Can you use a bank (debit) card at the resorts?

[SerinaEmily]

Anyone know if a debit card would be accepted to settle up at the end of the trip? Or will I need a credit card for any money we go over budget?

 

[dsneygirl]

No you would not be able to pay by "Interac". But they have ATM's everywhere that you can withdraw money from with your Canadian card.

 

[ottawamom]

With all the trouble these days with debit cards I wouldn't chance putting mine into a machine in the US. The fees they charge are going to kill you. Put your overbudget items on your credit card or get a few "Emergency" travellers cheques and use them if you need to. You can always bring the travellers cheques home and use them on your next trip if you don't need them.

 

[Rachael Q]

Depends on which bank you are with. I have RBC Royal Bank, and I was able to use my debit card in Florida in April 06, California in Sept 06 and Seattle in Dec 06 at retailers. The exchange rate was fairly decent and I didn't have to pay fees for withdrawing from an ATM. RBC clients can use their debit cards at any merchant that is a member of the NYCE network. - there are over a million. It's basically just a matter of try and see, or you can check their debit swiper - if it says NYCE then your card will work. Kind of like alot of merchants here in Canada belong to the Moneris newwork.

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/deposits/cross-border-debit.html

it does say there is a 75c fee, but it's included in my package.

 

[Northstar]

With my RBC I paid a reasonable access fee, maybe $2.50 or $3.00 (can't remember) for using the ATM in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you're taking out a big amount to settle your bill, that's not bad, especially if you'd have to pay for traveller's cheques anyway.

It's become easier to use your debit card at retailers in the US recently but it's not a sure thing. Works best if you have a couple different ways to get at your cash so you have backup... traveller's cheques, credit card, debit-card-in-ATM or a stash of plain old green stuff in case the debit card doesn't work at a particular retailer.

 

[calena]

What would be the advantage of using a debit? I use credit all the time because I get points (Airmiles) or cash back (depending on the card) I don't pay for my credit cards or per transaction and I pay my bill in full each month anyway so I like using the credit card. If I use debit I get charged more. Just curious. Deb

 

[SerinaEmily]

We got in trouble with credit cards a few years ago and since then are trying to live without one at all. So far we've been doing ok and have made our reservations with a prepaid card so we have to load it before we spend it.
We're paying for this trip cash only and I just hate having the temptation there to overspend.
So the plan is to bring cash, travellers cheques and maybe either the prepaid credit card with some emergency money on it or just the debit card for emergencies and then pay the transaction fees etc if we need it. By bringing the debit card though I think it would help me view less things as 'emergencies' if its more of a hassle to use kwim?

 

[LindaM]

I found the couple of times I tried using my debit card last May in California, I ran into hassles. The biggest one was our debit cards do not have a visa or mc logo on it.....to me that would mean credit card???? But talking to my Aunt and cousin who live in Phoenix most atm cards have either a visa or mc logo on it (I still don't understand this). When I went shopping there were several stores in California that did not even have the touch pad (to key in your pin #). I was thankful that I'm the travellers cheque kind of person and put all of our money into traveller's cheques, never did use the debit card and only used the credit card twice.

 

[tmli]

There are some banks whose debit cards will work in the US. RBC as some have said and I can't remember which others. I am with BMO and they do not.

I almost always travel with travellers cheques or cash. I put a large amount down when I check in and get that amount as credit on my room key. That way I don't need to carry around alot of cash etc.

 

[dsneygirl]

I found the couple of times I tried using my debit card last May in California, I ran into hassles. The biggest one was our debit cards do not have a visa or mc logo on it.....to me that would mean credit card???? But talking to my Aunt and cousin who live in Phoenix most atm cards have either a visa or mc logo on it (I still don't understand this). When I went shopping there were several stores in California that did not even have the touch pad (to key in your pin #). I was thankful that I'm the travellers cheque kind of person and put all of our money into traveller's cheques, never did use the debit card and only used the credit card twice.

In the US you can get a VISA "cheque card" it looks like a VISA but is tied to your checking account.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I used my TD Green card (Debit card) at many NYCE merchants up and down I-95 on my trip to Disney in June 2006. I did not pay any transaction fees for this.

I used the card at a Walmart in Savannah, GA and it asked if I wanted cash back, so I took 100$ and THAT saved me the 3$ ATM fee.

I did the same thing in Orlando at a Rite-AID. If you have a TD account they do not charge you per transaction and the exchange rate was very much in line with what my credit card charged for the same $ amount. Check with your bank to confirm. I did before my trip.

I never had ONE problem using my card at ANY merchant. Any merchant who accepts a NYCE (New York Cash Exchange) card, accepts your Canadian debit card. Your bank sets the fees and rules for usage.

Canadian Banks participating include:

RBC / National Bank / ScotiaBank / Desjardins / TD Canada / ATB Financial.

BMO is NOT included.

More info is available here..

http://www.nyce.net/consumers/canadian_banks.jsp

Disney hotels and stores however - DO NOT - accept debit cards as payment unless those cards are imprimed with a Visa or MC logo.

What we did last year, was put a cash deposit on our room account so we could use the room keys throughout the resort to pay for meals and incidentals. There was no problem with that.