Cash vs. Debit Card

[PinballTrojan]

This is the family's first trip to WDW. Me DW, DD 8, DS 4. I've done all the planning since last summer. Lurking in this forum most work days, I've learned a ton. Staying at CSR 10/6-1/13, MYW plus dining, 7 DPH to get the full effect.

My question is how much cash should I take to Disney?
Trip is paid in full from making monthy payments, and we're on the DP so I would think I could just use my Debit card for souveneirs and adult beverages.....??

Any help for this planning father of 2 would be greatly appreciated !!

 

[MomofKatie]

You really don't need to carry much cash at WDW- you can use debit cards or link your room key card to a cc or debit card and use that to charge with. The only time we used cash was for tipping a dollar here and there (valet parking, bellhops, airport baggage carriers, Mousekeeping) and for the very few carts around the parks that are cash only (we only saw 2- a popcorn cart and a Mickey bar cart). We also carried quarters and shiny pennies for the pressed penny machines.

 

[MomofKatie]

As for cash for the kids, we like to get DD Disney Dollars or the Disney Gift Card- she likes having her own money to spend (we hold on to it for her, though, so she won't lose it). she brings around $50 for a weeklong trip, and can spend it on whatever she wants. She is careful with it- she really researches before she decides on what she wants (and we don't hear all the "Mom-can-I-have"s all week). She earns her own $$ throughout the year and saves up for our vacations.

 

[*Emily*]

Just make sure to have some cash on you for the "necessities", most (if not all, can't quite remember) of those wonderful adult beverage kiosk/carts in EPCOT only take cash

 

[PinballTrojan]

Thanks for the info, that's what I was looking for. So I can charge anything at Disney with my room key that is tied to my debit card at the front desk, correct...?

That's helpful. I just didn't want to have a wad of cash in my pocket that I would possible lose.

Thanks again.

 

[hazeyc]

There are a few things to remember when using a debit card vs a credit card.

1) Your debit card is subject to the bank's daily withdrawl limit.

2) Debit cards can potentially cost you money after a set number of charges in a month.

3) Some establishments put a money hold on your debit card causing your available balance to be lower than you anticipate. Think room deposits, or I even heard a story about gas purchases too.

4) Your ability to dispute charges may be limited.

5) With a debit card you pay for everything that moment, with a credit card you get a float on your money and pay it later.

6) If your debit card is also a credit card and is used as a credit card only point # 2) does not apply.

7) If you carry a balance on your credit card, what you charge may incur a finance charge.

Be thoughtful as to what is best to use for your situation.


Hope this helps!

 

[dburg30]

Number 3 above is why we use credit cards instead of debit cards for vacations. I dont have to worry about my 'real' money being tied up for car rentals / hotels / gas etc etc in case of holds for more then the amount. When we get home we just pay the CC online and are done with it (well unless we have a LOT of fun, then our trip may cost us a month or 2 more in payments)

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

I think most things at DW can be charged to your master account and then you just pay at the end.

Just a word of advice, take another credit card with you for possible emergency use. I had a friend who was renting a car and for some reason the lines to her bank were down and her debit card wouldn't work, she didn't have a different credit card on her, so she had to get ahold of a relative to charge the car to because they also wouldn't take cash. Also, we ended up having our flight cancelled due to bad weather and had to fly home to an airport about 4 hours away instead of waiting 2 days to get out of MCO. So we ended up in a hotel for the night and having to rent a car. I will never travel without an extra credit card on hand.

 

[PinballTrojan]

That's a great point Johnson, thanks.

As far as drinks / snacks in the park or souveniers where ever I am as long as I'm on "Disney Property" I can charge it to my room where they will charge my card...?

 

[EpcotLove]

Yeah when I used my debit card last sept in WDW, it was insane. My bank statement was like Walt Disney World blah blah blah ALL the way down, it was quite funny- and insane at all the purchases (between food, entertainment, and other stuff).

