West coast road trip, Credit card question

Stealthirl

Five friends and I are planning a trip to the west coast in Sep for 17 nights

Plan is Vegas - Grand Canyon - Death Valley - Yosemite - San Francisco - PCH - LA - San Diego - Las Vegas

We plan on getting an RV from elmonterv for the Vegas - San Fran run then renting a minivan and using hotels for the rest of the trip.

We arrive on Sep 12th and the only must is that we are in LA for Sep 20th & 21st

Only one of us has a credit card and this may prove to be a pain in the arse as he does-not want us all using it at hotels.

Can anyone suggest a solution?

We are all between 28 and 33 if that makes any difference

athtrasna

Why don't the rest of you get pre pay credit cards then book & pay for the hotels up front? Your friend 's credit card will still be needed as a guarantee at check in but at least you won't actually be spending money on it

alb

Or you could all give him money ahead of time to lodge into the credit card account. You can have a postive balance on a credit card, It's something I do whenever I figure I may need to spend beyond the limit of the card when away.

ProudDUB

Do the rest of you not have debit cards? You can use those in American hotels too.

When you check in with a debit card, most US hotels will take an additional amount and put it on hold. This is in addition to whatever your room rate is. This is to cover the hotel in case you run up additional charges during your stay, such as raiding the rooms mini bar, or racking up big room service bills or bar tabs. They will put that money back on your card when you check out, if you have not incurred these additional charges.

It can take a few business days to have the money put back on the card, you won't have access to it immediately. But if you plan it ahead of time and keep note of what you are spending and where, and what is being taken off and put back on the card when and where, it shouldn't be too hard to keep track of. Some hotels charge a flat rate, some have it be equal to whatever your room rate is. It can vary. Check on the websites of where you are staying. They will probably have their debit card policy listed somewhere, as it is a pretty important issue that most hotels have to deal with.

Ponster

this may prove to be a pain in the arse as he does-not want us all using it at hotels.

Swap him for a friend who will let you use his CC !

Using debit cards in hotels will take a little managing as ProudDUB pointed out. It's possible but you may have more than $1000 after a week's worth of hotels?

Does your friend not trust you to not trash the rooms that they don't want to be the one to use their CC to book the rooms?

WilyCoyote

If ye are all between what you said, your room trashing days should be over. Book up front with your friend's CC and pay him in cash. Use your debit cards for bar bills/restaurants/Strip Clubs and Therapist

SgtBob

CC friend here

The main problem is, Me and Stealth will be sharing so my CC is fine for our room. But there are 2 couples getting their own rooms. So that will be the main problem, they have not got a credit card at all.

From my reading alot of places will not accept anything other than CC. Some places may accept a Debit card, but you have to get lucky and have to plan ahead.

Ponster

There's still nothing stopping you from booking all the rooms under the same CC and then paying with cash or debit card when you check out.

In saying that I wouldn't want to be that CC person. There's nothing like money matters between friends to add stress to a roadtrip that you could really do without.

SgtBob

Ponster wrote: »

There's still nothing stopping you from booking all the rooms under the same CC and then paying with cash or debit card when you check out.

In saying that I wouldn't want to be that CC person. There's nothing like money matters between friends to add stress to a roadtrip that you could really do without.

You have to present your CC at check in, as a sort of security deposit. So I think the problem is that you don't have enough for each room.

An idea is for one of each of the couples to get a CC then cancel it after the trip.

Ponster

SgtBob wrote: »

You have to present your CC at check in, as a sort of security deposit. So I think the problem is that you don't have enough for each room.

I've often booked several rooms under the same card, there's no problem with that though if the other couple had a CC it would make life a lot easier. You'll also need the CC for renting the minivan.

SgtBob

Ponster wrote: »

I've often booked several rooms under the same card, there's no problem with that though if the other couple had a CC it would make life a lot easier. You'll also need the CC for renting the minivan.

Yeah, I'm thinking we need to all sit down and discuss. Lol.

iusedtoknow

Can one of the other couples not get a card? We always had one specifically for travelling that we used for deposits etc, and then paid the balance of the car/hotel on the debit card so it didn't knock into our expenses too much.

It is impossible for a non-american resident to rent a car/van here without CC
It is pretty hard to get a hotel without a CC

Debit card holds may not work with foreign cards and when they do, it could take up to 1 week to get the funds back, so it could decimate your travel funds pretty quickly

Also, prepaid cards here don't work in securing hotels/cars. It needs to be full credit or nothing. Prepaid cards are seen as for people with bad credit (not for people that want to be careful with credit) and are not trusted

InTheTrees

iusedtoknow wrote: »

Can one of the other couples not get a card?

This.

You've got almost six months so there's plenty of time for some of the others to step up (and join the adult world!) and get a credit card. You're ages 28-33 so it shouldnt be a problem for at least two of you to get credit?

