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Bring Cash or just Debit Card to USA to pay for hotel

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  • 25-09-2015 10:43am
    #1
    Realtine
    Registered Users Posts: 391 ✭✭


    morning,
    looking for some advice - am travelling to new york for a week soon and I don't know whether to bring cash to pay for my hotel or use my visa debit card.
    Everywhere I look up says not to use a debit card for hotel payments but I don't have a credit card and won't have before I go anyhow.

    I'm a bit concerned about the 'hold' I read about how most hotels put an extra charge on the card in case of extra charges, like mini-bar usage and stuff. The hotel is expensive enough and I am wary of many extra hundreds of $$ to be added on 'just in case'.
    I'm not a seasoned traveller in any way and I've never been to USA so if anyone has any advice on what to do, please post it.
    thanks.


Comments

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    #2
    keithclancy
    Registered Users Posts: 9,208 ✭✭✭keithclancy


    Get a Credit Card ... the US is an absolute balls without one.


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    #3
    athtrasna
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,420 ✭✭✭✭athtrasna


    If you try to pay cash the hotel will look for a large deposit similar to the hold they will put on a debit card. As the previous poster said, you really do need a cc for the US.


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    #4
    Ponster
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,912 Mod ✭✭✭✭Ponster


    What the others said. You don't have much of an option. Bring cash and the debit card. If the hotel is not a large one I'd call ahead and confirm that they won't need a CC.


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    #5
    ProudDUB
    Registered Users Posts: 11,569 ✭✭✭✭ProudDUB


    Have you contacted the hotel directly to find out their credit card vs debit card policy? It may be worth your while, as there is no one size fits all, identical policy that every single American hotel abides by. They can advise you much better than any poster on here can. Most of them do require a credit card, or will put a hold on debit cards.

    It is probably too late now to apply for and get a credit card, so if you contact the hotel directly and discuss it, they may be able to come to some arrangement with you. If the hotel is part of one of the larger chains, it is unlikely that they will. But if it is a hotel in a very touristy area, they may be willing to be more flexible, as they are aware that European travelers do not tend to have credit cards at the same rate that US ones do. You won't know unless you ask them.


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    #6
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    The problem will be the hold. I found myself with once where 2 of my CC's were demagnetized and so had to give over my debit card to pay for my room. The room $129 and the hold was $600 that wasn't removed for 4 days. It wasn't a big deal, but if you're on vacation you could constantly find yourself short on cash, especially if you're changing hotels frequently.

    Get a CC to use just for deposits then pay the hotel bill with your debit card/cash.


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    #7
    butterfly234
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭butterfly234


    What hotel are you staying in? I would recommend ringing them and asking. I used my Mastercard to book our hotel. We stayed in a Hilton. I rang them prior to arriving to ask about the hold but when we stayed they never actually put it on... which I would say is rare and possibly a mistake on their part.. but I am going back next year and will be looking to stay somewhere within similar price range as the 'Hold' does scare me a bit!! If you pay with Debit card it isn't the safest option..if you pay with cash they will probably charge you more money as a Hold.... I would say.. Get a cc if you can or even a Post Office card as these will work just as well and you can put on the amount of money you want to spend without worrying of going into Over Draft. My Partner used this and thought it was great.


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