debit cards vs credit cards

Cunard does not accept travelers checks - and I suspect other lines will back away from them as well. Also, many places overseas do not recognize them, and those that do will hit you with an exchange fee from $ to local.

 

Your bank's debit card for use at bank ATM's is the best way to travel with "cash". The only cas) it makes sense to carry are you small expenses - on board or ashore.

I suspect that it would be difficult to find a place to buy the travelers checks in the first place, I don't believe any of the banks in our town sell them. Seems like people are leaving home without them.;)

I guess this is one of those glass half full/half empty things- if I am paying more for using my credit card then in my view I am paying a surcharge for the privilege. It's not a practice that is used here in Vermont, a friend of mine runs a gas station and he says that if someone uses a credit card he loses money on many transactions because of the fee he is charged for taking the card. (I have noticed some gas stations/stores that impose a minimum purchase limit for using a credit card though.)

Not really --- the posted price is for credit card purchases - with a discount given for cash - which happens in very many venues: lumber yards, heavy construction materials most common. Being given a discount for paying in cash has been common in the US for years.

To claim that giving some a discount is the same as making others pay a surcharge is comparable to stating that if a last minute cruise purchaser gets a low price, the line is retroactively hitting all the earlier purchasers with a surcharge (which, sad to say, some posters on these boards says happens to them: they feel cheated when a later purchaser gets a better deal.

Bein

The poster price IS the price but we will discount IF you pay cash.

Not really --- the posted price is for credit card purchases - with a discount given for cash - which happens in very many venues: lumber yards, heavy construction materials most common. Being given a discount for paying in cash has been common in the US for years.

 

To claim that giving some a discount is the same as making others pay a surcharge is comparable to stating that if a last minute cruise purchaser gets a low price, the line is retroactively hitting all the earlier purchasers with a surcharge (which, sad to say, some posters on these boards says happens to them: they feel cheated when a later purchaser gets a better deal.

 

Bein

That is exactly what they want you to believe. The profit for a gas station on a gallon of gas is a nickle and if the credit card price represents the retail price then the station loses money on a cash transaction. Now, I'm not a businessman but I surely would not set it up that way- the cash price would be the "regular" price and then I'd tack on a surcharge for credit purchases to cover the cost that I'm paying the credit card company for using their card. (Other stores protect themselves by establishing a minimum purchase limit before accepting a credit card, but then they enjoy a higher profit margin and don't actually lose money on a credit card transaction.)

As for the lumber yard analogy my lumber yard round the corner gives said discount whether you use cash or credit card- if you put it on a business account with the yard than you don't get the discount.

And the cruise line analogy also fails because the cruise lines offer a time sensitive consumable product that loses all value after a specified point in time. That situation is akin to a grocery store marking down goods as they get close to their expiration date as the product may no longer be sold after that.

You may not see a difference between applying a surcharge for using a credit card and giving a discount for paying with cash -- but state legislatures certainly do: both Connecticut and New Jersey (probably many other jurisdictions as well) forbid the application of surcharges - but do allow the giving of discounts for cash - which has long been commonplace in many sorts of transactions.

It depends upon what the posted price is - if the gas station posted the cash price, and then charged more if you use a credit card, you would have a point: but they don't.

You may not see a difference between applying a surcharge for using a credit card and giving a discount for paying with cash -- but state legislatures certainly do: both Connecticut and New Jersey (probably many other jurisdictions as well) forbid the application of surcharges - but do allow the giving of discounts for cash - which has long been commonplace in many sorts of transactions.

 

It depends upon what the posted price is - if the gas station posted the cash price, and then charged more if you use a credit card, you would have a point: but they don't.

Yes, they skirt the law by calling it a discount but there is no doubt in my mind that they are increasing the price to account for credit card payments and to prevent the loss that occurs when a credit card is used. To me that is a surcharge no matter how you slice it, it's just added in before the sale (just like the excise taxes are).

