Last year, a car rental brand (who shall remain nameless, OK?) refused my Revolut Visa credit card for the deposit but happily accepted it for an overpriced insurance upgrade.

That single interaction is a neat case study in how short-term revenue tactics destroy long-term Customer Experience.

My story takes place in France. I arrived at the car rental counter, tired and ready to start my holiday, only to be told my Revolut Visa credit card couldn’t be used for the deposit.

Was this restriction in my booking confirmation? No. Was it clearly flagged in the terms and conditions? No. Did the same card work perfectly for the “required” insurance upgrade? Yes. Did the rental company allow cards issued by online only banks? Yes.

At the risk of being stranded, I was effectively held hostage and forced into buying an expensive insurance package I didn’t need.

The failure didn’t end at the counter. I sent three complaint letters to the car rental company and got three canned, content-free responses.  A Revolut chargeback went nowhere.  In the end, I escalated through the European Consumer Protection Agency. They contacted the ECPA in the rental company’s home country and, about a month later, the money simply reappeared on my card.

No email, no explanation, no apology. Just a guilty, silent fix to make the problem go away.

This isn’t a one-off bad agent. I’ve experienced emotional trauma time and again for decades when renting cars—and not much has evolved.

This is what happens when the operating model is built around high-pressure upsell at the most vulnerable moment in the journey. The rental agent is often the first human an airline passenger meets after a long, dehydrating flight. But, instead of empathy, customers get queues, policy friction, and aggressive pitches for extras.

So, how could it be done better?

If we redesign this customer journey with actual customers in mind—optimising for the exhausted traveller, not the last-minute conversion… the experience looks very different.

Radical empathy at the counter

1. Recognise the physical and emotional state of your customer.
2. Offer water and somewhere comfortable to sit while they’re served.
3. Train agents to open with reassurance, not risk framing and scare tactics.
4. Treat people like guests, not wallets.

Provide a 100% frictionless self-checkout option

We already have the technology for a near-zero-touch flow that still preserves upsell revenue, but in a way customers can actually accept:

1. Enter booking reference.
2. Scan passport and driving licence—use face recognition if needed to verify the physical person.
3. Offer clear, low-pressure digital upsells and extras with transparent pricing and eligibility.
4. Tap or dip credit card.
5. Print documents with a QR code.
6. Walk to a key vending machine, scan, and drive away.

In this model, policy constraints (like which cards are accepted for deposits) are surfaced early, clearly, and digitally before the customer is standing at a counter with their family and luggage.

Or why not eliminate the airport counter entirely?

We don’t need to invent a complex dream scenario. The model already exists. Innovative companies like CityBee have been enabling a zero-touch car rental model since 2012. Why not adopt it for regular car rental?

It might work something like this:

1. Verify your driver license, passport and credit card in app before you fly.
2. Book your car via the app.
3. In-app notification of your car details as well as any upsell marketing offers.
4. Zero Queues: Walk up to the car, unlock it with your phone, and drive away. Key is in the car.
5. No Surprise Fees: Insurance and terms are clear before you book.

If I can rent a car through CityBee or Zipcar for a week via an app with zero human interaction, why do traditional rental giants still force me to stand in line to have my credit card physically inspected?

Want to chat about your customer journeys? Reach out for a chat.

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AI Transparency Notice

Whilst the bulk of this article has been drawn from personal experience and has been written by myself, AI tools have been used to assess grammar, spelling, flow and readability for your benefit and mine. All images were created thoughtfully using the magic of Gemini (granny was left in the airport). 🙂