Has this been asked 1000 times?

[joshsmom]

I hope not. And no, this is not a pool-hopping or mug question! I emailed Disney, but haven't heard back so thought I would post here to see if anyone coul tell me.

We're going to WDW on 5/23 and staying at ASMo. I know you can link your room key to a credit card and then use the key all over the Kingdom for food, souveniers, etc. My question is: can you link the room key to a DEBIT CARD that is ALSO a Visa card?? I would much rather use my debit card and bank account than my actual credit card. Can someome please shed some light on this for me? Many thanks!

 

[*Fantasia*]

You certainly can tie your room key with your debit card. I do it all the time, no problem there!

 

[kandmwedding]

I've never done it myself, but I don't see why they couldn't. Working at a bank I can tell you that anywhere a Visa card is accepted your Visa-based debit card should be accepted as well. What will probably happen (because this is how they do it with credit cards) is that they'll put a temporary hold on your card for a specific amount that varies depending on where you're staying (anywhere from $500 to $1500). Once you've actually charged to that level they'll go ahead and process the charge and set up another temporary hold. Nothing to worry about from your bank's end as the correct amounts will get processed through whether you actually hit the temporary amount or not. This is actually done all the time when you purchase gas with your debit card. Just make sure you've got enough in your checking account to cover the amount of the temporary hold so that if you decide to use the card somewhere else, have checks clearing, or need to get cash from the ATM you'll still have funds to access.

 

[landmark]

Yes. We always use our debit card. It also has the mastercard logo. The only thing you need to check on is your limit. Some debit cards have a lower limit like 500 a day which means if you are going to use it to pay for your hotel stay make sure you call your bank so that if your hotel bill is more than your limit you can raise it. Otherwise, they've never seemed to notice a difference and processed it exactly as they would a credit card including making credits back to the card for overpayment.

 

[joshsmom]

You guys have made my night!!! Everything (hotel, transportation, etc.) is already paid for so I will be using it solely for food and fun!!! I am SO happy I don't have to use a CC, because I HATE the interest!! Thank you SO much for you speedy replies--I will be able to sleep well tonight now! Have to do my happy banana dance:

 

[lvlurker]

Although you can do this, as mentioned above, be aware of any holds that may be placed on the account (as it may decrease your available checking balance for several days). I am not certain how Disney works with billing, but you may want to consider putting a credit card on file, and then switching to the debit card to settle the final bill.

 

[safetymom]

At least with my Visa debit card there was no hold put on it when I used it for room charging.

 

[bethbuchall]

You guys have made my night!!! Everything (hotel, transportation, etc.) is already paid for so I will be using it solely for food and fun!!! I am SO happy I don't have to use a CC, because I HATE the interest!! Thank you SO much for you speedy replies--I will be able to sleep well tonight now! Have to do my happy banana dance:

Most credit cards have a 25 day grace period with no interest charged if you pay it off in full every month. We never pay interest on any of our credit cards.

 

[BethC1952]

I have never had a hold placed on my debit card while staying at WDW. (I have had to check my "available balance" on occasion, and know that the amount available did not reflect any holds or charges from WDW). I do have to remember to ask my bank to raise the limit, because it has a very low daily limit. If you have to have the limit raised, make sure you ask the bank a couple of days ahead, because some financial institutions don't do it the same day.


Beth