Yes, they skirt the law by calling it a discount but there is no doubt in my mind that they are increasing the price to account for credit card payments and to prevent the loss that occurs when a credit card is used. To me that is a surcharge no matter how you slice it, it's just added in before the sale (just like the excise taxes are).

No they price their product to account for all their expenses of selling said product. In this case this expense is that 98% (or more) of all customers pay with credit card. The credit card companies charge 3 to 5% and some more, as a curtesy to the few customers who pay cash they will give a slight discount.

This is how it works in 2 gas stations in the community I live in, the others 5 offer no discounts. I did just buy a new refrig and in negotiations I offered to pay cash vs using a credit card and got better pricing from the posted price.

For a 7 day cruise we spent less than $500. How would you spend $5000?

 

Easy just go to Guest Services and add more cash to the account. I added a $1000 initially to our account and yes I kept more in the cabin safe. A credit card can be stolen and charged till maxed out (which can be thousands) if cash is stolen that number is more finite. Plus no hassle of fighting with credit card companies.

 

Personally I would never use a credit card and risk the theft of the card or worse, having my identity stolen. Also, if i can't afford to pay for it with cash then obviously I can't afford it and shouldn't be putting the purchase on a credit card. We do have one for emergencies but it's for just that, a dire emergency.

 

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Please understand that not everyone limits their traveling to 7 day cruises. In fact, we seldom take cruises less than 14 days in length and routinely are on 2 month long trips. As to credit cards, many reputable hotels will not even allow you to check-in without a credit card. And it is just about impossible to rent a car without a credit card. And most folks now buy airline tickets, cruise tickets, etc. with a major credit card. And in the USA using a credit card for purchases gives you extra legal protections (based on federal law) such as the ability to "dispute" a charge...whereas you have no recourse if you pay via cash or debit card.

We would agree that its not a wise financial decision to pay interest on credit card purchases, but many folks (including moi) always pay off their monthly credit card bills to avoid any interest or extra charges. The problem with credit cards are not the cards...but the users of cards that lack the financial discipline necessary to use them in an intelligent way.

Hank

No they price their product to account for all their expenses of selling said product. In this case this expense is that 98% (or more) of all customers pay with credit card. The credit card companies charge 3 to 5% and some more, as a curtesy to the few customers who pay cash they will give a slight discount.

 

This is how it works in 2 gas stations in the community I live in, the others 5 offer no discounts. I did just buy a new refrig and in negotiations I offered to pay cash vs using a credit card and got better pricing from the posted price.

Very well said - and the refrigerator example is exactly on point. Very many of us have experienced buying furniture or appliances and being given a discount from the posted price if we pay cash --- that is certainly not the same as claiming that people who pay the posted price by using a credit card are paying a surcharge -- they are simply not negotiating a transaction by offering an advantage to the merchant.

For me, I would never use a debit card.

I don't even use a credit card. When you arrive on the ship, tell the representative that you are setting up a cash account. I bring whatever amount I want to apply and put it on my account. I do not give a credit card.

I also pay for as much as I can in advance. As a new cruiser you might not know that you can go on the specific lines website with your Cruise Reservation Number and you can do several things:

1)pay for soda cards

2) pay for excursions

3) pay for spa

4) pay for liquor cards

They also have cruise cash where you can pay an amount on your cabin. Call your cruise line, you can do it with your debit card in advance.

A general guideline to credit card charges / discounts in the UK.......

Visitors are very very unlikely to either pay an add-on to use a card, or get a discount for cash. For transactions at restaurants, pubs, rail travel, admissions to sights, gas stations, shops etc you can use either card or cash & the price is the posted price. Car rental agencies accept either cash or card for the same price, but will certainly want a card to guarantee unforeseen extras (damage, traffic violations, failure to return with a contracted full tank, etc)

The only exceptions for visitors are likely to be ticket agencies (London theatre etc) & taxis, which do charge extra to use a card. (some taxis don't accept cards, check before boarding).