I don't like to carry around cash, mostly because I never take out enough, and to carry THAT much cash with you- isn't a smart idea. So just check with your bank and make sure your card is okay, and there isn't going to be any suprises.

 

[ZoZo]

There are a few things to remember when using a debit card vs a credit card.

1) Your debit card is subject to the bank's daily withdrawl limit.

2) Debit cards can potentially cost you money after a set number of charges in a month.

3) Some establishments put a money hold on your debit card causing your available balance to be lower than you anticipate. Think room deposits, or I even heard a story about gas purchases too.

4) Your ability to dispute charges may be limited.

5) With a debit card you pay for everything that moment, with a credit card you get a float on your money and pay it later.

6) If your debit card is also a credit card and is used as a credit card only point # 2) does not apply.

7) If you carry a balance on your credit card, what you charge may incur a finance charge.

Be thoughtful as to what is best to use for your situation.


Hope this helps!

For me, the most important thing to remember about a debit card is that it is tied directly to your credit card. This exposes you to risk if your card is lost or stolen -- especially if you don't notice right away that it's gone. (Each credit union or bank has its own policy about how much you owe if a thief uses your card, depending on how soon you report it lost/stolen.)

So I never take my debit card with me on vacation. This trip, I plan to use a prepaid American Express or Visa travelers check card. Works the same as travelers checks, but the money is pre-loaded onto one card that you use like a debit card. If it's lost or stolen, you can get a replacement (just like travelers checks). Much more peace of mind for me. I also plan to take a credit card as a back-up.

Because I stay at Shades of Green, we don't have charging privileges on our room. Plus, We have a party of four unrelated adults staying in the same suite, so it would be easier if we didn't charge to our room (even if we could!), since it would be hard to figure out whose charges are whose.

 

[CleveRocks]

There's some information floating around above regarding WDW and debit cards and room charges that I'd like to clarify and clear up.

I think most things at DW can be charged to your master account and then you just pay at the end.

Just for clarification for others ....

You can choose to set up a room charge when you check-in. But otherwise, there is no automatic "master account" at a WDW resort. Unlike almost every other hotelier in the USA, WDW resorts do not require that you give them a credit/debit card imprint at check-in for "incidentals" or anything like that. Packages are already paid for, room-onlys must be paid in full at time of check-in. Either way, from the instant you get your room key you owe Disney nothing, and they don't require any further cash or charge from you.
And there's no such thing as a "credit card on file" or anything like that.

You can choose to set up a room charge (they will ask if you want to). It's totally voluntary. You can back up the room charge with a credit card, debit card (with VISA/MC logo), travelers checks, cash, even Disney Dollars.

Room charge is accepted almost everywhere in the parks and resorts (adult beverage kiosks in World Showcase and roving toy vendors in front of and behind parades notwithstanding). Some places in Downtown Disney accept room charge and some don't.

Each level of resort has an upper limit for room charges. At Values it's $500, at Moderates it's $1K, and at Deluxes it's $1.5K. You can set a room charge limit lower than the allowable upper limit, if you choose. After you reach your limit, you can simply set up another room charge (which can be conveniently done by phone). In other words, it's not like someone staying at a Value resort is limited to room charging only a total of $500 during their entire stay.

Some establishments put a money hold on your debit card causing your available balance to be lower than you anticipate. Think room deposits, or I even heard a story about gas purchases too.

Not at WDW resorts. They absolutely do not do this. No hold. No pre-charging. They don't even check to see if you have enough money in your account to cover the room charge limit you set up!

I'm not saying that you, hazeyc, said that WDW definitely places a hold on cards. But I quoted this because it's a very common misconception that WDW does it, and I wanted to take the opportunity to point out that WDW resorts place NO HOLD on debit cards or credit cards.

Yeah when I used my debit card last sept in WDW, it was insane. My bank statement was like Walt Disney World blah blah blah ALL the way down, it was quite funny- and insane at all the purchases (between food, entertainment, and other stuff).

