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hotels that requires credit cards for incidentals and won't take anything else

hotels that requires credit cards for incidentals and won't take anything else

Old Dec 25, 2010, 9:22 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by Loose Cannon
I suggest you stay at Motel 6. They take cash and do not require any kind of plastic or deposit.
Motel 6 (and some others of similar quality) are kind of in their own category as a) all stays must be pre-paid, and b) there's no such thing an "incidental." So, they have no excuse for asking for a credit card or taking a deposit for possible charges.

As you say, local calls (and toll free calls) are free. Long distance calls can't be billed to the room at any price. There's no room service, no pay-per-view, parking is free, etc. Simply put, there's nothing that you can do at the hotel to put extra charges on your room (other than damaging it). This eliminates any need for an accounting system, deposits, etc. for such.
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Old Dec 25, 2010, 9:30 pm
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by ryanmm
Do you think they really would've turned me away over a $20 hold?
I can see that being the case, and it's not as a reason to protect the collect-ability for incidentals. If that's all they're worried about, then they can simply block incidentals for that room (that is, prevent room service ordering, charges to room, LD phone calls, PPV, etc.)

I think what they're really trying to do is rid themselves of a certain type of guest. Although not a telltale indicator, I have no doubt that the group of people in this day and age that are not able to present a credit card with $20 of available credit on it upon checking into the hotel are far more likely to be "problem" guests than the rest of the population, and the hotel may choose to not service them.

It does make me wonder how compatible this is with the state's innkeeper laws. If a guest is otherwise able to pay for their room 100% up front and states that they don't even want to be able to charge incidentals to the room, I would think it would be illegal in many states for them to be turned away.
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Old Dec 25, 2010, 9:53 pm
  #18  
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Virtually any hotel that swipes your credit card at check in has put a hold on your card for the amount of your stay (if it was not prepaid) plus some amount for charges you may make.

The strip does not identify if it's a debit or credit card. The card issuers mix debit card account numbers with credit card account numbers, and there is no status in the stripe for a debit or credit card. The card identifier on track three was standardized way before debit cards were common, so it doesn't currently allow for that information.

The card should say Debit or Check card someplace on it. Both Mastercard and Visa have standards as to what it should look like and where the identifier should be.
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Old Dec 25, 2010, 10:57 pm
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Originally Posted by cordelli
The strip does not identify if it's a debit or credit card. The card issuers mix debit card account numbers with credit card account numbers, and there is no status in the stripe for a debit or credit card. The card identifier on track three was standardized way before debit cards were common, so it doesn't currently allow for that information.
How is a card indicated as to whether or not it can do PIN-based debit transactions? This is something that an ATM card generally can do, a Debit MasterCard/Visa generally can do, but a credit/charge MasterCard/Visa generally cannot do.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 3:21 am
  #20  
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Originally Posted by tom911
What kind of rights do you have with a debit card with billing disputes? Do you find you have the same protection that you get in credit card disputes, or less protection? I've never had a debit card (really haven't seen the need to have one, even though my bank reminds me it's available to me every so often).

I know the Fair Credit Billing Act covers credit card disputes. Is there a comparable law that covers debit card disputes and gives you the same rights? Ever had to dispute one of your transactions?
The Federal law that covers debit cards is the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Federal Reserve Board Regulation E.

But, these do not give you the same kind of consumer protection rights that you have with a credit card.

It is close to impossible to successfully dispute a debit card purchase unless the charge is fraudulent (and, even then ...).

IMHO, debit cards are very dangerous and should never be used by the consumer.

Only time I use 'em is to get a big bonus (thanks Continental) or cash overseas.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 11:21 am
  #21  
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There is a character on the third track that says if it can do pin based transactions or not. The third track is not really standardized, so it's not used by all card companies. The reader is supposed to know once it reads the card if it's a smart card that requires a pin or not. Barring that, once the card is swiped, if a PIN is required and not entered the bank should answer back asking for one. Though many older systems won't recognize that and just say it was declined.

The character on the stripe has the following values:

0: No restrictions, PIN required
1: No restrictions
2: Goods and services only (no cash)
3: ATM only, PIN required
4: Cash only
5: Goods and services only (no cash), PIN required
6: No restrictions, use PIN where feasible
7: Goods and services only (no cash), use PIN where feasible
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 11:30 am
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So how do people who have gone through bankruptcy and have no credit cards overcome this credit card problem at hotels?

