enterprise, Dollar and Sixt describe an authorization hold. Nothing is spent yet. Your available credit just shrinks for a while.

With a debit card, it can work differently. Enterprise says it charges the full rental cost and the security deposit to your checking account at pickup. The deposit comes back only after you return the car.

Alamo warns that debit charges reduce the funds in your account. It also says the renter is responsible for any overdraft fees that follow.

Rental Car Deposits by Company in 2026

Here is what each company says on its own US help pages. Where a page gives no number or no timing, the table says so.

Where These Numbers Come From

Each row comes from the company page itself. You can check them on the Enterprise deposit refund page, the Alamo payment options page and the National payment methods page. Hertz lists its rules on its credit and debit card page. Budget puts its numbers on its rental requirements page. Dollar explains its timing on its authorization hold page, and Sixt does the same in its deposit release article.

Avis and Thrifty are not in the table. Their official pages could not be read for this article, so no numbers are listed for them.

Rental Car Deposit With Debit Card Rules at Hertz, Alamo and National

Debit renters face more rules than credit card renters. Here are the ones that appear in writing.

• Hertz accepts debit at the start of a rental only for Compact through Fullsize cars.
• Hertz does not accept debit at the start of a rental in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area. Atlanta is on the same list, along with areas of Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Hartford and Manchester.
• Budget says renters under 25 must show a credit card. Locations that take debit run a credit check first.
• Alamo and National want a ticketed return trip before they take a debit deposit at an airport.
• Sixt requires a credit card for full-size SUVs, 7-seaters and luxury cars.

A debit card hold also sits in the account you may need for gas, food and the hotel. That can sting in the middle of a trip.

If that account runs low, overdraft rules matter:

Is the $5 Overdraft Fee Cap Still Real in 2026? Here Is What Actually Happened

Why This Matters Before the Holiday Rush

Holiday travel is close. AAA projected a record 81.8 million Thanksgiving travelers in 2025, according to its Thanksgiving travel forecast. Hertz, a AAA partner, expected the Wednesday before the holiday to be the busiest pickup day.

The five markets with the highest demand were Orlando, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Newark. Atlanta is on the Hertz no-debit list. Newark sits in the New York metro area, which the same list covers.

That forecast came out on November 17, 2025. A 2026 forecast was not out when this article was written. The deposit rules above apply either way.

How Long Does It Take for a Rental Car Deposit to Be Returned at Enterprise, Hertz and Budget?

Two clocks run after you drop off the car. The first is the company clock. The second is your bank clock. Here is what each company page says about timing.

• Enterprise releases a credit card authorization right after you return the car. A debit card deposit is refunded and typically shows up in about 5 to 10 business days.
• Hertz does not state a release time on its credit and debit card page.
• Budget does not state a release time on its rental requirements page.
• Dollar releases a credit card hold within 24 hours of return. It says your bank can take up to 10 days to release the funds.
• Sixt says the card provider releases the hold, within up to 28 days.
• Alamo and National do not state a release time on their payment pages.

No stated time does not mean no refund. Dollar and Sixt both point renters to their bank first.

What a Deposit Does to Your Balance

Here is a hypothetical example using the Sixt formulas. Say a 4-day rental costs $60 a day, so the estimated charges are $240.

Watch that last row. Sixt says the deposit follows the car you drive, not the one you booked. A free upgrade can raise the hold. That is a strange kind of free.

A gas station hold works on the same idea, just smaller:

A Gas Station Hold Can Be $100, $150 or $175. Here Is How Long It Lasts

Rental Car Deposit Not Returned by Enterprise or Sixt? Do These Steps in Order

If your money has not come back, work through this list.

1. Pull up your final receipt. Fuel, damage or a late return can be taken out of the deposit.
2. Write down the exact return date and time. Dollar and Sixt count their deadlines from the return or the end of the rental.
3. Check how you paid. A credit card hold and a debit refund follow different timelines.
4. Call your bank. Ask if the hold is still pending, and ask for its amount and date.
5. Contact the rental company when its own deadline passes. Enterprise says to call the branch after 10 business days. Sixt says to use Live Chat after 28 days, with your rental agreement number.

Step four matters. Sixt says that in most cases it has already released the hold, and the bank may need a few more days.

Waiting for money that is technically yours is easier with a clear record. You can use a free tracker with a line for money that is held but not yet spent, so a pending deposit never gets counted twice.

Rental Car Deposit Refund Facts to Know Before You Pick Up

Here is what the company pages say, in one place.

• At Enterprise, a credit card hold is released right after return. A debit refund takes about 5 to 10 business days.
• The hold sits on top of the rental price, so the blocked amount is bigger than the rental itself.
• At Sixt, an upgrade at pickup brings the higher deposit of the new car class.
• Alamo, National and Hertz airport counters ask debit renters for a return trip ticket.
• Hertz does not take debit at the start of a rental in the New York metro area or Atlanta.
• Enterprise says the deposit amount varies by location and points renters to the location for the exact figure.

Rental cars are not the only travel cost with a surprise on the bill:

Why Your Hotel Resort Fee Might Finally Show Up Before You Book in 2026

Nobody plans a trip around a hold. Yes, it feels backward to lose access to your own money while you are on vacation.

The Bottom Line

Rental car deposits by company follow two patterns. With a credit card, the company releases the hold soon after return, and your bank clears it. With a debit card at Enterprise, the deposit is a real charge that comes back days later.

Read the deposit line on your rental agreement at pickup. That number, plus your payment method, tells you how long to wait.

Have you ever waited more than a week for a rental car deposit to come back, and which company was it?

Disclaimer: MoneyWisePro is not a car rental company or financial advisor. This article is for general information only and is not financial or legal advice. Contact your rental company or bank for guidance on your specific situation.