Credit Card for hotel pre-authorisations abroad

Rko

Hello

I have recently taken out a Lloyds Advance Mastercard Credit Card for the sole reason that I will be soon going travelling and a number of my hotels abroad that I will be staying in absolutely require a card for pre-authorisation.

Basically, the hotels that I will be staying in make it compulsory for guests to allow the hotels to hold a certain amount of money for incidental charges, aka pre-authorisation, without actually charging the card. The pre-authorisation just holds a certain amount of funds. If no extra service has been used at the hotel, the hotel cancels the pre-authorisation and the money is made available again after the check out.

I would like your advice please.

When I give my new credit card for the pre-authorisation, will Lloyds charge me anything at all?

I have taken out this credit card merely as a security net to avoid giving by debit card. Even though I do not plan on extracting cash or using my cards to buy abroad, should I need emergency cash abroad, the hotel might block off a large amount on my debit card therefore it'd be best to give a credit card. Is this correct?

Your advice please and I thank you in advance.

MisterBaxter

Exactly what I do, since getting a credit card I no longer hand over my debit card or my travel cash card for the reasons you have identified. I don't want a hotel blocking money on cards I need whereas it makes no odds on my credit card. I have never been charged anything for a pre-authorisation either in the UK or abroad. It can sometimes take a few days for the blocked amount to clear though.

I have had between £50 and £150 blocked but the hotel will advise the amount in advance. In the US they wanted to block the whole amount of the room plus a deposit so I payed the room bill in advance so they just took the security deposit on the card, it will depend what your credit limit is.

Vortigern

A hotel room has been paid for in advance, but still takes a CC swipe on check-in to pre-authorise for possible meals and bar bills. If you then check out without having incurred any additional charges, does the hotel cancel the pre-authorisation, or do you have to wait until the pre-authorisation expires?

MisterBaxter

I have had mixed experiences on how long the pre-authorisation stays on for. A recent stay in London and it was 3 days but often it seems almost immediate if paid by any means other than the card used for security.

It seems that on the odd occasion when I have paid for incidentals on the card used for security the pre-auth amount clears at the same time the payment goes through. In Dubai this was almost a full week.

Rko

Thanks for your replies.

So do you guys say that giving the credit card for pre-authorisation is the wise thing to do?

Also, does anyone else know if Lloyds will charge a fee for this as the pre-authorisation is being initiated abroad. Thanks.

Herbalus

Rko wrote: »

So do you guys say that giving the credit card for pre-authorisation is the wise thing to do?

Some hotels will insist on it. Others (such as the one my OH works at), don't, but there you're required to pay for the entire stay up front. It's not a "wise" or "unwise" thing to do - it's just what is done.

Rko wrote: »

Also, does anyone else know if Lloyds will charge a fee for this as the pre-authorisation is being initiated abroad. Thanks.

No they won't, because the funds don't leave your account. The hotel 'earmarks' an amount of money which means you can't use it, but since there is no transaction, there are no fees to pay.

Rko

Herbalus wrote: »

Some hotels will insist on it. Others (such as the one my OH works at), don't, but there you're required to pay for the entire stay up front. It's not a "wise" or "unwise" thing to do - it's just what is done.

Hi, thanks for your response

I meant wise in the sense that it's wiser to use a credit card than a de it card as using a debit card blocks off funds that are actually in a bank account.

Herbalus

Rko wrote: »

Hi, thanks for your response

I meant wise in the sense that it's wiser to use a credit card than a debit card as using a debit card blocks off funds that are actually in a bank account.

Ah ok. In that case, it depends how much your credit card limit is and how much money you have in your bank account. Some of my credit cards have had limits of £250, so in that case I had to use other cards for the authorisation. If you've got a big enough limit on your credit card, use that.

Some people will say it's easier to use a credit card in case there are disputes.

Vortigern

Rko wrote: »

I meant wise in the sense that it's wiser to use a credit card than a debit card as using a debit card blocks off funds that are actually in a bank account.

I don't think you can use a debit card for hotel and car hire deposits. Hotels and car hirers will insist on a credit card swipe.

AFAIK if you use a debit card to pay a £500 deposit, the hotel would actually take £500 from your current account in a matter of days and would have to refund you at the end of your stay.

Of course I could be wrong?

reclusive46

Vortigern wrote: »

I don't think you can use a debit card for hotel and car hire deposits. Hotels and car hirers will insist on a credit card swipe.

AFAIK if you use a debit card to pay a £500 deposit, the hotel would actually take £500 from your current account in a matter of days and would have to refund you at the end of your stay.

Of course I could be wrong?

Most hotels and car rentals in Europe will take Debit card authorisations but in some contries like Italy you can only rent a car with a credit card.

In the US its far more common for hotels and car rentals to only accept credit cards, this is mainly because in the past most US debit cards didn't use the Visa,MC or Amex signature networks but used a local PIN debit network.

In reality most US debit cards now have a Visa/MC or Amex logo on them and would be accepted just fine but merchants don't like taking them as they can only charge up to 20% over an authorisation unlike 100% on a credit card. Of the hotels that do accept debit cards in the US, the authorisation is normally double than what it is on a credit card. (So I've read, never used a debit card in the US, always use my personal cc or corporate Amex for purchases and withdrawals)

redpete

We recently used pre-paid credit cards for a holiday. I didn't want any of the money on these cards blocked for any time for hotel pre-authorisations so I used my UK credit card for these and the pre-paid cards to actually pay any bills.

The UK card showed no evidence of these pre-authorisations and no charges.