Haven’t used credit cards since 2000. Ran up around 5 grand of debt. Took me 3 years to pay it off. Since then I’ve been paying for stuff with my own money, instead of borrowing it. You don’t always need a credit card to rent a room in a hotel, and I can live without renting cars. Personally, I wouldn’t trust myself with a credit card, but thats just me.
I made a reservation for a hotel in Key West for next June using my debit card. They took the first night’s stay out as a deposit. Debit cards work as well as credit, as long as you have the money to cover it.
I’ll bet they checked your balance. When you use a cc, they “reserve” (I don’t recall the correct term) an amount higher than the room cost in case you steal towels or something. That’s why they don’t want cash.
No, they told us they would charge us one night’s stay, and that’s what they did. I don’t think they checked my balance…I think merchants can confirm if someone can cover a charge of a certain amount, but the bank won’t tell them how much money is in the account.
Yeah, that’s what I meant. Just for kicks, check your debit account “amount available for withdrawal” to see if it matches your total balance.
I used to keep a cc with a very low limit especially for hotels. If I charged something else, even before checking in, it could hit the limit. They had reserved a certain amount.
I keep a close eye on both of my credit cards and my bank account to ensure that I know exactly how much money I have and how much I owe at all times. I have about $900 in credit card debt that I intend to pay off in the next three months and then I’m officially out of the hole, although I was never one to have more than $2,000 tied up in a credit card anyway.
This seems like as good a place as any to ask since it was kind of mentioned earlier - when I use my debit card, I am often asked if I want to use it as credit or debit. Since the money is coming out of my bank account either way, what’s the deal? Is there any difference? I always choose debit.
Yep, same here. If used responsibly (and by that I mean paid off every month, period) credit cards can be like a second income. I pass literally every expense I can (utilities, groceries, bills…everything) through my airline mileage card. I have more miles than I can ever conceivably use now (even bought my mom’s ticket up her for thanksgiving with them) and have never paid a penny in interest. Make the credit cards work for you, still don’t spend more than you can afford, and its a double-bonus.