Your friend realizes he'll be renting all the vehicles as well if he's the only cc holder? And the renter has to be a driver too.

McG

Stealthirl wrote: »

Five friends and I are planning a trip to the west coast in Sep for 17 nights

Plan is Vegas - Grand Canyon - Death Valley - Yosemite - San Francisco - PCH - LA - San Diego - Las Vegas

We plan on getting an RV from elmonterv for the Vegas - San Fran run then renting a minivan and using hotels for the rest of the trip.

We arrive on Sep 12th and the only must is that we are in LA for Sep 20th & 21st

Only one of us has a credit card and this may prove to be a pain in the arse as he does-not want us all using it at hotels.

Can anyone suggest a solution?

We are all between 28 and 33 if that makes any difference

you may already have your plans set but if not you should try get up to Zion National and Bryce Canyon. We did a similar trip last year and trekking through the Narrows at Zion was the highlight for me.

Dubliner28

Hi OP/lads/lassies,

I have booked my honeymoon and am doing a similar trip, The honeymoon is all paid for upfront, but as this is my first time in the states can you advise/help me on below?

* Do the hotels still need to hold our credit card info even if the hotels are all pre booked.
* Our credit cards are pretty high at the moment.The max limit is €1000.00. Can i put extra cash on this as credit?
* Do you advise bring cash also?
* Do they accept Visa/Debit cards in shops/restaurants. Ive had a few people tell me its Visa only(regarding card payments).

Thanks

SgtBob

Dubliner28 wrote: »

Hi OP/lads/lassies,

I have booked my honeymoon and am doing a similar trip, The honeymoon is all paid for upfront, but as this is my first time in the states can you advise/help me on below?

* Do the hotels still need to hold our credit card info even if the hotels are all pre booked.
* Our credit cards are pretty high at the moment.The max limit is €1000.00. Can i put extra cash on this as credit?
* Do you advise bring cash also?
* Do they accept Laser cards in shops/restaurants. Ive had a few people tell me its Visa only(regarding card payments).

Thanks

I'll let more experienced answer your other questions. But, you will find that you can only use Laser in shops, etc in Ireland as it was created by the Irish banks. You may be able to use it in ATM's as some lasers have Maestro compatibility. That is why most banks are switching people to Visa Debit cards.

Dubliner28

Well its a Visa/Debit card sorry for the confusion.

SgtBob

Dubliner28 wrote: »

Well its a Visa/Debit card sorry for the confusion.

They should be fine internationally. But best check with your bank anyway.

InTheTrees

If it has a VISA (or Mastercard) logo on it then it'll work.

If for some reason it doesnt work; go into any bank and they'll help you.

Debit cards can still be a problem with renting cars though, Hotels are fine though.

You can also buy the pre-loaded disposable visa debit cards. No idea how much they cost though.

clairefontaine

Be careful using debit cards to book hotels. They sometimes hold onto a certain amount as a deposit and then dont release it for a couple of weeks.

iusedtoknow

InTheTrees wrote: »

If it has a VISA (or Mastercard) logo on it then it'll work.

If for some reason it doesnt work; go into any bank and they'll help you.

Debit cards can still be a problem with renting cars though, Hotels are fine though.

You can also buy the pre-loaded disposable visa debit cards. No idea how much they cost though.

The problem there though is that car hire and hotels usually don't accept these as deposits - no idea why, but they won't (thus spake experience).

Ponster

iusedtoknow wrote: »

The problem there though is that car hire and hotels usually don't accept these as deposits - no idea why, but they won't (thus spake experience).

If you don't return the car or damage it, the car rental company can try to recover the full amount from your CC company. If you use a debit card then they are limited to the cash in your account without bringing legal actions against you.

ProudDUB

Bank of America ATM's will take an Irish laser card, but shops, restaurants etc etc won't accept it for transactions. If your card is a visa debit card, you'll be fine for buying stuff, but you won't be able to use it for car rentals. You'll need a credit card for that. You should bring some cash with you. Irish banks put limits on how much cash you can withdraw from ATM's, when you are traveling outside the EU zone. This is to cut down on losses on their end, if your card is stolen. It can be as low as $100 per day. Check with your bank to see what their policy is on that, as $100 won't go far if you are planning on paying for meals, taxi's etc with cash.

Be very careful where you use your card, and who you give it to. In the US, they do not use the chip and pin system that we do here. If someone gets their hands on your card, they can use it without having to input a pin number. Yes, you can pre load your credit card with cash to give yourself a higher limit.

Even if your hotel rooms are pre paid, hotels will often ask to see a credit card at check in, and will want to keep the number on file. This is to protect themselves in case you run up big bar tabs, room service bills, long distance phone call bills and other things that are not in included in the basic room rate that you have paid for.