Can I rent a car with no license, but a credit card and my wife having a license?!

[ZRomper 42]

This might sound weird but I'm sure someone has run into this before.

 

So, I lived outside the US for the past 10 years. My US driver's license has expired a long time ago. I had a driver's license from Belarus which expired on June 20th, 2023. My wife has an active Belarus driver's license which is international and is accepted in the state we're moving to.

 

I have a credit card from Chase but no driver's license (I'll have to get a permit/license/test once we move) while my wife does have an international driver's license but no credit card...

 

 

I saw that Budget for instance has a non-licensed renter form, where you add another driver as a driver to the car you're renting while not driving it yourself using your credit card.

 

Has anyone had any experience with something like this??

 

This will put us in quiet a bind to be stuck without a car when we just arrive...

Edited August 2, 2023 by ZRomper

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, ZRomper said:

Has anyone had any experience with something like this??

I did this once 40 years ago. I would not recommend assuming it will work.

 

3 minutes ago, ZRomper said:

I have a credit card from Chase

IME, Chase let’s you add authorized users who do not have SSNs. I did this for my fiancee years before she moved to the U.S.  

 

[ZRomper 42]

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

I did this once 40 years ago. I would not recommend assuming it will work.

 

IME, Chase let’s you add authorized users who do not have SSNs. I did this for my fiancee years before she moved to the U.S.  

 

Wow, thanks for the info. I'll give them a call and let you know what they say.

[Mike E 11,739]

4 minutes ago, ZRomper said:

Wow, thanks for the info. I'll give them a call and let you know what they say.

You can add her as an authorized user from Chase’s website or its app.

Calling might lead to denial as more questions get asked, and possibly canceling your account. 

 

[top_secret 2,417]

11 hours ago, Mike E said:

You can add her as an authorized user from Chase’s website or its app.

Calling might lead to denial as more questions get asked, and possibly canceling your account. 

 

Yep.  It didn't get my account canceled but I did have a Citi phone rep tell me it was absolutely impossible to add an authorized user without a social security number.  She said it couldn't be done.  So I hung up, went on citi.com and two minutes later successfully added my wife as an authorized user with nothing more than a name and a birth date..

 

[ZRomper 42]

12 hours ago, Mike E said:

You can add her as an authorized user from Chase’s website or its app.

Calling might lead to denial as more questions get asked, and possibly canceling your account. 

 

 

1 hour ago, top_secret said:

 

Yep.  It didn't get my account canceled but I did have a Citi phone rep tell me it was absolutely impossible to add an authorized user without a social security number.  She said it couldn't be done.  So I hung up, went on citi.com and two minutes later successfully added my wife as an authorized user with nothing more than a name and a birth date..

 

Thank you both for the great suggestion! I was able to quickly add her to my CC through Chase portal via Add Authorized User. They just asked for name and DOB and I selected the address on file.

 

Question: It said they'll mail a new card with her name on it. I'm not in the US atm however and it's my sister's house address. Will it still be ok to use my card at the car rental? I think so, because they go by what's in the system and not what's on the card per say, because she's already added. I'll also have a statement from the bank with me showing both our names.

 

What do you think?

Edited August 3, 2023 by ZRomper

[Mike E 11,739]

3 hours ago, ZRomper said:

Will it still be ok to use my card at the car rental?

The entire point of this exercise was to get her a credit card that has her name on it.

 

If mom cannot bring a credit card to the airport or cannot fedex it to your physical address in the U.S. (the latter requiring you to use ride share for a day), then you are back to:

 

20 hours ago, Mike E said:

I did this once 40 years ago. I would not recommend assuming it will work.

 

So you might as well try it, and have mom bring / send the credit card as plan B. Plan C is you get a drivers license. I am surprised the embassy accepted your domicile claims without a U.S. state ID or state DL. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ZRomper 42]

57 minutes ago, Mike E said:

The entire point of this exercise was to get her a credit card that has her name on it.

 

If mom cannot bring a credit card to the airport or cannot fedex it to your physical address in the U.S. (the latter requiring you to use ride share for a day), then you are back to:

 

 

So you might as well try it, and have mom bring / send the credit card as plan B. Plan C is you get a drivers license. I am surprised the embassy accepted your domicile claims without a U.S. state ID or state DL. 

1. My mom is not in the US, it's my sister that is and we're flying to a state far away from her, so she cannot bring it.

2. I can't get a driver's license until I'm back in the US and this isn't instant.
3. My domicile acceptance was based on the fact that I have an address in the US, I have a well paying job and sent a lot of money to my US bank account. This is what they care about, plus I have my US passport. You can travel overseas for 2 weeks and your DL can expire, doesn't mean you're not domiciled in the US anymore.

 

I'll try calling a few rental companies and ask them.

Edited August 3, 2023 by ZRomper

[Mike E 11,739]

Just now, ZRomper said:

she cannot bring it.

And cannot fedex it?

 

1 minute ago, ZRomper said:

You can travel overseas for 2 weeks 

and your DL can expire,

I renew my DL online, so this is never an issue for me. In the event my DL has expired while abroad and the new one is not in hand, I would take a ride share home from the airport, unless the online renewal permits me to drive with receipt.

 

 I’ve contributed all I can, and I don’t wish to argue or bicker, so I won’t post more in this thread. 

[ZRomper 42]

11 minutes ago, Mike E said:

And cannot fedex it?

 

I renew my DL online, so this is never an issue for me. In the event my DL has expired while abroad and the new one is not in hand, I would take a ride share home from the airport, unless the online renewal permits me to drive with receipt.

 

 I’ve contributed all I can, and I don’t wish to argue or bicker, so I won’t post more in this thread. 

 

Thanks for the help! You're right, i will get it fedexed, at least i'll try. The reason is not for my lack of trying, i don't have the best relationship with my sister to put it mildly. Simply getting my tax transcripts photos took a week and a half to get. 😊

But at least I have something to go on now.

Edited August 3, 2023 by ZRomper

[ZRomper 42]

To close the topic, I called Avis and Budget and they both confirmed that my wife would need a CC with her name on it.
Thanks everyone who posted here.

[Redro 4,611]

28 minutes ago, ZRomper said:

To close the topic, I called Avis and Budget and they both confirmed that my wife would need a CC with her name on it.
Thanks everyone who posted here.

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