New credit card policy

[Randyk47]

wow. some people don't use credit. i operate om a cash-only basis. grandpa always said "if you don't have the cash for it, you don't need it". he died a very wealthy man.

 

The beauty and attraction of AMEX is that it's not a charge card in the sense of some of the others. It's a cash and carry operation. You have to pay the bill in full when it comes. There are versions of AMEX, like Optima, that allow carrying a balance, and thereby paying them interest, from month to month but we don't carry that one. When the AMEX bill comes in we pay it in full....pretty much same as cash and I don't have to carry the money around with me. Works for us. :)

[m steve]

which I pay off in full every month, I couldn't have gotten my 2- 1st class air tickets to get to my Med. cruise.

[serendipity1499]

The beauty and attraction of AMEX is that it's not a charge card in the sense of some of the others. It's a cash and carry operation. You have to pay the bill in full when it comes. There are versions of AMEX, like Optima, that allow carrying a balance, and thereby paying them interest, from month to month but we don't carry that one. When the AMEX bill comes in we pay it in full....pretty much same as cash and I don't have to carry the money around with me. Works for us. :)

 

Randy et al....Doesn't AMEX charge a yearly service charge..I had an AMEX Company Card when I worked... AMEX keeps offering me their card, but I can't see any reason to have it..

We have a joint Chase Credit Card with a very high limit..We use it for everything & completely pay it off each month..We get 1% back on all purchases & 3% back for fuel..So we're making $$$ by having it..

For Foreign purchases we each have a low limit CapitalOne card..CapitlOne does not charge a conversion fee on foreign currency..That's also paid in full when we use it..Consumer Reports rated CapitalOne as one of the best to have.. Also learned that our CapitalOne card will now give us 3% back on groceries, so will start using it at the Supermarket..

We never carry a balance on any of our cards...Therefore, we'll get $300-$400 cash back each year...So in effect our Credit Cards, also work just like cash... However if the banks start charging those of us who pay in full every month, we may have to look into something else..

Cheers...:)Betty

[The Tsar]

Randy et al....Doesn't AMEX charge a yearly service charge..I

 

There different AMEX cards - Some have no service charge, just cash back.

[Roz]

CtheWorld,

 

There's no problem with putting a cash deposit down for your account.

 

Roz

[sapper1]

If you paid with a Visa or Mastercard, you could report them to the CC company. You are not allowed to charge extra for using a credit card, but you can give a "cash discount" to those who pay cash. If you use a credit card, you should only be charged the advertised price.

Thank you and I will file that piece of advice for future reference. We did use Visa but I no longer have the receipt and I can't remember the name of the restaurant. There are several in Tivoli Gardens.

I

[dwillis43]

HAL is a business. They need to be sure that their customers can pay. Since there's no cash exchanged onboard for services, food, drinks, etc., the cruiseline would like to be assured that by extending credit to you while you're on their ship, you'll be able to pay them.

 

It's not a scheme. It's business.

 

They have a right to do as they please. Not all cruise lines do business this way. I have never had this much held out on Royal. This is Royal's response to the question.

 

"During check-in, your credit card will be verified as an active card. Each evening, if purchases were made throughout the day, your bank will put a hold for the amount charged. At the end of the cruise, the bank will put through the charges incurred."

 

This seems a more logical and fair process. JMHO

[momofmeg]

This has been discussed ad nauseum on these boards.

 

It is a hold, not a charge. At the end of the cruise, they will remove that as they charge what you actually spent.

 

If Philip 217 is telling the truth this may been necessary-he said the lines have been having a problem with denied credit cards at the end of the cruise and people claiming they were indigent.

 

If you look in "money saving tips" you will find a post of one cruiser who posted she had to sign an "IOU" on RCI, because she had maxed out her credit card.

 

They are just covering for worst case scenarios.

[momofmeg]

They have a right to do as they please. Not all cruise lines do business this way. I have never had this much held out on Royal. This is Royal's response to the question.

 

"During check-in, your credit card will be verified as an active card. Each evening, if purchases were made throughout the day, your bank will put a hold for the amount charged. At the end of the cruise, the bank will put through the charges incurred."

 

This seems a more logical and fair process. JMHO

 

Royal may change their policy-see my post below yours.

[ekerr19]

Thank you and I will file that piece of advice for future reference. We did use Visa but I no longer have the receipt and I can't remember the name of the restaurant. There are several in Tivoli Gardens.

