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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.
All but the really low end/budget places (Days Inn, Red Roof, Motel 6, Super 8) rely on the business traveler as their mainstay and aren't really concerned with losing one rental a month from someone who wants to pay cash.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a hotel that wouldn't take a debit card as long as the guest accepted that there would be a hold of X dollars on the account and it could take up to a week after check out for that to release. By the way, it is generally the bank that takes that long, not the hotel. As long as the hotel processes their batches every night, they've lifted the hold within 12 hours of check out time. After that it's up to the bank.
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
Pay your bills on time, every time and in a couple years ask for a limit increase and there's no reason they won't give it to you. Generally for those who are responsible with credit, the banks will automatically increase credit limits on a regular basis. One of my credit cards started with a $5K limit 12 years ago. I've never asked for an increase, they just kept giving them, it's now a $30K limit.
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.
That's a foolish way to "see Europe." Choose two or maybe three cities for a two week trip and spend 4-5 days in each. If you want to maximize the number of places you get a quick glimpse of, book a Mediterranean cruise. It's a great way of keeping to a preset budget, and most cruise lines will allow you to put a cash deposit down when you check in, and will return any cash you don't use when you leave. You can even prepay gratuities and buy on board credits that can be used at the bar, spa, etc. in advance. You can also buy your airfare through the cruise line, eliminating that problem.
Have a travel agent book it for you two years in advance and make a payment towards it every month, three months before you go it will be paid in full and all you'll need is a little spending cash and the credit card for emergencies.
PS--If you are intent on spending only one night in any given place, consider hostels. They do take cash/Euros and are an economical way to travel. Hostels in Europe are different than here in the US, and you can get a private room and bath, but no frills and in many cases you'll need your own towels and sometimes even linens. But for $35/US per night, it's a good option for many.
Bad decisions can cause bad credit but the absence of them doesnt make good credit. Perhaps you have a mortgage and that is why you got the 10k card. What if I never aspire to own a home (which you dont really either the bank does). How am I ever going to get to the highly coveted 700 range without a mortgage and with low limit credit cards. Despite the dings from 08 caused by a layoff which was no fault of my own
You don't need a mortgage to get an 800 score. Generally speaking they want to see one revolving debt and one installment debt. That can be a mortgage, car loan, student loan, personal loan, etc.
If you pay on time every time and don't carry balances of over 25% of the card limit, there's no reason to not have a credit score of over 750, which is sufficient for anything. Of course if you have other dings such as charge offs, collection accounts, etc. paying your credit card on time isn't going to raise your score until those items have been resolved.
I do not see how that is proof unless the customers are in the photo. You can change the timestamp to whatever you want and there is no way to prove when the photo was taken.
Agreed. One thing suggested to tenants in an apartment rental at move out is to put a copy of that days newspaper in the photos. (Keep the paper!)
You can have a low limit credit card and just pay money ahead of time to your account, you have 3 months before they send it back to you in the form of a check. That way you can make it like a secured credit card and also like a debit card -- your credit limit would be whatever you paid into it plus your credit limit.
That varies by card issuer. Some won't accept payments that are higher than what is currently owed or authorized.
FYI my point about getting declined on day three is that it can often take 3-5 BUSINESS days for that hold to drop off even if you pay on check out with another method.
"The typical damage deposit is $200 or less. If you don't have the credit to afford to temporarily charge" the damage deposit to your card, it may go a long way to explaining why you encounter so much difficulty when travelling."
Why should I need CREDIT to do that. I have available funds and they can auth my debit card. I actually have not had problems. I just think I will if the world follows suit with this
That's a problem with your bank, not with the hotel. By the way, hotel holds drop off my Barclays issued card in 24 hours, give or take.
Also many require a credit card hold but will allow you to pay with debit when you check out.
Legal or not something needs to be done and it needs to be made illegal. In reality they should all be forced to take cash but to deny debit is to deny those with bad credit a place to stay. Like I have said many times bad policies spread like cancer. People follow suit and dont even care why. I already boycott the entire rental car industry and always will due to that policy. Even with good credit not everyone has credit cards or wants them. Getting secured cards even require a lot of planning ahead meaning at the moment of denial of service you cannot make it right. its discrimination pure and simple. Now I just need to find a way to get the ACLU involved. The sad thing is I probably could do OK and never have had a problem. If things stay as they are simply going elsewhere is an option. Soon I fear it wont be. At least not in North America. Even if I can rent a motel at a place that refuses cash and debit I hope never to do so. I was so upset a sign stating this at a place I did stay and actual by choice happened to be paying with my low limit credit card that I did not enjoy my vacation to the fullest and have been obsessing over this since I got back. I dont want to play the game. i want to change the rules. Nobody else on the planet seems to care as long as it doesnt directly affect them. That is what is truly wrong with this world nowadays.
No, what is wrong with the world is that instead of paying their debts and thus having a high enough credit score to warrant a higher credit limit, people are taking vacations and staying in hotels. The "wants" are winning and society is losing. Think about that one for a minute...
What stressed me out is what if I hadnt had that CC
Most people would have considered that before taking a vacation...
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