Visa debit cards or Visa gift cards?

[Meagansmom]

I am curious if anyone has used either of these two cards? I am thinking of maybe using part of one of these cards instead of carrying a larger portion of travellers checks. It sure would be easier just to carry the card. Has there been any problems using them? Can you use them anywhere Visa is used? I know they can't be used like at the little stands but anywhere else? Thanks for any info.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I purchased a visa gift card for DS for christmas at my credit union. I was told it could be used anywhere visa is used with the exception of on line gambling and paying at the gas pump. He didn't use it at disney but for other purchase and said he never encountered any problems. I'm not sure if they all work the same but I was told they do incurr a non use fee after 6 months(momthly) and it was non reloadable. Susan

 

[Shelby5514]

I had a few of these that I used at the Disney Store to buy Disney Dollars for our trip. I didn't want to have to keep track of the balances while on vacation. Also keep in mind, if you need to return an item purchased with one of these cards, most retailers will refund it to the card. So don't throw them away when you have a $0 balance, you may need it later.

 

[philaround]

We have used a combination of cash, travelers checks, and Visa debit card on all of our trips since 2004. Between cash and travelers checks I usualy take $400 to $500. When staying at a Disney resort I just present my Visa debit card at check in and have charging added to my room key and then leave my debit card locked in the room safe for my stay. If for some reason I need to have more cash before my departure I just use one of the ATM machines located at every resort and in the parks.

 

[MyDreamIsAWish]

I had a Visa gift card we used when we went at Christmas time.
We used it in some of the shops in WDW...and honestly, none of the cashiers knew how to use it!
It says "Debit card" on the front...but you run it like a credit card, (You don't have a pin with it, being a gift card)
It caused confusion.
Finally, in one candy shop...I told the confused girl...run it like a credit card, it will work fine.
They all acted like they had never seen one.
I have a small balance on mine, and we keep it in the car for quick drink stops to Sonic after the kids get out of school.
Just thought I'd let you know what I encountered with using mine at WDW.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We were hoping to use our Visa check/debit card for almost everything on our trip to WDW and on our cruise on RCCL. However when I tried to book a rentla car it said that if we use our debit card when we pick up the car they hold the full amount plus an extra 15%, plus they do a credit check!!! I really don't want that much $ being held from my checking account...oh what to do! We try not to use cc and only even have 1 for emergencies.

 

[Meagansmom]

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[Traveliz]

I had a Visa gift card we used when we went at Christmas time.
We used it in some of the shops in WDW...and honestly, none of the cashiers knew how to use it!
It says "Debit card" on the front...but you run it like a credit card, (You don't have a pin with it, being a gift card)
It caused confusion.
Finally, in one candy shop...I told the confused girl...run it like a credit card, it will work fine.
They all acted like they had never seen one.
I have a small balance on mine, and we keep it in the car for quick drink stops to Sonic after the kids get out of school.
Just thought I'd let you know what I encountered with using mine at WDW.

Wow that is not my experience - I have use my Visa Debit card for years at Disney - for everything and I don't recall ever encountering a comment! Now at home I often have to say run it like credit - but I have never had to at Disney.

Liz

 

[Pryncess'mom]

Loveysbydesign, I use my debit card to rent cars and don't have any problems. But I only use Alamo. I just have to show proof of return flight ( I use my flight confirmation). I have never had any problem. I use my debit around home ALL the time. I hardly ever use cash anymore. Some places put it through as a credit card, others as debit. (Just remember it takes several days to post to your account when used as credit) I am planning on using it next month when we go to Disney!

My DH says it a wonder my card isn't melted, it has been swiped so much!!

deb

 

[keishashadow]

Beware of carrying your bank debit card, especially if you are floating a large balance.

When I worked @ a bank, we were told to never sign the back of any card (credit or otherwise) but, to write (in ink) "see photo identification". Of course, you must carry a photo id to use the card.

Yes, if the card is reported stolen, you are only liable for a token amount...but, you also have lost the use of the card until it is replaced - not fun on vacation.

Additionally, many of the pre-paid VISA cards can only be "loaded" with a certain amount of money & have similar restrictions on how much you can withdraw per day. A few even charge a service fee after a few months of inactivity. Would be a good idea to research the particulars of the card before you purchase.

We're seriously considering going back to the old-fashioned Traveler's Checks that our AAA office provides for free.

 

[loveysbydesign]

My DH says it a wonder my card isn't melted, it has been swiped so much!!

I hear ya!!!! I use mine sooooo much that my 3 y.o. dd gets it out of my wallet and pretends she's swiping it while saying, "debit please"-LOL!!!!

My dh and I were thinking of opening up a checking account for just our trip $ so that we don't dip into our $ for our bills while were away...then we would just get visa debit/credit/ckeck cards for that account that we would use just for vacation. Anyone ever done this before?

 

[seashoreCM]

Almost all (I want to say "All...") debit cards with credit card logos e.g. Visa will swipe and work like credit cards and you sign the receipt.

