Hotel and Debit Cards
April 24, 2008
Some consumers are learning that the use of a debit card to book hotel or motel rooms can be troublesome. A little background on how this works.
When you book a hotel or motel room using either a credit card or debit card, the establishment often puts a hold on a certain amount of money over and above the actual cost of the room.
The amount of money put on hold varies from place to place, but in all cases the hold is used to cover any added charges that you may incur during your stay.
Those using a credit card will most often not notice any problem, unless they are very close to being maxed out. However, those using a debit card may encounter a problem if their cash reserves in the bank are not enough to cover the hold amount. Should this occur, the hold may be declined and you will have to find accommodations elsewhere.
The second way this can become a problem is if you have enough funds in the bank to cover the hold, but only that much. What happens in this case, is those funds are locked into the hold and you will not be able to use them until the hold has cleared, which can take a few days.
Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group puts it this way: “Most people aren’t totally maxed out on their credit cards, so they don’t notice a hold. But people are closer to zero in their banking account and don’t realize they can lose access to money they haven’t really spent.”
If you are not sure of the hold policy at a hotel, it best to ask before using your debit card.