Car Rental at Milan Linate Airport (LIN): No Deposit, Debit Card and Full Insurance

Milan Linate Airport (LIN) is about 7 km from the centre of Milan, and it is the closest of the city’s three international airports. For one week in November we found 925 rental offers from 29 companies here, and 60% of them were automatics. Eleven of the 13 companies we recommend have their desk in the arrivals hall of the single terminal, and two pick you up by shuttle. Ten of the 13 accept a debit card, including Locauto, which asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation at pick-up. This guide to car rental at Milan Linate Airport covers each of the 13 companies we recommend, debit and Revolut cards, deposits, full insurance, prices by month, Linate against Milan’s two other airports, and what to know before you drive into Milan’s Area C or out to Monza, Bergamo, Lake Como and Lugano.

Data last verified: October 2026. Written by Simas Krasaitis, founder of Autorentwiz and former head of car rental at ADCRent.

Short on time? The key facts:

• Desks: 11 of our 13 companies are in the arrivals hall, on the ground floor of the terminal: follow the “Rent-a-car” or “Autonoleggi” signs. Rental4leisure and Ciao Rent Car pick you up by shuttle from Novegro, less than 1 km away
• Debit cards: 10 of the 13 accept them, all in the arrivals hall: Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation), Maggiore (200 EUR), Flizzr (from about 475 EUR), SIXT (from about 490 EUR), Alamo, Enterprise and National (500 EUR), Thrifty (700 EUR), Keddy (800 EUR) and Hertz on some cars (700 EUR)
• No deposit: Locauto (only a symbolic 0,01 EUR card authorisation), with a debit or credit card. Maggiore blocks 200 EUR on a debit card, but its excess on a Fiat 500 was 3,904 EUR
• Revolut or no card: in our search none of the 13 companies accepts cards from online-only banks, and we found no deals without a card at pick-up
• Opening hours: Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National work every day from 07:00 to 23:59, and Maggiore from 07:30 to 23:59. Ciao Rent Car closes at 20:00 and Rental4leisure at 19:00
• Switzerland: 11 of the 13 allow it, SIXT not on its cheaper credit-only offers. Ciao Rent Car does not, and Rental4leisure allows no travel abroad
• Prices: November is the cheapest month (about 18 EUR a day on average), July the most expensive (about 42 EUR)
• Free consultation: message us on Messenger and our car rental experts will compare all 13 companies for your dates, card and landing time. You get the same discount as when you book through our search

At Linate, 36 rental companies are rated by verified renters at this airport, and 29 had offers in our November search. To make our list, a company needs a rating of 8.0 or higher from verified renters at this airport and a separate score of 8.0 or higher for its staff here. Sixteen companies passed both, and 13 of them had offers in our search. Brent, Moventur and Firefly had no offers for our dates. RentSmart24 is rated 8.0 but missed the staff score with 7.9.

Dollar, Avis, Europcar, Budget, Noleggiare and Drivalia are rated below 8.0 at Linate, and so is Target Rent, which had the cheapest offer in our search. Enterprise, Thrifty, National and Flizzr have only 3-5 reviews here, so their ratings can change quickly. That leaves 13 companies, and 10 of them accept a debit card. Our car rental in Italy page compares Linate with the other Italian airports.

Company	Rating	Hours	Card	Deposit	Travel abroad
Locauto	8.8	07:00-23:59	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	No deposit (0,01 EUR card authorisation)	29 countries, free
Sicily By Car	8.7	08:00-22:59	Credit only	200 EUR on small cars, up to 1,594 EUR on big ones	19 countries, free, written permission
Alamo	8.7	07:00-23:59	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	500 EUR	29 countries, free
Hertz	8.5	07:00-23:00	Depends on the car: debit accepted on a Renault Captur, credit only on an Alpine A290 or a Mercedes EQB	700 EUR	15 countries, 30 EUR, written permission
Enterprise	8.3	07:00-23:59	Debit or credit	500 EUR	29 countries, free
Thrifty	8.3	07:00-23:00	Debit or credit	700 EUR	13 countries, 30 EUR, written permission and 1 day’s notice
Flizzr	8.2	07:30-23:30	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	475-1,039 EUR	26 countries, 50 EUR, written permission
Keddy	8.2	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit	800 EUR	19 countries, free or up to 85.40 EUR, written permission
National	8.1	07:00-23:59	Debit or credit	500 EUR	33 countries, free
SIXT	8.1	07:30-23:30	Debit or credit on the offers we checked; its cheaper offers were credit only	About 490-860 EUR	17 countries, 50 EUR, written permission; its cheaper offers did not show travel abroad
Maggiore	8.1	07:30-23:59	Debit or credit (not Maestro, Visa Electron or JCB)	200-742 EUR	26 countries, 28.80 EUR, written permission and extra cover