For purchases under about £5 most places now refuse credit cards, or apply a charge.

Credit card charges are normally added for purchases through agencies - air travel, travel agents, ticket agencies etc. Agency commissions are low compared to the sum involved, so they need to cover that overheads.

All vendors are obliged by law to advise you of any card charges before agreeing to the transaction.

We locals check whether there's a credit card fee for major purchases - things like utility bills, buying household appliances, cruise tickets & such.

If there's a fee, we generally use debit card or cash instead.

If there's no fee and the price is over about £100 it's sometimes worth asking for a discount for cash or debit card. That tends to work with local independent suppliers, tends not to work with corporations - they actually prefer card payments.

JB :)

The whole concept of discounts for cash (at least in the US) was originally linked to two factors: risk and the time value of money. Until mid-twentieth century credit cards were virtually non-existent. Merchants accepted risk of non-payment if they did not get cash on delivery (remember COD?), and, in times of high interest rates, they incurred carrying costs for parting with inventory without receiving funds for replenishment.

Credit cards removed those risks from merchants - at the cost of applying a charge of anywhere from 2% to 5% (American Express's standard, resulting in many merchants no longer accepting them). If a merchant decides to escape the cost of that discount, while still making a sale, he will logically grant a discount.

The fact that we are now largely in a credit-based economy means that pricing now includes what merchants must accept the cost of card issuers' discounts -- so if they charge less for a cash transaction, it is clearly a discount -- rather than seeing the credit card price as applying a surcharge.

We did notice that in St Maarten, everyone charged a small fee (I think it was $2) to use a credit card. Perhaps they have large surcharges there; either way, I still used my credit card, mostly because I DO NOT want to carry a lot of cash with me.

These days, it is next to impossible to travel anywhere without a credit card. I went for a few years without one, due to a business failure and unemployment during the recession. We went nowhere, not even a local hotel for a night or two, for almost 7 years. Our first cruise 2 years ago was our first vacation in almost 7 years at that point. Even a card with a small limit is better than nothing.

I think that popular big box travel agency/auto service company still sells traveler's checks, but I honestly don't think many places take them, and I would bet that no one under the age of 40 even knows what they are.

Very well said - and the refrigerator example is exactly on point. Very many of us have experienced buying furniture or appliances and being given a discount from the posted price if we pay cash --- that is certainly not the same as claiming that people who pay the posted price by using a credit card are paying a surcharge -- they are simply not negotiating a transaction by offering an advantage to the merchant.

It would be more on point if the sign on the refigerator said "credit card price- $1,200; cash price- $1,100". Yes savvy consumers in large dollar transactions may have some success negotiating a cash price for the product. However that is not what we are talking about. Gas stations cannot say our price for gas is $x but if you use a credit card it will be $y. They can say our price for gas is $y but if you pay cash it is $x. In either case you are paying more for using credit, call it whatever you will.

We did notice that in St Maarten, everyone charged a small fee (I think it was $2) to use a credit card. Perhaps they have large surcharges there; either way, I still used my credit card, mostly because I DO NOT want to carry a lot of cash with me.

 

These days, it is next to impossible to travel anywhere without a credit card. I went for a few years without one, due to a business failure and unemployment during the recession. We went nowhere, not even a local hotel for a night or two, for almost 7 years. Our first cruise 2 years ago was our first vacation in almost 7 years at that point. Even a card with a small limit is better than nothing.

 

I think that popular big box travel agency/auto service company still sells traveler's checks, but I honestly don't think many places take them, and I would bet that no one under the age of 40 even knows what they are.

If you are going to use a credit card out of the country then make sure it is one that has no foreign transaction fees. Otherwise, you could get hit with an additional 3%. That being said, we always use a credit card out of the country because the bank gives us a much better exchange rate on the charges than we can get if we use local currency. You usually get a lousy exchange rate when buying foreign currency, especially at an airport.

