motels refusing cash ???????? (passport, old, credit card, driving)

[eureka1]

You'd be foolish to assume that.

[spiritbear928]

why is that? If Europeans prefer cash

[spiritbear928]

I got into a bit of an argument with the GM of the motel I was referring to via email. When I told her the practice of declining a debit card was offensive and though we loved the place will never be back, i dont think she will respond

[spiritbear928]

Declining a debit card as in I cant stay another day cause their hold over limited my real credit card and I dont have enough real credit to hold another day. I didnt try but I knew they would deny me due to the sign. The GM confirmed they have a no debit card must be a real credit card policy. That is pure discrimination. Say what you want, you either have to be rich or lucky to have perfect and I mean perfect credit in these times. Normal people have slight dings due to life happening. My credit is passable but not great therefore my limits are low. to have a real vacation with these draconian policies one would need at least a 10k limit. I wonder if they would take 4 or 5 low limit cards at once. Also why should we have to pay interest or even support evil bankers to rent a motel. whats up with that. I realize debit cards are semi evil but at least normal people can get them. What the heck. I make more than the median income in a very expensive part of the country yet life happens. Sometimes I need a vacation and if I have several thousand dollars saved for it I should be able to spend it gosh darn it. If this evil policy mushrooms the way most evil policies do I guess I will have to save thousands and fork it over for a secured card.I want to go Europe in 3 years. Not enough time to perfect credit that was wrecked in 08 due to a job loss and is now up to a 618 score.

[spiritbear928]

I think the fact I have a credit card yet still think this is evil is part of the point. Even when I get that 10k limit I will stay steer clear of people who barf on the little guy. Kinda like I steer clear of motels that demand you be 21 to rent. I dont make a big deal out of it anymore now that I am nearly 40 but if given the choice I will go elsewhere. I almost ended up freezing to death (quite literally) due to that Draconian policy when I was 19

[spiritbear928]

One more than I will shut up. My thinking is based on 300 dollars held per day for two weeks. So to take a two week vacation I would need 4200 in CREDIT. Now I might have 10000 in my bank account accessible via my Visa enabled debit card but I have no way to turn that into the only new currency that is acceptable. It might as well be in Rubles if I cant turn it into CREDIT. Right now I could stay in crappy places or maybe get lucky and still be able to use my debit card. This scares me cause I dont foresee anyone ever giving me that high a credit line. Sure I can double pay (let them hold then pay with something else but that doesnt help me in short run). Doesnt matter how many Rubles I got. I wont see that precious CREDIT back for at least 4 or 5 business days. So I guess I cant go to Europe or anywhere else for 2 weeks. Even if I save the money.

[greg42]

It does seem a little odd to me for a hotel to refuse a debit card. Can't think of a particular reason, and I wonder if they are allowed to do so officially via the Visa/MC rules?

I've heard of it with rental cars, but of course with a rental car you are driving away with a piece of property worth tens of thousands of dollars! In a hotel, a security deposit for a room would be a few hundred bucks at most, I should think, and they should be able to place a hold for that.

Perhaps they got too many complaints from prior customers about the holds not going away fast enough? I believe that is a function of the banks not the merchants, but I could possibly see getting frustrated with that and deciding they've had enough. Or maybe it's that people don't often have enough balance to put a couple hundred hold on the card in the first place, and having that happen over and over has caused them to refuse the debit. But then I would also expect the business to go down a bit. Maybe not though. Depends upon the place.

[Tober138]

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

What about people who just object to being in debt? And dont say pay it off every month.

Well I will say Pay it off every month. That is not being in debt. I use a CC for everything, from travel to dining out to buying a pack of gum. I never have to worry about stopping by an ATM or having enough cash on hand, my CC is always on me. And then every month, I just write one check (or, nowadays, do one transfer) and pay the bill in full.


I manage my finances well enough that I don't spend what I don't have. Plus I rack up probably at least 100k worth of Marriott and/or Hilton points every year just as a result of using said CCs.

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

Credit cards are evil. They should at least have to take debit.

Credit cards are inanimate pieces pf plastic. They cannot be "evil". Also, your CC company would rather not pay additional charges (that they still need to collect from you). Often, all you have to do with your CC company is contest any charges and they will investigate on your behalf (and usually not make you liable for those charges until they sort everything out). With a debit card - once that money is gone from your account, the bank is not just going to give it back to you. With a debit card - its your money. With a CC, it is the bank's money. Which do you think the bank is going to care about more?

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

Credit card companies prey on people.

That is just an excuse for people who make poor decisions.

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

It would be impossible to get a credit card with any kind of limit that you would need to take an extended vacation without accumulating (and paying for) much debt.

I don't understand this statement. The two CCs I have (and which I use to pay for "extended vacations", such as the week we just spent in Aruba) both have limits of $20k or more. And the monthly balance I carry on each is $0.00. In fact, my only current debt is my mortgage.

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

One more than I will shut up. My thinking is based on 300 dollars held per day for two weeks. So to take a two week vacation I would need 4200 in CREDIT. Now I might have 10000 in my bank account accessible via my Visa enabled debit card but I have no way to turn that into the only new currency that is acceptable.

While you could easily vacation in parts of Europe on $300 per day, but don't forget about airfare - good luck finding anything there and back for under at least $1000. We're headed back to Germany soon and it looks like the best we can do is about $2600 for both of us ust for airfare.

As to debit cards...I never use mine, but I would think you could use it over there just like a CC, and any withdrawals would be converted from dollars to Euros at the given rate on the day the charge goes through. Plus a foreign transaction fee. Another bonus to using my CC, my Visa does not charge such fees when I use it in countries outside of the U.S.

[spiritbear928]

I was talking just for motel use and not being able to use a debit card and having all my credit tied up for an extensive period of time. Its the LIMIT that is the issue not my ability to pay

[spiritbear928]

In essence to use a CC to be preauthed and to pay with something else requires you to be good for twice the amount at least for at least a few days. On a vacation a day or two is a big deal. Especially if you taking a road trip and going from city to city. I was talking about needing 4200 in credit card availability to just be able to rent motels for my trip not the entire cost of the trip. I really expect the whole trip to be around 5k and the motels to be closer to 150 (but with holds I said 300). Even if I dont pay with the credit card I would need that much credit just to rent the room. Thats what seems evil to me. Nobody ever said ones credit rating should affect their ability to rent a motel.