Discover Cars Review 2026

Discover Cars is only the middleman: its terms state that Travel Drive "does not operate a car vehicle fleet and does not provide car rental services itself", so the car and the counter belong to the rental company. Rentcars works the same way — it books as an intermediary and is not responsible for failures in the supplier's service.

Discover Cars accepts a printed or electronic voucher, "depending on the car rental company's requirements", plus the main driver's licence, an International Driving Permit where the company asks for one, an ID or passport, and a card in the same name as the licence with enough funds for the deposit. Rentcars is stricter on paperwork: its voucher has to be printed, and you also need an original licence covering the whole rental and an original passport where the destination requires one.

The rental company takes it and Discover Cars never handles the money: it covers the insurance excess, fines, tolls and refuelling, each main driver presents their own card when several cars are booked, and the hold "usually" lapses within three weeks of the rental ending. Rentcars' deposit is blocked by the rental company too, but with tighter rules — the amount stays blocked for the whole booking, and prepaid, virtual and contactless cards are refused, as are cards from some digital banks.

Discover Cars refunds no cash: it issues Booking Credit that expires after three years and cannot be used at the counter — the full amount up to 48 hours before pickup, only the Full Coverage part inside 48 hours, and nothing once the pickup time has passed. Rentcars does return money, but with a deduction: cancelling before pickup may cost 20% of the booking, and only the higher of its fee and the rental company's retention fee is charged.

Discover Cars refunds no unused hours or days for late pickup or early return, and asks you to tell them straight away if you will not collect the car, or a no-show fee can apply. Rentcars spells out the timings: 59 minutes of grace in Brazil and 29 minutes elsewhere before it counts as a no-show, with a no-show or a turn-down charged at 20% of the booking.

Discover Cars' published terms set no minimum age and defer to the rental company's conditions, which appear on the voucher. Rentcars states 21 in Brazil and 25 abroad, requires a licence issued at least two years earlier for foreign rentals, rejects digital licences abroad, and makes an International Driving Permit mandatory in Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine.