Express Drive rental deposit and charges
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Rental deposit
A refundable deposit is required to rent a vehicle through Express Drive. You'll pay the rental deposit after you schedule a reservation.
You’ll see the rental deposit amount when you reserve your vehicle.
Once we receive your deposit, we’ll confirm your reservation.
You won’t pay for anything else when you pick up the vehicle.
Accepted card types
Credit and debit cards are the only accepted card types for the rental deposit.
We don’t accept prepaid cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay for ongoing rental charges.
To check the status of your rental deposit:
- Open the Lyft Driver app main menu, then tap 'Vehicles and Devices.'
- Tap 'Your Vehicles.'
- Tap ‘See details’ on your Express Drive rental.
- Tap ‘Rental deposit.’
My deposit was returned
Your deposit will be returned if you:
- Don’t pass the DMV/background check.
- Cancel your appointment before picking up a rental car.
- Return your rental in the same condition you picked it up.
Check deposit status
To check the status of your rental deposit:
- Open the Lyft Driver app main menu, then tap 'Vehicles and Devices.'
- Tap 'Your Vehicles.'
- Tap ‘See details’ on your Express Drive rental.
- Tap ‘Rental deposit.’
Getting your deposit back
It takes about 3 weeks to process your refund.
If you have any outstanding rental costs from your rental reservation (such as rental charges, tolls, or damages), your deposit will cover those charges.
We’ll refund any remaining amount to your card 2 weeks after returning your vehicle.
My deposit wasn't refunded after I returned the rental
It takes about 3 weeks to process your refund.
If you have any outstanding rental costs from your rental reservation (such as rental charges, tolls, or damages), your deposit will cover those charges.
We’ll refund any remaining amount to your card 2 weeks after returning your vehicle.
Weekly rental charges
Your total earnings, including any tips and bonuses that you receive, will go towards covering the rental fees each week. Once those costs are covered, you’ll be paid out the rest of your earnings.
For example, if you earned $500 and your weekly rental costs were $200, you’d receive $300.
How it works
Your first billing week starts the day you pick up the vehicle. Rental charges begin the next day.
You have until Mondays at 4:59 AM to earn enough to cover rental charges. If your earnings don’t cover the rental charges that week, we’ll charge your card on file.
You can track your progress in your weekly breakdown.
To view your weekly rental costs:
- Open the Lyft Driver app.
- Tap the dollar amount at the top of the home screen.
- Tap ‘See weekly breakdown.’
Your rental costs
Your total rental cost won’t be exactly the same every week (though it’ll usually be close).
We calculate your weekly rental costs by adding together:
- Optional damage waiver: A weekly fee that can help cover the cost of damages in case of an accident.
- Base rate: Your weekly vehicle rental fee.
- Rental taxes and fees: Includes applicable state, local, sales, and rental taxes.
- Tolls: Includes tolls you pass through while driving with Lyft and personal use. Once a toll is processed, the charge will be added to the rental amount on Mondays.
- Other fees: Covers a range of other possible charges, such as deep cleaning, refueling, lost keys, etc.
- Mileage: For Flexdrive renters, this will be based on your final rental mileage for the week
To view your weekly rental costs:
- Open the Lyft Driver app.
- Tap the dollar amount at the top of the home screen.
- Tap ‘See weekly breakdown.’
Prorated charges
Your rental costs are automatically prorated when you pick up or return your vehicle during the week.
The Lyft week begins on Mondays at 5 AM.
Example
- You pick up your rental on Thursday.
- Your weekly charges begin on Friday.
- On Monday at 5 AM, your weekly rental charges will be for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
What if my earnings don't cover my costs?
We’ll charge the card you have on file if your earnings don’t cover your weekly rental costs.
Make sure your payment method is up-to-date. You won’t be able to rent with Express Drive if your payment method isn’t valid.
If you're unable to pay your weekly charges, return the rental vehicle to the location you picked it up from to avoid further consequences.
You may be subjected to a recovery fee if you don’t take action once you’ve been notified of an invalid payment method.
Enabling backup payments
Enabling backup payments helps reduce failed charges on your account.
Unless you disable backup payments, you authorize Lyft to use any payment methods you have on file if your primary one fails.
Note: You may have issues renewing your rental or may be asked to return your vehicle if your payment fails.
To disable backup payments, open the Lyft Driver app, then:
- Tap the main menu, then tap ‘Account.’
- Tap ‘Pay and Tax Info.’
- Tap ‘Backup Payments.’
- Toggle ‘Enable backup payments’ off.
To enable backup payments, open the Lyft Driver app, then:
- Tap the main menu, then tap ‘Account.’
- Tap ‘Pay and Tax Info.’
- If you don’t have multiple cards for your payment method, tap ‘Lyft charges’ to add an additional card.
- Tap ‘Backup Payments.’
- Toggle ‘Enable backup payments’ on.
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