I

 

Sapper1 -

 

I recall this happening to us in Copenhagen as well... and it was years ago. The reason we were given was the added expense of running the card through for purpose of conversion. We also felt is wasn't huge enough to make a difference. It also saved us the conversion rate of converting more dollars than we felt we'd need for our pre/post cruise stay.

 

We used Amex and that is not always a popular card abroad (due to high merchant fees) - regardless of the commercials, lol.

[aussiedisneyfan]

at the risk of being flamed..... if you don't have at least a $5000 line of credit available on a credit card, should you really be cruising? If someone needs to get their limit raised in order to go, I for one would be spending the money to get my balance paid off rather than cruising.. JMHO

 

I am not flaming, just offering a comment on a situtation. We have friends that have the finances to afford cruises, however, they have a credit card with only a $500 limit. They simply maintain a credit (right phrase(?) - not owing) balance so they can use it for more than that amount. The hold would cause them problems.

 

I am not that organised and have numerous cards (with zero balances) so the hold will be no problem for me.

[dwillis43]

Royal may change their policy-see my post below yours.

 

Your right they may change, but they are not doing it now.

[Philip217]

It is just ridiculous how advertising in the America these days is able to get away with falsely advertising the price of a cruise and adding extra via tax, port fees, fuel surcharge, a "hotel" charge, prepaid gratuities, etc which is stipulated in the fine print. I know this is kinda off topic but it really shouldn't be allowed. In Europe, the price that's displayed is the FINAL price you will pay. None of this extra fluff.

 

In my opinion it is actually anti-capitalistic. Sorry for the digression but I had to vent. The credit card "hold" scheme is unnecessary complication in my book.

 

/end_rant

 

This "hold scheme" was made necessary by all the deadbeats who go on a cruise, fully knowing that they cannot afford to be there.

On the mass market ships today, an average of 10% of pax cannot afford to pay their onboard charges at the end of the cruise. That's 200 or more passengers who can only sign a promissory note that they will try to pay "sometime in the future". Good luck to the cruise lines trying to get that money. And good luck to the honest passengers who will be paying higher fares to cover the losses.

 

If this hold was not placed on credit cards, the number of deadbeats would be much higher.

 

Incidentally, the hold is calculated by the average amount spent per passenger on a cruise. HAL has one of the lowest numbers - $60 per day.

Although it varies by itinerary and season, most of the other mass market lines average a per person per day revenue somewhere between $70 and $80.

[ekerr19]

This "hold scheme" was made necessary by all the deadbeats who go on a cruise, fully knowing that they cannot afford to be there.

On the mass market ships today, an average of 10% of pax cannot afford to pay their onboard charges at the end of the cruise. That's 200 or more passengers who can only sign a promissory note that they will try to pay "sometime in the future". Good luck to the cruise lines trying to get that money. And good luck to the honest passengers who will be paying higher fares to cover the losses.

 

If this hold was not placed on credit cards, the number of deadbeats would be much higher.

 

Incidentally, the hold is calculated by the average amount spent per passenger on a cruise. HAL has one of the lowest numbers - $60 per day.

Although it varies by itinerary and season, most of the other mass market lines average a per person per day revenue somewhere between $70 and $80.

 

I agree, however disagree it is a "scheme".... it has been done as policy by hotels, car rental agencies, etc. for years. Nothing new.

 

Too many deadbeats out there have ruined it for everyone else.

[momatibm]

I agree, however disagree it is a "scheme".... it has been done as policy by hotels, car rental agencies, etc. for years. Nothing new.

 

Too many deadbeats out there have ruined it for everyone else.

 

I agree -- a debit card is not accepted in many places -- the 'supplier's; need a little insurance the can get paid when the 'event' is over.

[Cruise Junky]

They have a right to do as they please. Not all cruise lines do business this way. I have never had this much held out on Royal. This is Royal's response to the question.

 

"During check-in, your credit card will be verified as an active card. Each evening, if purchases were made throughout the day, your bank will put a hold for the amount charged. At the end of the cruise, the bank will put through the charges incurred."

 

This seems a more logical and fair process. JMHO

 

That's exactly what Princess does. HAL is the only line that I've been able to find that holds a set amount per person per day. Very strange! Should be based on what you spend, not what they think you'll spend.

[pms4104]

I agree -- a debit card is not accepted in many places -- the 'supplier's; need a little insurance the can get paid when the 'event' is over.

