Long Trip Abroad - Credit Card Strategy

System

I know it's been mentioned but many US hotels (even prepaid) take a swipe of several hundred dollars for incidentals i.e. minibar and ppv! I tend to use a spare card for this as the authorisation usually drops off after a few days.

I could imagine this being a considerable problem for a road trip with all the cumulative authorisations causing a lack of available funds.

TBeckett100

OIKY wrote: »

yep, it's a good point, I did have a look and there is a considerable difference for paying in advance. and you're right i will have plenty of time so i'll be able to say, pay for 10 hotels, pay it off, book the next 10 hotels, pay that off etc. I guess my original question was wondering if the Credit Card Provider would get annoyed at that strategy, as technically they would never be earning anythnig from me as i keep paying things off instantly.




that's the reason i wanted to use a card like the clarity in the first place, I don't trust sites like expedia to put the sale through in sterling so i'd rather use a card with no foreign transaction fee to be safe.

I have a good credit rating but for some reason i'm not eligible for the post office credit card (i checked using the MSE tool) and Halifax wont let me have a clarity until april (new rule of not allowing a new card until 6 months after the last one with them was closed) so i am considering the lloyds avios card or the aqua card.

it doesn't matter which one really as long as it has a no foreign transaction fee. I guess the clarity would have been better in an emergency because i could have used it to withdraw cash in the US for no charge also. maybe i'll phone Halifax up, i really can't see them not wanting to give someone credit.

already well in on quidco. I wonder if they have some fair use policy? 3 dozen hotels at £100 a pop with 12% cashback will be a nice little bonus for me i think

Well, I stuck a 2k hotel on there the other day (Quidco + Expedia) and that tracked. What I like about Expedia is you can cancel the reservation which helps if it appears cheaper in the future on their site.

I used Booking.com and Expedia for the hotels in the US, in £. No issues. If you are in doubt, drop the hotel a line.

Also for more expensive cities like San Francisco, we rented an apartment. Much cheaper than a hotel and more spacious. Though i did nearly hit a brick on the first night when the earthquake hit.

eskbanker

TBeckett100 wrote: »

Though i did nearly hit a brick on the first night when the earthquake hit.

I suspect there is a letter missing from this sentence if experiencing an earthquake is anything like what I'd imagine it to be....

OIKY

TBeckett100 wrote: »

Well, I stuck a 2k hotel on there the other day (Quidco + Expedia) and that tracked. What I like about Expedia is you can cancel the reservation which helps if it appears cheaper in the future on their site.

I used Booking.com and Expedia for the hotels in the US, in £. No issues. If you are in doubt, drop the hotel a line.

Also for more expensive cities like San Francisco, we rented an apartment. Much cheaper than a hotel and more spacious. Though i did nearly hit a brick on the first night when the earthquake hit.

i only have the worry because recently i booked a hotel in switzerland through lastminute.com and i got charged a non sterling transaction fee, i'm sure another company has done the same to me also.

I also will try and stick with expedia where possible because of being able to collect nectar points, but i guess it will come down to where the cheapest deal is and who is offering the better cashback at the time.

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I know it's been mentioned but many US hotels (even prepaid) take a swipe of several hundred dollars for incidentals i.e. minibar and ppv! I tend to use a spare card for this as the authorisation usually drops off after a few days.

I could imagine this being a considerable problem for a road trip with all the cumulative authorisations causing a lack of available funds.

thanks, that's a really helpful point. I had considered this but reading it from someone else re-affirms what i thought, and i guess it's always best to have spare payment methods anyway.

so right now i think my strategy is as follows.

Start booking hotels and transport in chunks up to the available limit of a credit card with no foreign transaction fee. Pay that balance off and repeat process until all accomdation and transport is booked (this could take a number of weeks i guess allowing for balances to update)

Whilst in USA, have my Halifax Clarity card (providing i get one) as my main means of purchasing items/food and cash withdrawals. Also will have a second card with no foreign transaction fee to use at hotels for autorisation/deposit.

Might even have a small amount of money placed on a PrePaid dollar card like the caxton FX as a backup-backup means of payment