How we work

Where the figures come from

The figures come from our weekly sample: once a week our server asks the car hire portals QEEQ and DiscoverCars, for each of the 200 airports we cover, about a fixed sample rental — pick-up in 4 weeks, 7 days, 10am to 10am — and counts the offers. Always the same lead time and the same duration, so the weeks can be compared. The list of airports with figures grows every week.

We count offers where the portal names a debit card for the deposit or asks for no card. For QEEQ the statement only counts if DiscoverCars confirms it for the same rental company at the same airport. If a rental company's terms contradict the statement, its offers there are not counted. Offers that need a credit card, or where the portal says nothing clear, are not counted either — if in doubt, an offer is not counted. The figures rest on what the portals state; we cannot check whether that is right in each case.

Tiles, ranking and sentences

The ranking shows every airport whose most recent sample (at most 6 weeks old) already counts “without a credit card” — including those without a single such offer. The tiles above it show the most-flown-to destinations from Germany (passengers 2025, Federal Statistical Office) that have offers without a credit card and a photo; “Rare here” means 5 per cent or less.

The sentence above the bar adds up all counted offers. “How much more does it cost?” compares, for each airport, the cheapest offer without a credit card with the cheapest offer overall and gives the median difference. This does not include full cover that some rental companies require at the desk when you use a debit card. The planner names the highest share only among airports with at least 100 offers.

What the figures are not

A sample is not a bookable offer. Every figure carries its date. What a car costs today and whether the debit card works for it is shown by the search, per the provider — the rental company's terms are binding. Check them before you book.

The search

“Search offers without a credit card” opens our car hire search with the “No credit card” filter. It queries QEEQ, DiscoverCars, CHECK24 and Sunny Cars live; how it orders results is set out under How we sort results. You book with the provider; we only compare.

Photos

The photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are under free licences. Author and licence are shown below each photo, the full details with links at the end of the home page.