Why was my debit card charged in Venice?

We have 2 reservations for consecutive nights at a hotel in Venice.

One of the reservations is pre-paid with a tour company.

The other I made myself when we decided to add an extra night and will be paid at the hotel with a guarantee hold on my debit card .

This morning when checking my account, I see a 1.35 (1.00 Eur.) charge on my card from the hotel.

I can't see on the charge if it was for the prepaid reservation or for the other unpaid reservation but I'm guessing it was the latter.

My question is is this common for a European hotel to charge your card 3 weeks before your arrival to check it's validity or for some other reason?

This has never happened to me before.

I'm planning on calling my bank but wanted to check here as well.

I haven't had this happen before. I think I would call the hotel and ask them about it, before I called the bank.

I'm surprised you were able to use a debit card as they don't work in Europe except at the ATM. I use my credit card to guarantee a reservation and have never been charged in advance.

I haven't had this happen before. I think I would call the hotel and ask them about it, before I called the bank.

Thanks I'm just curious if this is common practice for hotels in Europe these days.

I called the hotel's 800 number but they told me to call the hotel directly, which I'm reluctant to do because of the charges at peak time.

I called the bank and they said it's probably just a hold but they would keep an eye on it for me.

I've had my other bank's debit card info stolen and also my Amazon account hacked recently so I'm extremely cautious these days.

Is it a Euro or 100 Euros? You wrote 1.00

I'm surprised you were able to use a debit card as they don't work in Europe except at the ATM. I use my credit card to guarantee a reservation and have never been charged in advance.

Over the phone or online it should work just fine, I would think. It's only in a machine (other than an ATM, as you note) that an American debit card wouldn't work due to lack of chip.

I'm surprised you were able to use a debit card as they don't work in Europe except at the ATM. I use my credit card to guarantee a reservation and have never been charged in advance.

The card can be used as both debit and credit, with or without a signature.

RebeccaLouise, it was only $1.35 USD equal to 1 Euro

If it is only one Euro, the hotel may be just checking that the card information they were given is valid and in good standing.

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Be careful of tiny amounts showing on card - someone (hopefully the hotel) could be testing the card prior to a larger amount. Keep an eye on it.

If it is only one Euro, the hotel may be just checking that the card information they were given is valid and in good standing.

 

 

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I had a really bad experience here in the USA using a debit card for a hotel. I was told it would NOT be charged. They put a $1000 hold on my account and it really screwed me up. Unlike a credit card, anything they charge comes directly out of your account. For me, that was a $1000 cash missing for my trip. Yikes. I have never used debit cards since then for hotel reservations. Hard learned lesson...

I see this here in the US all the time at some merchants. Usually it is a gas station. I see a $1 "pending" charge show up on my card when I make the purchase. Then usually 24-48 hours later, it changes to the actual amount of the charge. I would assume the $1 is a test to verify the card is valid and there is a process that replaces the $1 with the actual charge at a later time. In my case, I see this on my credit card. Since you are using a debit card, that 1e is likely a "hold" done for the same testing purpose and it will drop off after some time period on its own if the hotel doesn't follow up with a real charge. The time it takes to drop off is actually controlled by YOUR bank and their policies and not the merchant who did the hold. However, I certainly would keep an eye on it and other transactions for a while.

Be careful of tiny amounts showing on card - someone (hopefully the hotel) could be testing the card prior to a larger amount. Keep an eye on it.

Yes, I'm doing that because that's exactly what happened to me last month. Someone somehow got a hold of my credit card info and made a small purchase of 10.00 (electronic gift card) on Zappos.com

I immediately called Zappos and canceled that card with the bank that day.

I'v been using Visa and Mastercard debit cards for years and never had a problem when traveling. And we travel a lot. No holds either, other than when renting a car which they do with my credit card as well anyway.

It might have something to do with the fact that I can use them as credit or debit.

That's not an issue.

Thank you all for your responses and opinions, but since this was almost 3 weeks prior to arrival I just was curious if anyone else has had this happen to them.

I had someone do the little charge on one of my Visa cards. Soon thereafter, a whole bunch of charges for FEDEX showed up. Someone got hold of my info and used to to fedex out checks to a bunch of women (the police figured it was probably a truckstop prostitution ring!!!).

Unless you can afford to have your deposit and any additional "incidentals" money tied up for a period of time (anywhere from 7-14 days, depending on your financial institution), DO NOT use a debit card for hotels!!! I get young newlyweds at my hotel for their honeymoon; they usually only have a debit card. They are very surprised when I tell them that their card will put a hard hold on enough money AT THE START to pay for all room nights AND a $100/night incidental payment. I had one poor couple left with no money for the week they were with us - they discovered it when they went to dinner and their debit card was denied… Use a credit card to guarantee the reservation and to check in - you just get a "preauthorization" with it to show you have enough credit. When you check out, most hotels will allow you to change your payment type. Then, put down your debit card for final payment.