Examples - In February I paid the hotel bill in Costa Rica on my Mastercard. The hotel said that the charge was $1126.00 USD and ran the charge in Colones. Based on the exchange rate the hotel was using, that was correct. However, when I had to pay my credit card bill, the charge was only $1099.00 USD because my bank had a better exchange rate. So, I saved $27.00 by putting the charge on my credit card.

Last week in Mexico we had lunch at the Cancun Airport. The bill was 728 pesos or $45.28 USD according to the restaurant's exchange rate. I just checked my credit card bill and Chase converted the 728 pesos to $40.11. Another savings, even if it is only $5.17.

It would be more on point if the sign on the refigerator said "credit card price- $1,200; cash price- $1,100". Yes savvy consumers in large dollar transactions may have some success negotiating a cash price for the product. However that is not what we are talking about. Gas stations cannot say our price for gas is $x but if you use a credit card it will be $y. They can say our price for gas is $y but if you pay cash it is $x. In either case you are paying more for using credit, call it whatever you will.

You make the point. precisely: they do not say price for gas is $x, but if you use credit it is $y because that would make it a surcharge. What they do say is that the price is $y, but if you pay cash we will discount it to $x.

That makes it a discount for cash, whether you like it or not.

As this is a cruise site, try thinking about it in terms of the tides: halfway between high and low, you will experience mid-tide ----- but if it is a flooding tide it will be as the water is rising, and if an ebbing tide, it will be as the water is falling -- yes, the same depth, but for entirely different reasons.

I do not recommend use a debit card, there are some lines that put a 72 hour hold on 2X the amount of all onboard purchases. Just be careful

I do not recommend use a debit card on a cruise, some lines put a 72 hour hold on 2X the amount of all onboard purchases, just be careful.

I am a first time cruiser looking at the liberty ship out of Galveston. I read on the site where you use either a debit or credit card or cash for a "deposit" assuming u plan to charge stuff. My question is since they put a hold on the debit card which is what I will have to use....we have 2 adults and 2 kids....do they put the hold on it per person, per room, per adult or how does this work? I am trying to budget for everything so just trying to prepare. We plan on paying for cash whenever possible but read on the ship we would have to use either kind of card.

 

Thank you for any input:)

I do not recommend use a debit card on a cruise, some lines put a 72 hour hold on 2X the amount of all onboard purchases, just be careful.

You make the point. precisely: they do not say price for gas is $x, but if you use credit it is $y because that would make it a surcharge. What they do say is that the price is $y, but if you pay cash we will discount it to $x.

 

That makes it a discount for cash, whether you like it or not.

 

As this is a cruise site, try thinking about it in terms of the tides: halfway between high and low, you will experience mid-tide ----- but if it is a flooding tide it will be as the water is rising, and if an ebbing tide, it will be as the water is falling -- yes, the same depth, but for entirely different reasons.

And that brings us full circle back to my original point- how one views this is a glass half empty/glass half full thing. You view it as a discount. I view it as a surcharge. Neither one of us is wrong or right, it's a view point. I neither like or dislike how you view it because how you view it does not affect how I view it. When they started this practice it was a surcharge. They changed the way they do it because of law and rule changes, but in my mind that did not change the nature of the beast- it just put some lipstick on it to try to make it look better, so I continue to think of it as a surcharge.

And that brings us full circle back to my original point- how one views this is a glass half empty/glass half full thing. You view it as a discount. I view it as a surcharge. Neither one of us is wrong or right, it's a view point. I neither like or dislike how you view it because how you view it does not affect how I view it. When they started this practice it was a surcharge. They changed the way they do it because of law and rule changes, but in my mind that did not change the nature of the beast- it just put some lipstick on it to try to make it look better, so I continue to think of it as a surcharge.

In the UK it started out (decades ago) as a discount - something less than the advertised price.

