Would you pay cash or use a debit card to pay for a hotel?

[gator75]

Here is a little background.

Bout a month ago i had some fraud occour on a credit card of mine. Well the after math of this has been long. I have gotten alot of it cleared up but the thing about it is that it sent a fraud alert out to the rest of my cards. Therefor i have credit availible but it isn't always reliable because sometimes when i use my card it is declined due to the fraud alert.

So the question is next weekend we are going to a hotel and i don't know how my cards will react with us traveling so to avoid a hassel would you use my debit card for the hotel and yes i have plenty in my acc or would you pay cash? also if you have paid with debit cards before let me know your experience.

 

[jmartinez1895]

If your card can be used as a credit card then you will have no trouble and I'd just let them run it. Almost all hotels will require a credit card to be put on the account, but they wil not charge it unless you damage the room or order room service.

 

[dbarker]

Definitely use cash. Maybe Travelers' Checks (if you can get them from your bank cheap / free).

Also, alert your bank and your CC companies of your travel itineries. That might help w/ some of the hassles.

Good luck. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Leajess99]

Be advised that most hotel chains add an additional charge of $50 or so to debit cards and they cannot force the bank to release those funds immediatelly. All of the chains we stay at have this posted now.

I would contact your credit card companies to inform them of your travel itinerary.

 

[Sadie22]

I have had fraud on a credit card, the card has been cancelled and a new one issued, and no future problems. I do notify the credit card company in advance when I am planning to travel or make an unusually large charge. A fraud alert to credit reporting agencies normally affects new credit. The fact that a credit card company will question some unusual charges may be that company's antifraud procedures, not the fact that a fraud alert was placed against your credit report. Call the credit card company before you travel, and then go ahead and use the card. Be thankful they have these procedures in place to prevent even more hassles for you.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have found that if I am going to make unusual expenditures, or going to an area where I normally don't travel, I will alert my card company in advance.

 

[cjackearl]

We used a debit card a couple of weeks ago at a fairly expensive hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. A PP is correct, they put a hold on an extra $50, which in our case wasn't released for almost a full week. Two other issues w/ using a debit card: 1. Our bank, and I'm assuming some others as well, only allow $500 per day to be put on the debit card. I never put that much on the card per day, so I didn't think about it being a problem before we checked in. The front desk clerk told me that my card had been declined when she went to preauthorize both nights of our stay. I then panicked, thinking my account had been drained by some sleaze ball. A quick call to the bank before we left would have increased the spending cap. The hotel fixed the problem by charging the card on 2 different days, but then inadvertently charged us for a third day, which leads to the second possible problem: 2. If there is an error in the charging of your debit card, you are out "actual" money. We had the extra in our account and weren't relying on using it for anything, which is good since it wasn't released to us for 6 days, but it was annoying.

If you're going to use a debit card, make sure you have extra sitting in the account, just in case, and call your issuing bank and inform them of your travel plans.

 

[lizabu]

Be advised that most hotel chains add an additional charge of $50 or so to debit cards and they cannot force the bank to release those funds immediatelly. All of the chains we stay at have this posted now.

I would contact your credit card companies to inform them of your travel itinerary.

We used a debit card a couple of weeks ago at a fairly expensive hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. A PP is correct, they put a hold on an extra $50, which in our case wasn't released for almost a full week. Two other issues w/ using a debit card: 1. Our bank, and I'm assuming some others as well, only allow $500 per day to be put on the debit card. I never put that much on the card per day, so I didn't think about it being a problem before we checked in. The front desk clerk told me that my card had been declined when she went to preauthorize both nights of our stay. I then panicked, thinking my account had been drained by some sleaze ball. A quick call to the bank before we left would have increased the spending cap. The hotel fixed the problem by charging the card on 2 different days, but then inadvertently charged us for a third day, which leads to the second possible problem: 2. If there is an error in the charging of your debit card, you are out "actual" money. We had the extra in our account and weren't relying on using it for anything, which is good since it wasn't released to us for 6 days, but it was annoying.

If you're going to use a debit card, make sure you have extra sitting in the account, just in case, and call your issuing bank and inform them of your travel plans.

Yes. Don't use a debit card if you have another option. It can take up to 30 days to get those held funds back.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

I would use it, but have them run it as credit. Call the CC companies and remind them that you are going to be out of town and would like full access to at least one of your cards. I see no reason this cannot be done.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

For the past 5 years I have been doing a lot of traveling w/ my dd for cheer and dance and while I tend to stay at the same chain often times I am not able to but their policies are pretty much the same. I made the decision to pay cash a couple of times for stays b/c I didn't want money lingering in my account. On both occasions the hotel asked for a cc to put a security hold on my account which I was fine w/ assuming it was only going to be for the 50 dollars that however is not what they did they put a hold on my account for the entire amount of my stay as well as security deposit which basically left me out of my money in my account as well as cash the first time it happened my dh was at work and my parents were w/ us the second time my dh was home and it was stressful both times. Not to mention it took over a week for the funds to be available in my account again. I don't have cc's only my debit card and my dh and I have separate accounts so I pay for the room from my account and then I either have cash on hand for everything else or when my dh is home he pays for everything else w/ his card.

You may want to choose the card you will use for you hotel and contact them before you leave and make arrangements with them regarding your stay and for how much.

 

[SandrA9810]

We recently stayed at Lake Tahoe, and were "authorized" for $50 per night of the stay. It didn't take long for the hold to come off, but it still seemed redundant. Disney is one of the few places you can pay cash at check in. The only thing they ask is if you would like to place a credit card on file for express check out. If there's any room charges, they'll charge your card. If not, nothing happens. They just slip the check out letter under your door. If you don't leave a CC, then you have to go to the front desk in the morning.

Just remember, if there's an authorized hold on the account, it's up to the bank when they'll release it back to you, not the merchant that put it on there. We weren't concerned about the $150 hold, and it was nice we knew there'd be at least that much money in the account when we got home.