I have long felt that HAL, and others who need to put a hold on one's credit card, should do so 7 days before the onset of services, be it cruise embarkation or car rental or whatever. At that point, if the card doesn't have enough available credit line, passengers can be notified that they have 6 days to square things away in one way or another (different credit card or perhaps a bank check in the hold amount) ... or they will be denied services.

[Cruise Junky]

I have long felt that HAL, and others who need to put a hold on one's credit card, should do so 7 days before the onset of services, be it cruise embarkation or car rental or whatever. At that point, if the card doesn't have enough available credit line, passengers can be notified that they have 6 days to square things away in one way or another (different credit card or perhaps a bank check in the hold amount) ... or they will be denied services.

 

That's total BS. HAL has no idea how much you're going to spend on a cruise. If someone takes a 10 day cruise and only buys soft drinks who the hell is anyone to tell them they can't cruise?

[ekerr19]

Is this really such a problem for so many people? I can pull out my wallet and find at least 10 credit cards that have enough available credit to travel around the world a few times without a problem.

 

I am not rich or even what I would consider "well off". We're comfortable.

 

I also embrace the "cash is king" policy and we pay or cards right away - but we are only in our 40's and we seem to have tons of credit, based on what I'm reading here.

 

It's hard for me to believe others don't have enough to cover this "pre-authorization" for a HAL cruise... :confused:

[Cruise Junky]

Is this really such a problem for so many people? I can pull out my wallet and find at least 10 credit cards that have enough available credit to travel around the world a few times without a problem.

 

I am not rich or even what I would consider "well off". We're comfortable.

 

I also embrace the "cash is king" policy and we pay or cards right away - but we are only in our 40's and we seem to have tons of credit, based on what I'm reading here.

 

It's hard for me to believe others don't have enough to cover this "pre-authorization" for a HAL cruise... :confused:

 

With how many times this subject is being brought up lately, I'm going to say yes, it is a problem for some people. I agree, I have numerous cards that I could use, but not everyone is in that situation.

[momatibm]

With how many times this subject is being brought up lately, I'm going to say yes, it is a problem for some people. I agree, I have numerous cards that I could use, but not everyone is in that situation.

 

Well, then I guess-- like the mortgage industry where people were approved for houses there are many people that can't afford the true cost of cruising -- shouldn;t be on the the ships -- not matter which cruise line it is

[pms4104]

That's total BS. HAL has no idea how much you're going to spend on a cruise. If someone takes a 10 day cruise and only buys soft drinks who the hell is anyone to tell them they can't cruise?

And how can HAL differentiate between those who only plan to buy $25 worth of soda on a 10-day from those that will spend thousands? Well, they can't ... that's why they need to protect their interests. With a reported 10% deadbeat rate, service suppliers can't absorb these unsupported purchases indefinitely ... hence, you and I pay more to compensate.

[Cruise Junky]

Well, then I guess-- like the mortgage industry where people were approved for houses there are many people that can't afford the true cost of cruising -- shouldn;t be on the the ships -- not matter which cruise line it is

 

Then sadly a lot of them would be out of business. HAL was blowing out Alaska this year for $299 Canadian. I'm sure that attracted a lot of people who were looking for a cheap vacation. And no one's saying they can't afford to cruise, hopefully people that don't have 1,000s of credit card room spend accordingly.

[jester121]

That's total BS. HAL has no idea how much you're going to spend on a cruise. If someone takes a 10 day cruise and only buys soft drinks who the hell is anyone to tell them they can't cruise?

 

Gee, I dunno -- the company that owns the boat? :rolleyes:

 

Well, then I guess-- like the mortgage industry where people were approved for houses there are many people that can't afford the true cost of cruising -- shouldn;t be on the the ships -- not matter which cruise line it is

 

A lot of those same people who bought too much house also had way too much available consumer credit, and were leveraged up to their hair. For a long time the credit card companies were very happy to keep raising their limits as often as needed to keep the spending going strong.

[Cruise Junky]

And how can HAL differentiate between those who only plan to buy $25 worth of soda on a 10-day from those that will spend thousands? Well, they can't ... that's why they need to protect their interests. With a reported 10% deadbeat rate, service suppliers can't absorb these unsupported purchases indefinitely ... hence, you and I pay more to compensate.

 

They could do it the way every other cruise line does it. Put the hold on for what is being spent not what they assume is being spent. All the others don't seem to have a problem doing this and this conversation doesn't take place on the other boards. Totally agree they should be protected but HAL is alone is this policy.