Disney without credit cards?

[disnutt]

This question was prompted by the car rental without credit card thread. DH and I have dug ourselves out of our credit hole for the last time. This is going to be our 1st major family vacation with everything paid for up front. I took a little trip in Jan for the WDW marathon without using credit- except for the car rental. After reading that it is indeed possible to rent a car without a card I'm going to destroy the card (yes it is a Disney card ) and rent it with the debit card.

My question is has anyone else done WDW or other major vacations without credit? We're saving for a trip to London next and I would love any hints. Let me know if I should post this elsewhere, too.

Thanks,
Kiena

 

[WillCAD]

I did Disney last year without credit cards and found it perfectly doable, except that it severly limits your ability to rent a car. Disney resorts take cash and Disney Dollars in payment, and you can even put down cash or DD$ instead of a credit card to enable room charging on your room keys; I found this very convenient and easy.

Personally, I am seriously considering getting another credit card just to eliminate the rental car hassle. I'd advise you to hold on to that Disney Visa and just put it away in a closet someplace till your trip.

I've never travelled internationally, but I would be pretty nervous about going overseas with no credit card of any kind. Cash and debit cards are fine for most situation, but my natural nervousness would force me to have a credit card if I were going outside the US.

 

[ShariVT]

We have done 3 trips with our debit card because it has a visa logo we have never had a problem and usually use it just like a credit card. We also have dug ourselves out of the credit card debt hole and have no intentions of returning however we do still take our Disney Visa in case of a emergency.
Have a great trip.

 

[raven3517]

After reading that it is indeed possible to rent a car without a card I'm going to destroy the card (yes it is a Disney card ) and rent it with the debit card.

While I can 100% understand about not wanting to use a credit card after digging out from the debt, I would suggest you hold onto the card (or some credit card) to rent your car with, as opposed to your debit card. Debit cards do not offer any benefits that most credit cards will - such as, when renting a car, most of them offer insurance on the car that you rent. Check your credit card benefits package, or call the company for specifics. Considering what is charged for insurance to rent a car, and what you might have to pay if there was an accident, this is usually a good idea.

After you're home, do whatever you want

 

[WDWlover]

We don't have any credit cards because our credit stinks! Fiancee was young and dumb LOL...and I went through a divorce. SO...instead, we went and got the prepaid credit cards. They work just as nice, HOWEVER, we cannot rent a car with them! The car rental places have a way to check the status of your card, so be careful before you cut it up!

 

[celtick8]

We don't use credit cards either. This our first trip renting a car and I looked into this extensively. Call your insurance company and see what coverage you have that maybe applied to the rental.
The only downer is that most rental car companies will put a hold on your card for aset amount of money until you return and then apply your balance to that hold(hope that made sense). I know that here in NJ, Enterprise holds $250 until you return regardless of what your rate is. So you need to budget for that amount. We are renting from Budget and I am sure they will do the same. Hope this helps.

 

[Holly]

We rarely ever use our credit cards, and instead use our Matercard debits for everything.

 

[Drewandwendi]

We are going for 8 days w/out a credit card. We will have it with us for emergencies only (God forbid). If we dont have the cash, we arent buying it! When you use a CC and dont pay it off, think about how much you are ACTUALLY paying for the trip. With a high interest rate, it can really add up. Cash for us!!


Wendi

 

[michellelovesthemous]

I work for a CU and let me tell you the amount of members that have fits when they see a $800.00+ hold on there available funds in there checking account for 7 business days! See, a car rental company can place a hold on the amount of the total cost to rent + any insurance they charge + any taxes = HUGE HASSLE if your not prepared to lose that much of your checking account balance right up front. They may say there not but 9 out of 10 they will and if they say they'll credit it back that credit can take 3-5 business days to show up as well. They want their money yesterday but giving it back is getting blood from a turnip! I wish you all best of luck and pixie dust to I just wanted you all to be forwarned! Have magical trips!
Michelle

 

[racheleich]

You discussed traveling to England - that will involve exchange rates once you are over there. While you are able to exchange traveler's checks and cash for pounds (or the currency of where else you are going), you will get a better exchange rate using a credit card (because they are able to negotiate better rates). The best route to go is to use a credit card when traveling abroad.

Also, as previously posted, please be aware of the hold that car rental agencies and hotels will put on your bank account funds if you use a debit card for reservations. Unless you have a lot of extra money in your account, you could end-up bouncing checks or other charges (and being charged fees on those transactions) - Much too costly - use a credit card instead and just put those funds aside in your budget.

 

[CinderellasMama]

One other thing about debit cards is that some have limits as to what you can charge per day. Mine has a $500 limit. I found this out when I was buying airline tickets for trip. I got around it by putting 2 tickets on my Visa debit and 1 ticket on DH's since we have different numbers for the same account. We don't have a major credit card either because of some major mistakes on both our parts but are trying to repair it. We plan on taking a certain amount of cash using our debit cards for the rest.

