UnionPay car rental service available in about 20 countries and regions
2019-03-25

The scale of car-rental market for Chinese outbound tourists has been growing by more than 20% annually for many consecutive years, and reached RMB32.5 billion in 2018 according to the statistics of enfodesk.com. Now, many Chinese tourists prefer to take UnionPay cards when having self-driving trips overseas. Now, UnionPay cardholders can pay for car rentals via credit card pre-authorization in major car rental companies in about 20 countries and regions. In 2018, the transaction volume of UnionPay cards at car rental merchants in the United States, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, and Greece grew substantially year-on-year.

According to the Big Data Report on Car Rental Overseas published by CRI Online, payment method together with car rental conditions and prices are the most concerned issues for outbound self-driving tourists. In order to meet tourists’ needs for renting cars, UnionPay International has continued to expand its acceptance at car rental merchants outside mainland China, and has reached partnership with the world’s four major car rental brands, namely Hertz, Avis, Europcar and Enterprise. For example, UnionPay credit card is accepted at all the stores of Hertz in the United States, Australia, Thailand, Mauritius and Tahiti. In addition, UnionPay is also accepted at regional car rental companies such as Reach Rental in the United States, ORIX in Japan, Thai Rent A Car in Thailand and Thrifty in New Zealand. Some of these merchants also provide special services such as Chinese-language services, WeChat communication, as well as car pick-up guides for Chinese tourists.

A Chinese tourist recently shared his self-driving experience in Europe: “Smooth communication, good car condition, and use UnionPay credit card pre-authorization at Avis.” Since 2018, all the overseas car rental merchants that accept UnionPay cards have enabled pre-authorization transactions with UnionPay credit cards, further improving customers’ payment experiences. Cardholders do not have to carry a large amount of cash as a deposit; instead, they can make pre-authorization with their UnionPay credit cards which will be directly deducted from the total cars rental fees after the trip, saving both time and efforts. In 2018, the number of UnionPay card pre-authorization transactions at the world’s four major car rental brands more than doubled year-on-year.

Cardholders can also enjoy car-rental discounts offered by UnionPay. Now, the available discounts include a 50%-off discount at AVIS Sheikh Marwan Building in Dubai, a discount up to 25%-off at Europcar in New Zealand and a 30%-off discount on some value-added services at some stores of Reach Rental and Yesaway in the United States.

In recent years, UnionPay International has continued to improve its online and offline acceptance to enhance its service capabilities for cross-border free-and-independent travelers. In addition to the continuous improvement of its acceptance at car rental merchants, UnionPay is also accepted at major overseas travel booking websites and the official websites of international hotel groups as well as more than 70 airlines. UnionPay’s acceptance rate at the four major hotel brands has exceeded 70%; and it is also accepted on Royal Caribbean Cruises.

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