Company	Rating	Hours	Card	Deposit	Travel abroad
Rental4leisure	8.5	08:00-19:00	Credit only (not Amex)	850 EUR on a Fiat Panda, up to 2,500 EUR	Not allowed
Ciao Rent Car	8.0	08:00-20:00, Saturday 08:00-14:00, Sunday 08:00-13:00	Credit only	700 EUR on a Fiat Panda, up to 2,500 EUR	25 countries, not Switzerland, 126 EUR, written permission

At Linate, Locauto asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation on a debit or a credit card at pick-up, on every car we checked, including the 9-seat Volkswagen Caravelle. Maggiore blocks 200 EUR on a Fiat 500, a Volkswagen T-Cross or a Peugeot 5008, and it accepts a debit card, but its excess on these cars was 3,294-4,758 EUR. Sicily By Car also blocks 200 EUR on small cars, but on a credit card only. With a debit card, Flizzr blocks from about 475 EUR, SIXT about 490 EUR on a Fiat Grande Panda, and Alamo, Enterprise and National 500 EUR. Thrifty and Hertz block 700 EUR and Keddy 800 EUR.

The highest deposits are at the two shuttle companies: Rental4leisure blocks 850 EUR on a Fiat Panda and Ciao Rent Car 700 EUR, and both go up to 2,500 EUR on bigger cars. Sicily By Car blocks up to 1,594 EUR on big cars and SIXT about 860 EUR on a BMW 5 Series estate. For Switzerland, Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National allow the car across the border for free, and Sicily By Car for free with written permission. Maggiore, Hertz, Thrifty, Flizzr and SIXT charge a fee from 28.80 EUR to 50 EUR, and Keddy up to 85.40 EUR.

Linate has one passenger terminal, and the rental desks are in the rental cars area of the arrivals hall, on the ground floor near the airport exit. Leave through the Arrivals gate and follow the “Rent-a-car” or “Autonoleggi” signs. Locauto, Sicily By Car, Alamo, Hertz, Enterprise, Thrifty, Keddy, National, SIXT and Maggiore are in this area. SIXT is at the end on the right, and Flizzr hands over its cars at the SIXT desk. Maggiore‘s conditions say a representative will contact you before you arrive. Hertz and Thrifty ask for your return flight ticket at pick-up. The two shuttle companies are in Novegro, part of Segrate, less than 1 km north of the terminal:

• Rental4leisure is on Via Eugenio Montale 2, about 600 m from the rental desks. Call the number in your voucher when you land, and ask for the free shuttle
• Ciao Rent Car is on Via Novegro 31, about 900 m away. Go to the meeting point at Departures exit 3 and call the number in your voucher to arrange the shuttle bus. It charges a fee for pick-ups outside its opening hours, and online check-in is mandatory for them

Autorentwiz tip: of our Milan-area customers who named their card, 60% had only a debit card, and 11% more had both. At Linate 10 of our 13 companies accept a debit card, and all ten are in the arrivals hall. With a debit card, Locauto takes no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation, and Alamo, Enterprise and National block 500 EUR. Hertz takes a debit card on some cars only, and Sicily By Car and the two shuttle companies take credit cards only. Check the card section of the rental conditions before you book, or send us your dates on Messenger and we will check it for you.

At Linate the desks keep the same hours every day of the week in November, except Ciao Rent Car. Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National work from 07:00 to 23:59, and Maggiore from 07:30 to 23:59. Flizzr and SIXT work from 07:30 to 23:30, Hertz and Thrifty from 07:00 to 23:00 and Keddy from 08:00 to 23:00. Sicily By Car works from 08:00 to 22:59.

Ciao Rent Car closes at 20:00 on weekdays, and the offer we checked gives 14:00 on Saturdays and 13:00 on Sundays. Rental4leisure closes at 19:00, so both suit only daytime flights. Sicily By Car holds your car for 2 hours after the booked time, Keddy for only 29 minutes, and most others for about an hour. Add your flight number to the booking.

