Holiday Inn only takes credit cards

[CathyA]

DS has a 2 day job out of town. He took cash to pay for things, since his credit card is maxed out. :(
But Holiday Inn wouldn't accept it, because they require a credit card. They wouldn't even take my DH's credit card over the phone.
I wonder why? Is it possible that they have too many shady things going on there and want some sort of I.D. they can later give the police??
Very curious. He went to a different hotel.

[rosarugosa]

A lot of hotels do require you to register with a cc to cover incidentals, and I'm sure it's also security against any possible damages to the room & furnishings. I don't know why they wouldn't have accepted DH's cc though.

[CathyA]

Thanks rosarugosa...........I didn't think of the damages thing. That makes sense. But I guess responsible people who are trying to not use credit cards will just have to go elsewhere. But I understand the hotel's possible problem with damages.

[ToomuchStuff]

Would they take a debit card? (can be run as a credit card, through the system)

[rosarugosa]

My parents got their first credit card after having a really hard time trying to rent a car on vacation because they were cash-only people. I think this was in the early eighties. The agency ended up reluctantly renting them a car with a $1000 cash deposit, because the value of the car was obviously much more than $1000. The only debt they ever carried was their mortgage. They always bought cars (new) with cash, and kept them for 10+ years.

[catherine]

You can use debit cards in hotels,but they hold the funds for a very long time (sometimes weeks, apparently). As for rental cars, you have to call around ahead or go online. Some have debit card policies, others do not.

This is one of the frequent topics that comes up in Dave Ramsey books and shows, because he believes everyone should cut up their credit cards and use only debit for traveling. So, you could try going to his site and searching around for this topic. You might find some advice.

I keep a credit card just for business travel, and just cycle the reimbursement funds from my clients right through it. Works for me. If I had to go 100% the DR way, I'd have to have a VERY large balance in my checking account.

[Gregg]

We used to own a hotel, a Super 8, and had the same policy. Rosarugosa is right, it is protection from potential damages. The law (at least in CO where our hotel was) allowed us to charge the card on file for any damages. If someone pays cash you have no real recourse. Debit cards are tricky because they don't work the same way as credit cards. We did accept them, but had to charge the whole stay plus an additional $75 when someone checked in. If they left and there was no damage and no additional charges were racked up we credited the $75 "deposit" back. It was a royal pain for the guests and for us.

I would be very interested to see if Dave Ramsey practices what he preaches re credit cards and business travel because it would do nothing except make it a hassle at every turn. That is one of the reasons I'm not a great fan of his.

[Miss Cellane]

My parents got their first credit card after having a really hard time trying to rent a car on vacation because they were cash-only people. I think this was in the early eighties. The agency ended up reluctantly renting them a car with a $1000 cash deposit, because the value of the car was obviously much more than $1000. The only debt they ever carried was their mortgage. They always bought cars (new) with cash, and kept them for 10+ years.

This sounds exactly like my parents. The tipping point for them was a family trip we had to take back in the mid-1980s. Dad had mailed all the hotels and car rental places and found one hotel that would work with cash and one car rental. He had to mail large deposit checks ahead of time. (This was all complicated even more because he refused to pick up the phone and call these places, as he didn't want the long distance charges.) Even then, with the deposit check cashed and copies of all correspondence in hand, he had a very difficult time checking into the hotel, even though we had reservations. It all worked out in the end, but all us kids thought Dad was going to explode in the lobby of the hotel.

The difficulty they had in getting a mortgage in the mid-1970s after retiring from the military should have been a hint--when you have no credit history at all, because you've purchased everything for cash all your life, the banks simply don't know if you are extremely frugal, or such a bad credit risk that no one will ever land you money ever.

Mom did finally persuade Dad to get one credit card, use it once to buy something and pay it off immediately. Then they promptly lost the card somewhere in Dad's office.

By the late 1990s, Dad was traveling a bit more and actually using the credit card, but he complained about not being able to use cash, all the time.

[iris lily]

Ah, I remember those days back in the 80's when I didn't have a credit card. The main reason why I eventually got one was to build up a credit rating in order to get a mortgage, but a secondary reason was the trouble I had when on vacation, securing a motel room. Renting a car was outside of my scope.

[ToomuchStuff]

I would be very interested to see if Dave Ramsey practices what he preaches re credit cards and business travel because it would do nothing except make it a hassle at every turn. That is one of the reasons I'm not a great fan of his.

I certainly don't agree with everything DR says, but we shared a mutual friend (now deceased), and he does practice what he preaches.
Personally, I would be more interested in knowing what the kickbacks or advertising income he makes from his endorsed, local providers. Secondary sources of income, if left alone, could add to things like the debit card accounts, so there wouldn't be an issue.

To give an example of one of the things I disagree with him on, I grew up around the funeral business, and have seen kids go into debt to bury their parents. I personally would much prefer to have the funeral prepaid for (all done by my wishes/specs), then let guilt and debt be the guide.
I also have a CC, and for at least three years, have had no interest on it. Years ago, when I first got one, I would use it as a short term loan, to buy house remodeling stuff, when I found it for a good price (get the items as they came on special, then work to pay it off, and do the project). Then I would plan and do the next project the same way. Back then, I had a $750 credit limit. Now, it is somewhere around $2500-$3000 (don't pay much attention as I tend to only use it for online or work stuff). Everything else is paid for (house, three vehicles and getting rid of one soon, contents).

[ApatheticNoMore]

This is one of the frequent topics that comes up in Dave Ramsey books and shows, because he believes everyone should cut up their credit cards and use only debit for traveling.

Everyone or just the people who have troubles running up credit card debt? (as if that's even most of the people in debt and not people in college debt etc.). It's a completely ridiculous rule for everyone. Whap to the head Ramsey, and people like that may be what keeps credit card companies in business, but many people don't even see credit cards that way and wouldn't in a million years see them that way, as extra money, well maybe in the direst of emergencies we would but mostly we see it as CONVENIENCE (and safety compared to debit cards).

[catherine]

Everyone or just the people who have troubles running up credit card debt? (as if that's even most of the people in debt and not people in college debt etc.). It's a completely ridiculous rule for everyone. Whap to the head Ramsey, and people like that may be what keeps credit card companies in business, but many people don't even see credit cards that way and wouldn't in a million years see them that way, as extra money, well maybe in the direst of emergencies we would but mostly we see it as CONVENIENCE (and safety compared to debit cards).

Dave Ramsey's business is about getting people who are in financial crisis back on track. There are a lot of people who use credit cards like alcoholics use booze--and the "recovery" is the same: abstinence.

While I am definitely the financial nerd in my family, I find some of his preachings on credit cards to be very useful and motivating. Many people tend to spend more than they would if they were paying cash. Debt is psychologically defeating: "the debtor is slave to the lender" as he so frequently says. If you're creative you can do almost anything without resorting to more debt, and his strategies help people do that.

I would say that most of the people on this board are NOT Dave Ramsey's target market, but that's not to say he hasn't done wonders for people who are.

As for me, I have gone from being quite relaxed about running up CC bills to truly believing that if I have more CC debt than I can pay off in one month, I feel like I'm in a prison of my own making.

That being said, I definitely use CCs for all my business travel.

Also, I love DRs podcasts--he is so no-nonsense, he's really fun to listen to. I much prefer him over Susie Orman's "girlfriend" approach