Then the card issuers threatened merchants that the card facility would be withdrawn if they discounted for cash. Court action followed & the card issuers had to withdraw their threats.

Nowadays the vast majority of transactions don't differentiate, and as in my previous post those that do are now very definitely regarded as a surcharge - something on top of the advertised price.

Some merchants (Ryanair is a classic example) were quoting low headline prices but adding an excessive surcharge (10% and more) for using either credit cards or debit cards - even though they were the only payment methods that were accepted.

That was theoretically illegal, Ryanair thought they'd get away with that by not charging a fee for those paying with a specific little-known German debit card.

The wheels of justice turn remarkably slowly, but now it's illegal for a vendor to add a surcharge higher than the card commission that they incur - generally 2% to 2.5% for credit cards & zilch for debit cards

JB :)

Not sure folks are aware of just how much credit hold is put on their account. One can simply call any cruise line and ask for this info. We know one major cruise line that puts on a $60 per person/day hold which means a couple on a short 14 day cruise the hold would be $1680! And on really long cruises (which we take several times a year) the hold can be multiple thousands of dollars. And assume that you simply go to rent a car for a single day (during your trip)......which can add another hold (sometimes in excess or $1000) dollars. Hotels also put on credit holds (when you check-in) which will often exceed $200 a night! This stuff adds up and many folks do not have very high credit limits or thousands of dollars in their checking (debit card) accounts.

 

One solution is AMEX...since their cards do not have a set credit limit. Another option is to simply call your Visa/MC issuing bank (or just call the number on the card) and ask to have your credit limit temporarily increased during your trip (if you have a good credit history this request will usually be quickly granted).

 

Hank

Great advice, but one thing to keep in mind, is that less and less businesses are accepting AMEX due to their high transaction fees, and I expect that trend to continue. As of right now, a large number of businesses do still take AMEX, but I would also be prepared for that to change at some point.

Great advice, but one thing to keep in mind, is that less and less businesses are accepting AMEX due to their high transaction fees, and I expect that trend to continue. As of right now, a large number of businesses do still take AMEX, but I would also be prepared for that to change at some point.

You are absolutely correct. That being said, we love our AMEX as a card to be used for generally more expensive purchases. If we book a $25,000 cruise we can put it on AMEX with no concern about credit limits. And its the same when we take long cruises (just returned from a 55 day one) where the "credit hold" is thousands of dollars. But otherwise, we tend to stick with our Visa and MC (both of which have zero foreign exchange fees) since they are more widely accepted. AMEX has made their own bed, with the high percentage charged to retailers and we do wonder about their long term future. But they remain a popular option because of their amazing customer service and open-ended (but controlled) credit limits.

That being said, even we now question the wisdom of AMEX (and we have held the card for nearly forty years) when compared to other high end cards issued by Chase and a few others.

Hank

AMEX have been pricing themselves out of the regular credit card business - and their travelers checks business is also on the wane. But we do like their travel insurance options and, in particular, their flat rate complete insurance coverage on car rentals: $24 for full coverage regardless of length - expensive for a one or two day rental, but a bargain for a week or more compared with other options.

Here's another egg tossed into the mix.

Be it credit or debit, always have a backup card.

Twice, we've been on the Med and received fraud alerts. The most recent alert was on my "personal" card, and we used only the "vacation" card on our trip.

Be aware that hacking, skimming, cloning, etc. are not the only ways your card can be compromised. Crooks have programs that generate numbers. They test it with a cheap purchase, which often raises the red flag. Somebody spent a couple of bucks at MacDonald's, then went wild at Pier One in Miami. Indeed, most of the fraudulent charges over the years have been in Miami, and we've never been in Miami.

The other time, the skimming was traced to a local restaurant (we were one victim among many), and the fraudulent charges came out of Bed Bath and Beyond in Miami.

Anyway, we'd have been up the creek if we carried but a single card, or at least hugely inconvenienced until a new card could catch up with us.