The nearest petrol station is the Enilive (Eni) station on Viale Enrico Forlanini, on the airport grounds, about 150 m from the rental desks. We could not confirm its opening hours, so check them on Google Maps before a late return. Fill up there, because most rental conditions ask for the same fuel level you started with, and the refuelling charge at the desk is much higher than the pump price.

Yes, with 10 of the 13 companies we recommend, and all ten have their desk in the arrivals hall: Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation), Maggiore (200 EUR), Flizzr (from about 475 EUR), SIXT (from about 490 EUR), Alamo, Enterprise and National (500 EUR), Thrifty (700 EUR), Keddy (800 EUR) and Hertz on some cars (700 EUR). At Hertz the Renault Captur accepted a debit card in our search, but the Alpine A290 and the Mercedes EQB need a credit card, and the EQB two of them. Sicily By Car and both shuttle companies take credit cards only.

At the desk you need a physical debit card in the main driver’s name, and all ten accept Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Locauto, Alamo, Hertz, Flizzr and Maggiore do not take Maestro, and Maggiore also refuses Visa Electron and JCB. Locauto, Thrifty and SIXT refuse cards without the number printed on them. In our search the cheapest car with a debit card was an automatic Fiat 500 at Maggiore from 124 EUR a week, with an excess of 3,904 EUR. Next was a Toyota Aygo at Locauto from 127 EUR, and Locauto also had an automatic Volkswagen Polo from 150 EUR. Our guide to renting a car in Italy with a debit card explains what the desk checks.

In our search none of the 13 companies we recommend at Linate accepts cards from online-only banks such as Revolut: their payment terms list these cards as not accepted. The conditions of Keddy list “Revolut Credit” among the accepted credit cards, but the same conditions list cards from online-only banks as not accepted, so we would not count on it. We also found no deals at Linate with no card needed at pick-up. To rent here, you need a card from a traditional bank in the main driver’s name. Most of our companies also refuse prepaid and virtual cards.

At Linate, Locauto asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation on a debit or a credit card at pick-up. All 30 offers marked as no deposit in our search were from Locauto, at its desk in the arrivals hall. Among companies that take a deposit, the lowest is Maggiore at 200 EUR, also with a debit card, but its excess was 3,294-4,758 EUR on the cars we checked. With a credit card, Sicily By Car blocks 200 EUR on small cars. With a debit card, the next lowest after Maggiore are Flizzr, from about 475 EUR, SIXT, from about 490 EUR, and Alamo, Enterprise and National, 500 EUR. Our guide to saving money on car rental shows how to weigh the deposit against the price.

At Linate the excess, the part of any damage you pay yourself, was about 1,500-2,800 EUR at most of our companies in our search. Locauto had the lowest standard excess, from 1,200 EUR, and Keddy was next at 1,300 EUR. The highest were at Maggiore (up to 4,760 EUR), Rental4leisure (up to 4,480 EUR), Sicily By Car (up to 4,270 EUR) and Hertz (4,000 EUR on a Mercedes EQB). A low deposit does not mean a low excess: Maggiore blocks only 200 EUR, but its excess on a Fiat 500 was 3,904 EUR. You can cover the excess in two ways.

Full coverage added online when you book costs less per day, but the desk still blocks the normal deposit, and if something happens you pay the company and claim the money back from the insurer. The company’s own cover, sold at the desk, costs more but removes the excess on the spot. If you already bought full coverage, you do not need the desk cover as well. Our pick-up tips show how to film the car and what to check at pick-up.

The rules below come from the rental conditions of the 13 companies we recommend, for small cars unless we say otherwise, and the conditions of your own offer are what counts at the desk. All of them accept only a physical licence, not a digital one. Send us the driver’s age on Messenger, and we will check which offers allow it.