I don't understand how people have a debit or credit card and do not understand holds and pre-authorizations.

ALL car rentals, hotels, cruise lines, and most gas stations put holds on both credit and debit cards. Most people with credit cards never know this because they have a high credit limit. With a debit card it directly affects the amount in your account.

For example, a car rental will place the full amount of the anticipated change plus $200 on hold when you first pick up the car.

I'm surprised you were able to use a debit card as they don't work in Europe except at the ATM. I use my credit card to guarantee a reservation and have never been charged in advance.

:confused:

This is untrue. Debit cards work fine in Europe.

So here is what happened. The hotel simply ran a test charge to verify that your card is valid. You might want to make sure that when you stay at the hotel they credit you that 1 Euro (we would do this for general principles).

Hank

As seen above.....a good reason NOT to have/use a debit card :eek:.

<<<Karen>>>

So here is what happened. The hotel simply ran a test charge to verify that your card is valid. You might want to make sure that when you stay at the hotel they credit you that 1 Euro (we would do this for general principles).

 

Hank

No need; these charges should not go through.

I have never heard of a hotel testing a card or putting a €1 charge on a card. European hotels will ask for a credit card number to hold the reservation and will use it for a cancellation or no show charge. I certainly wouldn't leave my debit card either.

I don't understand how people have a debit or credit card and do not understand holds and pre-authorizations.

 

ALL car rentals, hotels, cruise lines, and most gas stations put holds on both credit and debit cards. Most people with credit cards never know this because they have a high credit limit. With a debit card it directly affects the amount in your account.

 

For example, a car rental will place the full amount of the anticipated change plus $200 on hold when you first pick up the car.

Yikes, this was not my question. We're all adults and I think we all know the difference between debit and credit cards and how they work.

But to all of you that said it was just a test on the card, you were right.

The 1 Euro dropped off in 3 days and this is no longer an issue.

After traveling all over the world the last 30-40 years and using both debit and credit cards, this has never happened before. I thought it was an unusual transaction and wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them.

But all is good.:)

Yikes, this was not my question. We're all adults and I think we all know the difference between debit and credit cards and how they work.

But to all of you that said it was just a test on the card, you were right.

The 1 Euro dropped off in 3 days and this is no longer an issue.

After traveling all over the world the last 30-40 years and using both debit and credit cards, this has never happened before. I thought it was an unusual transaction and wondered if anyone else has had this happen to them.

But all is good.:)

We knew (and posted) that is was a test charge but should have added that it is a very rare occurrence. In forty plus years of international travel I can only recall it happening to us two times. One tour operator, who did this, later explained that they had issues with folks giving them invalid cards (card numbers) and this was the only way they could be sure the card was legit.

But with all the problems with credit card hacking we might see more of this stuff. In fact, just yesterday we had to update our credit card info on an ATT phone account that automatically bills my credit card. Within a few hours I noticed that ATT had run a $1.01 test charge against my new credit card number. This showed up as a "pending charge" and I suspect that they will reverse the transaction before it becomes a real charge. PayPal also runs test charges on most new accounts.

Hank

MasterCard told me that a test charge came through and that it was common with some hotels in Europe.

I would never, ever use a debit card. If it's lost or stolen, they could empty out your account.

I would never, ever use a debit card. If it's lost or stolen, they could empty out your account.

They are hard to use without the PIN.

And, as a general rule, you are not liable for any charges or transactions once you report the card missing or stolen. In real practice most US banks will cover unauthorized transactions even prior to being notified. And finally, most folks do have some coverage through their Home Owners insurance.

I should mention that we live in Mexico part of the year and some US and Canadian folks had a problem (last year) when their ATM cards were compromised by a "sniffer" on a bank ATM machine. To the best of our knowledge all the banks involved (US and Canadian) quickly reimbursed their clients. In our case, there were no unauthorized charges that made it through to our account, and our Credit Union immediately cancelled the card (before I even know there was a problem) and issued a new card.

That is one more reason why DW and I carry 3 different ATM cards (drawn on accounts in 3 different banks). On long trips its important to have back ups.

Hank

I am not reading this entire thread

I am giving serious advice here.....

Do not use your debit card at any street side ATM !!!

Rome Venice you name it don't use it

They have sniffers on the ATMs and you won't know what hit you as you will be on a cruise and out if Internet reach for the most part

The bad guys know this

So go I side a reputable bank should you need extra cash

Better yet use credit xards

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