Many years ago, I had a client who kept an envelope with 1K cash for hotel deposits. Gives the envelope to the hotel for incidentals and pays cash for the hotel then when he checks out gets the envelope back with the 1K cash.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 12:13 pm
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Originally Posted by cordelli
The card should say Debit or Check card someplace on it. Both Mastercard and Visa have standards as to what it should look like and where the identifier should be.
Interesting - I just had a closer look at my three debit cards, and two don't say "debit" on them at all (one does say "Platinum" which is even more interesting). The third does say "debit" but in a colour that matches the background of the card so is nearly impossible to see.

Originally Posted by Steve M
How is a card indicated as to whether or not it can do PIN-based debit transactions? This is something that an ATM card generally can do, a Debit MasterCard/Visa generally can do, but a credit/charge MasterCard/Visa generally cannot do.
Credit MC/Visa in NZ and Australia have long been able to do PIN based transactions - before chip cards were commonly issued in either country.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 2:45 pm
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Originally Posted by Taiwaned
So how do people who have gone through bankruptcy and have no credit cards overcome this credit card problem at hotels?
They can get a secure credit card from a bank that specializes in issuing such things to people with terrible credit. For example, you deposit $500 into a savings account at the bank, and the bank issues you a genuine credit MasterCard/Visa account with a $500 credit limit, with the savings account as collateral. Even though the credit line is ultimately backed by the collateral savings account, it's a real credit card with a credit obligation, interest charges, minimum payment, etc. and not a debit card. Such a thing might have a high annual fee ($50-70) for a card that otherwise has no benefits, but you won't have to pay the high interest rate if you don't carry a balance.

In the case of the hotel checking-in thing, not only do you not have to carry a balance, you don't even need to charge anything to the card at all to pay off at the end of the month. The important thing is that you have credit available that the front desk verifies when you check in. You can still choose to not charge any incidentals to the room, or if you do so, settle them in cash at the front desk upon checkout.

Many years ago, I had a client who kept an envelope with 1K cash for hotel deposits. Gives the envelope to the hotel for incidentals and pays cash for the hotel then when he checks out gets the envelope back with the 1K cash.
In my experience, this is not how it works, at least in the US. No hotel would want to take custody of an "envelope" of cash. Even if the counted it, keeping it safe and accounting for it separately from the general cash in the register creates a whole bunch of problems. I suppose a Mom & Pop motel might do things that way, but in most cases, not.

Rather, what happens in practice is that hotels that take cash deposits have a certain policy, whether it be $150 up front, $300 up front, or whatever. They collect the cash deposit and note it on the folio, and then the cash just goes into the till intermingled with any other cash the hotel collects. That way, it's subject to all of the standard cash management procedures that the hotel might have (safe drops, individual drawers per employee, etc). When you check out, your remaining deposit (which maybe all of it) gets paid back to you out of the till, and is unlikely to be the same exact notes that you left as a deposit.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 4:38 pm
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Originally Posted by Taiwaned
Many years ago, I had a client who kept an envelope with 1K cash for hotel deposits. Gives the envelope to the hotel for incidentals and pays cash for the hotel then when he checks out gets the envelope back with the 1K cash.
Your client must've had balls of steel. I'd never, ever give a hotel an envelope with $1K cash as I'd probably never see it again.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 5:13 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Taiwaned
So how do people who have gone through bankruptcy and have no credit cards overcome this credit card problem at hotels?

Many years ago, I had a client who kept an envelope with 1K cash for hotel deposits. Gives the envelope to the hotel for incidentals and pays cash for the hotel then when he checks out gets the envelope back with the 1K cash.
https://www.greendotonline.com/greendot
The prepaid card would work.
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Old Dec 26, 2010, 6:46 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Taiwaned
So how do people who have gone through bankruptcy and have no credit cards overcome this credit card problem at hotels?
They get a secured card or they use a prepaid card. It's pretty difficult to travel now without having a credit card if you stay in hotels or want to rent a car (it's possible, just not very easy). Anybody can get a prepaid card, and while not as easy, almost anybody can get a secure card.
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