• Minimum age: 18 at Flizzr and Ciao Rent Car, and at SIXT on small and compact cars. 19 at Rental4leisure, at Maggiore on the Fiat 500, and on small cars at Locauto, Sicily By Car, Alamo, Enterprise and National. 21 at Hertz, Thrifty and Keddy. Most companies want the licence held for at least 1 year, and Alamo, Enterprise, National and Keddy for 3 years
• Bigger cars: compact cars such as the Peugeot 308 need 21 at Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National, and so do the Seat Arona at Sicily By Car and the Volkswagen T-Cross and the 7-seat Peugeot 5008 at Maggiore. The 9-seat Volkswagen Caravelle needs 25 at Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National, and the Mercedes EQB 25 at Hertz. SIXT asks for 21 and a licence held for 2 years on a BMW 5 Series estate. Locauto wants the licence held for 3 years from compact cars up, Rental4leisure for 3 years on a Fiat 500X and Maggiore for 2 years on the T-Cross and the 5008
• Young driver fee and maximum age: a young driver fee applies under 25 at most companies and under 23 at Sicily By Car. At Locauto, an additional driver under 25 pays both the young driver fee and the additional driver fee. The conditions do not state the amount, and our search was for a driver aged 30-65, so the prices in this guide do not include it. The maximum age is 74 at Rental4leisure and 82 at Sicily By Car, and none of the 13 charges a senior fee
• EU or EEA licence: Italian law requires no International Driving Permit (IDP). A licence issued in an EU country is valid anywhere in the EU (Your Europe), and none of our 13 companies asks for an IDP with an EU licence. Their conditions do not name licences from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, so with one of these, bring an IDP
• UK licence: with a photocard licence you need no IDP to drive in Italy (GOV.UK), but Locauto, Sicily By Car, Rental4leisure and Ciao Rent Car still ask for one with a UK licence, and SIXT asks drivers who live in the UK for one. Hertz, Thrifty and Maggiore accept a UK licence without an IDP, and so do Alamo, Enterprise, National and Keddy for drivers who live in the UK
• Other licences from outside the EU: Italian law requires an IDP or an official Italian translation with the licence (Art. 135 of the Highway Code), so bring an IDP. Hertz and Thrifty accept licences from some countries without one, such as the USA, Canada and Australia, but we still advise the IDP because of the law. Alamo and SIXT ask for an IDP with any licence not printed in the Roman alphabet

Across all offers, car rental at Milan Linate Airport costs about 30 EUR a day on average over the year. November is the cheapest month at about 18 EUR a day, 40% below the yearly average and 56% below July. January is next at about 21 EUR. July is the most expensive month at about 42 EUR, and September is second at about 37 EUR. The average rental at Linate lasts about 6 days.

Daily average across all offers at Milan Linate Airport for each pick-up month, data from October 2026. Prices move every day.

Season	Months	Average per day	What to expect
Low	November, January	about 18-21 EUR	The lowest prices of the year
Shoulder	March, October	about 23-25 EUR	Good value outside the holiday weeks
High	February, April, May, December	about 27-30 EUR	Late winter, spring and December
Peak	August, June, September, July	about 31-42 EUR	The most expensive months, July above all

These starting prices per day by car class come from the companies we recommend, in our November search. The lowest small car, SUV and premium car were at Rental4leisure, which takes credit cards only, blocks 850 EUR or more, picks you up by shuttle and allows no travel abroad. The lowest medium car was at Ciao Rent Car, also credit only and by shuttle. With a debit card, the cheapest car was an automatic Fiat 500 at Maggiore, from about 18 EUR a day. Cars with 7 seats started at about 56 EUR a day, for a Peugeot 5008 at Maggiore, and 9-seat vans at about 66 EUR a day, for a Volkswagen Caravelle at Locauto, both with a debit card. 60% of all offers at Linate were automatics.

Autorentwiz tip: Lugano, in Switzerland, is about 1 hour 12 minutes from Linate by car, so check the travel-abroad rules before you book the cheapest car. In our search the lowest prices among our companies were at Rental4leisure, which allows no travel abroad, and Ciao Rent Car, which does not allow Switzerland. Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National allow Switzerland for free, and Sicily By Car for free with written permission. The others charge a fee, from 28.80 EUR at Maggiore to up to 85.40 EUR at Keddy, and all of them want written permission. On Swiss motorways you also need a vignette, CHF 40. Send us your route on Messenger, and we will check which offers allow it.

Milan has three international airports, and Linate is the closest to the city. Milan Malpensa Airport is about 50 km north-west of the centre, and from Linate to Malpensa Terminal 1 is about 51 minutes and 67 km by car. Bergamo Airport is about 50 km east, and from Linate it is about 36 minutes and 50 km. These drive times were measured late in the evening, and daytime traffic around Milan is slower. At Linate, 11 of our 13 companies are in the arrivals hall, and the M4 metro reaches San Babila in the centre in about 12 minutes.