Two years ago when we were going to Las Vegas and didn't have a Visa debit, I had my sister reserve a room for us using hers. The computer messed up when they were running it and the girl kept running it through trying to get it to work. Well it went through 5 times!!! Of course it takes days for them to correct the error and my sister was out that money until it was fixed. Her house payment was trying to come through and she didn't have the money in her account for it. Thank goodness we live in a small town and know the people at the bank because they processed her house payment and didn't charge any overdraft fees. You just have to be careful with debit cards.

Brenda

 

[disneychrista]

Every trip I take I have the money upfront to pay for it. I do however use credit cards to pay for things while there and pay it off when we get home, just because it is easier then having to deal with cash etc.

 

[CarolA]

I have traveled to Europe several times and I think it could be done without a Credit card, but if you have one I would take it. (One suggestion I have seen is to put into a baggie filled with water and freeze it) YOu have to unthaw it to use it so you could just unthaw before you went to London.

smaller hotels in Europe actually like cash, but I like to have a back up in case the ATM machine eats my debit card. (Happened in Istanbul!)

 

[alisonbestford]

We're in the UK and were recently in WDW.
We took a credit card, as I'd now be a little nervous to travel without one, to use for emergencies ie 6 year old DD's medical bill for an ear infection .
We did use it once or twice otherwise but only after I'd put aside the travellers cheques to pay it back once we got home.
I certainly wouldn't destroy it - peace of mind is essential on holiday
Alison

 

[JoannaOhio]

My daughter discovered another tip for using a credit card overseas. Check the fine print on the back of your card. If it was issued by MBNA, you can use it in any country, and you won't pay an extra fee for having the funds exchanged from their currency into dollars. Most other companies do charge a fee for this service.

 

[Disney Debbie]

I would definitely hold on to that card for the reasons stated by the other posters. My parents travel to Europe quite a bit (in fact they're on their way to Italy right now) and they've found it much easier and safer to use their credit card. They get a better rate and they don't have to worry about carrying around a lot of money. I've read too many horror stories - some here on the DIS - about people who used a debit card at hotels and had a HUGE amount put on "hold" - like they normally do with credit card - but it's tying up your actual money. Plus I've read about people getting charged double and triple times by accident - something that isn't nearly as big a problem to deal with on a credit card as it is on a debit card!

However - you are obviously concerned about getting back in a hole so I'd keep a small notebook handy on the trip and keep up with my expenses that way so you know you aren't overspending. Then pay that credit card bill as soon as you get home - don't wait for the bill to come - go ahead and pay what you know you've spent.

Also as far as rental cars go - and I may be wrong about this - can't you give them a credit card for them to put their hold on it - but actually pay the bill in cash? I'd ask about that - that way it isn't such a hassle to rent a car but you aren't worried about using your card either.

 

[MrsPete]

Credit cards aren't the problem -- the problem is overspending. You know how good it feels to be out from under the burden of credit card debt, so promise yourself you'll never go there again. Go ahead and use your card to rent the car, but make sure you have the money to pay the bill when you get back home.

 

[disnutt]

I may have to keep the card for travel. The notebook idea for writing things down reminded me that my debit card has a little paper sleeve to protect it. I'm going to ask my bank for a few of these so I can wrap my card in it when I travel. The act of 'unwrapping' my debit card always makes me pause a moment so I'm sure unwrapping my dangerous credit card will give me pause. Plus I can write my spending limit on the card and then keep a ledger of my expenses (in really tiny print) on the sleeve.

I'm going to freeze the card or lock it away between trips. Things can take on emergency status if the credit card is available far too easily. I'll try the card for this trip and see how it goes. DH and I are committed to not using it if we don't have the cash in the account anyway. If we can't handle it I'll burn the sucker (outside my hotel room) to protect us.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

For what it's worth, I would at least take a credit card with you for large purchases for security.

I've posted this story several times here so here's a shortened version...I was paying for my room with my Visa check/debit card thing. You know the kind of card that is directly attached to your checking account? Disney's system malfunctioned and debited the $800 not once, not twice, but THREE times. This money was being drawn from my secondary checking account, where all of my vacation spending money had been saved. It overdrew on the account which caused even more fees.

It took me over a month to get it all sorted out, get access to my money again, and get the fees reversed.

From telling this story, I've found out quite a few friends and family members have had similiar experiences when trying to charge a big item with a debit card/visa check card. (I was using mine as a visa at the time; but from what I understand, it does not make a difference if you use the debit or charge funtion, it all draws from the same source...debits can have monetary limits each day though)

Now I always charge anything over $50 with a regular credit card so if it screws up and charges the card a bunch of times, I have protection and am not tying up my cash in my checking account while I wait weeks to have it fixed. As long as you have the cash to pay it right off when you get home, it's a much safer/better option IMO.

 

[pezpam]

Credit cards aren't the problem -- the problem is overspending. You know how good it feels to be out from under the burden of credit card debt, so promise yourself you'll never go there again. Go ahead and use your card to rent the car, but make sure you have the money to pay the bill when you get back home.

Or, if you've been saving up the money, you might consider sending it to the credit card *before* your trip instead of after. You'll still have to keep track of your spending so you don't go over your budget, but you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that it's already paid for. You also won't be as tempted to spend your cash and then use the card on top of that.