Which is actually an absurd thing for the rental companies to do, since they a) don't know the credit limit on the card and b) would immediately get a chargeback if they tried to recover anything beyond the actual rental rate. They would fight and have a not totally unreasonable chance of winning the chargeback, but the reality is they'd be far better off chasing you down with collections agencies.

They don't know the limit but they can try to put a hold and the CC company approves it or not.

For educated thieves, sure.

But it is enough to deter a lot of people who otherwise might get tempted.

I understand that

I'm just pointing out "not using credit cards" is not an option sometimes.

(But the amount they hold on the credit card is small, I think it was around $300, still)