What we compared	Milan Linate (LIN)	Milan Malpensa (MXP)	Bergamo (BGY)
Distance to central Milan	about 7 km	about 50 km	about 50 km
Where the desks are	11 of our 13 in the arrivals hall, 2 by shuttle	8 in Terminal 1, level -1, 2 by shuttle	9 in the terminal, the others by shuttle
Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation)	In the arrivals hall	In Terminal 1	In car park P3, by shuttle
Average price per day, November and July	about 18 and 42 EUR	about 19 and 43 EUR	about 14 and 47 EUR
Yearly average per day	about 30 EUR	about 35 EUR	about 28 EUR

In our October 2026 data, Linate was cheaper than Malpensa in November, in July and over the year. Bergamo was cheaper than Linate in November, and Linate was cheaper in July. Linate is the only one of the three with both Locauto in the terminal and a metro line into the centre. Our guides to both airports, linked above, cover the companies there.

From the airport, Viale Enrico Forlanini leads west into the city. The Duomo is about 7 km and about 18 minutes away by car. We measured this and the other drive times in this guide late in the evening, and daytime traffic in Milan is slower, so plan for more. The A51 Tangenziale Est, the eastern ring road, has a “Forlanini / Linate” exit. It has no toll barrier for short stretches between exits, but you pay at the Agrate/Carugate barrier northbound towards the A4 and at the A1 and A4 junctions. The A4 to Bergamo, the A8 to Malpensa and the lakes and the A9 to Como and Lugano are toll motorways.

Area C is a ZTL in the centre of Milan, inside the Cerchia dei Bastioni ring, where you need a paid ticket to drive in. It is active all year from Monday to Friday, from 07:30 to 19:30, except on holidays, and electronic gates at 43 entry points read every plate. A daily ticket costs 7.50 EUR and lets you enter and leave as often as you like on the same day with the same car. You must pay or activate it by midnight of the day after your entry. If you forget, you can still buy a 22.50 EUR ticket within 7 days, only through MyAreaC. When you contact Area C support, the rental contract is accepted as proof that you were using the car.

Press reports in 2025 said Area C would extend to weekends from 2026, but the official page still listed Monday to Friday only in October 2026: check the current rules on the Comune di Milano Area C page. Milan also has smaller ZTL zones with their own hours. The Quadrilatero della Moda, the fashion district, is closed 24 hours every day, the Navigli from 20:00 to 07:00 every day and Arco della Pace from 22:00 to 04:00. Garibaldi, XXV Aprile, Sant’Agostino and Paolo Sarpi are closed 24 hours. Staying at a hotel inside Area C or a ZTL? Ask the hotel or its garage before you arrive how to handle access.

Area B has the same days and hours as Area C, Monday to Friday from 07:30 to 19:30, except on holidays, and blue gates mark its boundary. It bans the most polluting vehicles, such as petrol cars up to Euro 3 and diesel cars up to Euro 5, and allowed vehicles pay nothing, so a recent rental car can normally drive in. If you get a diesel, ask the desk for its Euro class.

Street parking on the blue lines in central Milan is paid, and the rate depends on the zone. You can pay with a parking app or at the meters. For a day in the centre, leave the car at your hotel or garage, or outside Area C, and take the M4 metro: Linate is on the M4 line, about 12 minutes from San Babila.

Como, on Lake Como, is about 64 km and about 53 minutes away on the SP35, and Bellagio, on the lake, about 73 km and about 1 hour 18 minutes. Lugano, across the Swiss border, is about 92 km and about 1 hour 12 minutes away. Before you drive to Lugano, check that your rental company allows Switzerland, and buy the Swiss motorway vignette.

Monza and its royal palace, the Villa Reale, are the closest: about 22 km and about 25 minutes on the A51. Bergamo’s Città Alta, the walled upper town, is about 53 km and about 48 minutes away on the A51 and the A4, and Brescia is about an hour east.

From 15 November to 15 April, Lombardy requires winter tyres or snow chains on board on signposted roads, including extra-urban roads, ring roads and signposted motorways. Winter tyres must be marked M+S or with the snowflake symbol (3PMSF). Locauto, Alamo and National include snow chains in the price from 15 November to 15 April. The conditions of SIXT and Maggiore note that winter tyres are mandatory in the Aosta Valley from 15 October and in South Tyrol from 15 November, both until 15 April. For a winter trip, check the extras of your offer, or ask us on Messenger before you book.

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