I chose to avoid that record keeping boondoggle by backing up my room charge with my debit card rather than using my debit card directly. At the end of my trip, I had one single charge on my debt card rather than 47 little ones.

At any time, you can go to your resort's front desk and request a printout of your room charge activity. It will detail the total puchase, the location, date, time, and number of card (each room key has a number -- this way, you can pinpoint exactly who in your party made the charge). You wll automatically receive such a printout on your check-out day. As long as you still have space remaining under the room charge limit, you can continue to use room charge on your entire day of check-out, even after you check out.

 

[DznyDreamz]

The policy may have changed since my last visit, but I thought you could also leave a debt/credit at check in to use your room key for charging and then pay off the balance with a personal check at check out. No finance fees there!

On another note, does anyone know if you can charge cab rides back to the resort? I've been able to do this with car services in major cities and am wondering if you can do the same within WDW.

 

[jojo14]

Here's a kind of silly question. If you put your credit card on your room key, so you also need to show picture id every time you use it? I'm hoping to just bring my key to parks etc., but would hate to get stuck!!

Thanks!

 

[CleveRocks]

Here's a kind of silly question. If you put your credit card on your room key, so you also need to show picture id every time you use it? I'm hoping to just bring my key to parks etc., but would hate to get stuck!!

Thanks!

No ID necessary. In fact, the only ID I've carried with me has been my Key To The World card.

 

[CleveRocks]

The policy may have changed since my last visit, but I thought you could also leave a debt/credit at check in to use your room key for charging and then pay off the balance with a personal check at check out. No finance fees there!

You can pay off your balance any time before the resort actually charges your plastic. Since they reconcile room charge accounts in the wee wee wee morning hours of your check-out day, get to the front desk the night before. Your card would also automatically be charged when you reach your room charge limit.

On another note, does anyone know if you can charge cab rides back to the resort? I've been able to do this with car services in major cities and am wondering if you can do the same within WDW.

I have no first-hand knowledge if local taxis take credit cards, but this being 2007 I'll assume they do. Hopefully someone else knows the answer to this.

I'm assuming you mean a credit card and not a room charge!

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

Depending on how much souveniers you plan to buy and the adult beverages can be expensive if you have many, over the coarse of your stay. You can put money in envelopes to leave for mousekeeping before you go and just leave one out each day, I'm planning on doing this to avoid searching for the right bills before we head out to the parks. With the ddp your tips are included (for 2007, not 2008) so you don't need to tip extra unless you've had exceptional service or you just like to tip more. We are also doing the ddp I will set up my credit card with the keys of the world card and probably only spend about $200 over the coarse of our 6 day trip but I will also bring about $200 to $300 in cash in case we'd rather use cash at times we don't buy many souvies maybe a couple t-shirts and a couple of little things and don't forget the refillable mugs if you plan on purchasing at CSR I believe they are about $12 each. I also sent ahead a box with cereal and some snacks so we don't need purchase another counter service for breakfast each day and save some $ and some time in the am. Hope you enjoy your trip we will be a CSR in 6 days I can't wait. Linda

 

[DznyDreamz]

I'm assuming you mean a credit card and not a room charge!

I did mean charge back to my room. I've been able to do that at other resorts when I have the concierge call me a taxi or town car and they just charge back to the resort and its settled along with other charges.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

2) Debit cards can potentially cost you money after a set number of charges in a month.

I work in a Bank and have never seen any "cost" for using your debit card over a certain amount of time during the month. My dd is a college student and uses her debit card unlimited times during a day (hates to carry cash) and has no extra cost to her at all. At most places your debit card can be run through as a credit card (you sign instead of putting in your PIN number) and sometimes the funds come out immediately, other times it may take a day or two. If you have online banking you can always check your balance to see what's happening.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[contemp_mj]