Some stores ask "credit or debit" because it costs them less in fees to process debit cards using your PIN instead of your signature.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Wendaeh]

We used a Visa debit gift card on our trip in Dec -- be careful when using it for food. We used it at restaurants, and your available balance is affected by a surcharge of 15% (in case you don't leave a tip ).

We had about $100 on one card near the end of our trip (according to my calculations). At Ohana, we were paying the remainder of our balance (drinks, since we had the DP), when I realized our server had overcharged us. She took the card back to credit it, then charged it again. The first time was $40, the second, say $20. My available balance as of that night was $31, since they had $69 in pending transactions that night ($60 in the 2 transactions, PLUS 15%). I called Commerce Bank (where I got the Visa), and they said it would take 3 days to have it credited (which is when the transactions would be posted). To get credit back immediately, I had to call POLY, and have them fax a letter stating that the first transaction was in error, and that they would not be looking for the additional 15% on either transaction. We did get it back -- but then I started really watching how it was used (calling to get the most recent transactions and available balance), and even when I bought cinnamon rolls in the food court, the extra 15% was taken from my available balance.

Not sure I would use it for food again -- maybe just gifts.

Wendy

 

[ZoZo]

Wow that is not my experience - I have use my Visa Debit card for years at Disney - for everything and I don't recall ever encountering a comment! Now at home I often have to say run it like credit - but I have never had to at Disney.

Liz

I think this person was talking about a Visa gift card, not a debit card. They do look/"act" differently than debit cards, hence the confusion by the salespeople.

 

[NancyIL]

I use a good old fashioned...CREDIT CARD!

 

[DisneyTarheel]

I am not a fan of debit cards. With a credit card, if a charge shows up that I want to dispute, the cash is still sitting in my bank account while it is being handled. Not so with a debit card.

 

[caribear]

I would avoid the visa/amex or any other type of gift card except for the Disney gift card. As a merchandise cm I see this all of the time....I am ringing up a guest and their gift card is declined, but they say there is money on the card. Let's say there is $5 on the card, but the transaction is $5.25.....most gift cards will be declined because there is not enough to cover the total cost. So now the guest has to find all of their receipts to check on the balance of their card or call an 800#. Basically, you need to keep track of everything you spend, so you know how much is on your card at all times.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

My dh and I were thinking of opening up a checking account for just our trip $ so that we don't dip into our $ for our bills while were away...then we would just get visa debit/credit/ckeck cards for that account that we would use just for vacation. Anyone ever done this before?

I did this for my last trip, and it worked beautifully for me. I have both accounts at the same bank, and one is for my day-to-day stuff, bills, student loan payments, etc. The other is my Disney account, and I ordered Disney checks for it, and put a small Mickey Mouse sticker on the Visa debit/credit/check card so I could tell the two apart. Each month when I paid the bills, I'd transfer my allotted "Disney savings" money into the Disney account. When I had enough in the account for the trip, I used that account to book it and pay for everything - tickets, hotel, airfare, etc. I took cash from that account on the trip, and then used my Visa debit/credit card for most of the other expenses (meals, souviners, etc).

This said, it does take some careful planning, and I did need to be aware of how much was in the account and how much I was spending while we were at WDW. I did this by saving all of the receipts each day in a ziplock baggie and then tallying them at the end of the day. It was very easy, and just took a couple minutes. DH suggested that next time we try tracking the costs with a program like Quicken on a PDA - I think he just wants to be a techno-geek and have a toy to play with in line for the next ride!

I really liked doing the trip this way rather than putting it on a credit card (which I have done in the past) because I knew that I wasn't paying any interest fees - the cost of the trip was the cost of the trip, and there were no hidden charges from my bank or a credit card company.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I did this for my last trip, and it worked beautifully for me. I have both accounts at the same bank, and one is for my day-to-day stuff, bills, student loan payments, etc. The other is my Disney account, and I ordered Disney checks for it, and put a small Mickey Mouse sticker on the Visa debit/credit/check card so I could tell the two apart. Each month when I paid the bills, I'd transfer my allotted "Disney savings" money into the Disney account. When I had enough in the account for the trip, I used that account to book it and pay for everything - tickets, hotel, airfare, etc. I took cash from that account on the trip, and then used my Visa debit/credit card for most of the other expenses (meals, souviners, etc).

Thanks for your input!!! I think that's what we're going to do...that way we don't accidently use $ that we have set aside to be autamatically deducted for bills while were away!

 

[MyDreamIsAWish]

I think this person was talking about a Visa gift card, not a debit card. They do look/"act" differently than debit cards, hence the confusion by the salespeople.

Exactly! That's what I meant. It was a gift card my Sister gave us for Christmas.
I'm serious, every store we went in, they were totally confused. I wonder why it says "Debit" card on the front? That's where the confusion comes in at. There is no pin number since it's a gift card.

I use our normal Debit card for everything, car rentals, etc....works perfectly.