Please Help re:Credit Cards in USA

Lost_and_down

Hi everyone,

After months of trawling the boards i finally joined up so apologies if this post is in the wrong forum or is a bit vague, please dont shoot me down

My predicament is such.

I am travelling to the US on holiday and am being told i need to use a credit card for hotel and rental car "holds", for just in case purposes.

I have an Egg card currently but only with a minimal credit limit which i do not think will suffice..."Why not up your limit for the duration of your trip and then reduce on return?" i hear you say, well, due to an issue with a third party i have had being stung by co-habitting law, i am unable to increase my credit limit due to this and am very nervous that if i apply for a "bad credit" credit card and get turned down, i'll enter this dreaded debt spiral i've read about.

Does anybody know of another way to satisfy these "holds" without a credit card? I have a pre-paid currency card for everything else to use and will take my own debit card for emergencies?

Sorry to be vague, its the first time i've ever come across a situation like this as my credit rating has always been good before this incident :mad:

intranicity

Do you have the money for the trip, or do you need/want to spread the cost using credit cards?

I would have thought that if you had the money available up front, that you could load up a Pre Paid Credit Card and that should solve the issue? After all, if you are using the card to 'Hold' the booking, you will still need to pay for it.

jen245

You could use your debit card. My hubby has used his HSBC visa debit card the last 3 times we have hired cars in the US, as he doesnt have a credit card. UK debit cards are recognised as credit cards in the US for some strange reason. Or you could just get a 2nd pre-paid currency card, and load it with a few hundred $$ and just use that.

Lost_and_down

Thanks Jen, I was hoping someone would confirm they've used a debit card with no trouble