Debit cards have a lot of advantages for travelers and advantages for anyone trying to watch their finances.
Since the money is taken out of the account, or gift card, immediately, there’s no chance of overspending. Plus, prepaid debit cards, amongst other things, are an easy way for parents to give college students a credit card equivalent, while still limiting the money involved.
But repeatedly as a travel agent I hear clients complain that there are problems. Debit cards are often declined while money is available, which can be both time-consuming and embarrassing.
Car rental companies, cruise lines and hotels frequently will preauthorize a certain amount of money when a traveler arrives and checks in. This puts a hold on that money, sometimes even a few days beyond when the bill is settled.
In some cases, restaurants have been known to do such a pre-authorization, especially if someone is running a tab. If there is a mistake on the original bill, while the first amount will be credited, the debit card company can still hold the funds temporarily. (This last happened to me recently, and resulted in the card not working a few days later.)
But, there is a simple solution, which I tried by chance when I was nearing the limit on a gift card balance. Give the hotel a credit card to hold for incidentals, then pay on checkout with the debit gift card.
Not only was the New York hotel clerk pleased, he added, without knowing I was a travel agent or writer – “Thank you so much, any way you can tell everyone you know to do this?”
Hotels and other suppliers generally don’t actually charge anything until the bill is settled. The credit card at most means they will get paid for your stay. And, since most credit cards have a high limit, if only to encourage running up a big balance, this will not result in real money changing hands so to speak.
When travelers switch to the debit card to pay the bill, however, the hotel will only charge the amount actually spent, and it doesn’t tie up any additional money.
Apparently, according to the clerk, sometimes the initial hold causes problems because the computer still shows the hold at the time final payment is processed. If a customer is close to their account balance, this can and does result in the card being declined for final payment.
Eventually the hold will come off the debit card, so there won’t be a duplicate charge, and yes, computers should be sophisticated enough to prevent this from happening. But sometimes it’s easier just to avoid the problem in the first place.
Now, for anyone with a huge balance on their card, this advice is probably unnecessary. But if for any reason travelers are using a prepaid gift card or a card linked to an account with a limited balance, it could save a lot of hassle, stress and time.
If nothing else, this will free up time to worry about more important things. Like the weather. Which is another reason this winter to want to make sure you have funds available for unforeseen circumstances.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
