VisaDebit versus Credit Card

[phardiva]

We are cruising on Voyager of the seas in September to Vietnam my question is can you put down a Visa debit card for payment on the ship or does it have

to be a credit card?

[cruisingn09]

You can put a visa debit card for payment but I wouldn’t advise it. I know some people have had some problems with excessive authorizations that didn’t drop off until well after they returned from their cruise which limited their access to their money. Bob (Host On this board) will be able to better answer this question. 

Edited May 24, 2019 by cruisingn09

[grandgeezer]

We wouldn't have a debit card. From what I understand, if someone gets a hold of your card number and PIN number, they can drain your account dry. The money is withdrawn instantly. With a credit card, you can contest any charge plus I think your liability is only $50 or $100. Plus depending on your timing you don't have to pay it off for well over a month. We also like the cash back. We use our credit card for just about everything and last year we got about $700 back.

[little britain]

With a Visa debit they put a “hold” on the funds... say, if they think your final bill will be $1000 they will hold $1000 from the account.

At the end of the cruise if your final bill is only $500 they will process that, but this is in addition to the $1000 they have held. So effectively your account is $1500 down.

The “hold” of $1000 will take about 10 days to be released, but this depends on your bank. Some have reported longer....... so if using a debit card make sure you have a big limit and can afford to allow such sums to be held in addition to the regular standing orders etc that go from your account. 

[Ourusualbeach]

If you want to use a Visa/Debit card I would set yourself up as a cash account.  On a 7 day sailing you can charge up to $500 before being asked to pay down the balance.  If you reach this limit or at the end of the cruise you can go to guest services and use your Visa/Debit to make a one time payment towards your account therefore no holds will be done.  You can do this as often as needed.

[uksimonusa]

I wouldn't use a debit card, if no credit card is available, I would buy OBC for the amount I expected to use, plus a safety margin, then set the account up as a cash account, any unused OBC can be cashed in at guest services or the casino, with no fee.

 

[bowler15547]

Never, ever use a debit card.

[PelicanBill]

We use our VISA endorsed debit card all the time. Never a problem with excessive hold times.  It may have to do with your bank but with Chase never had an issue.  Nobody is going to get your PIN # to drain your account and fraudulent purchases, if that ever happen, will get processed as credit so you have all your normal protections.  My funds have always been restored immediately when my card was used fraudulently (happened twice over 10 years.)  The only way anyone gets your PIN# is with a skimmer at an ATM or POS terminal.  Which is why you should always process as credit and not use your PIN#.

[TeeRick]

You can use a prepaid VISA card (or several).  In the US we purchase them at home at our local supermarket or department store. The modern version of traveler's checks.  Or you can do what some on here do.  Open a second bank account with limited funds in it and a travel-dedicated debit card or credit card or both.  Do not link it to your primary bank account and do not have over-draft protection.  In the unlikely case of a hack this limits your exposure.  But some banks also cover your liability on hacks too.  In the US,  I have heard that Charles Schwab, Bank of America, and probably many others have products customized for this type of travel. I'm guessing similar options are available at banks in Australia.

Edited May 24, 2019 by TeeRick

[Ashland]

Why feel it necessary to use any card when doing your SetSail...Just do a cash account then decide how you want to pay the final balance at the end of your cruise.

[brentconn]

4 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

We use our VISA endorsed debit card all the time. Never a problem with excessive hold times.  It may have to do with your bank but with Chase never had an issue.  Nobody is going to get your PIN # to drain your account and fraudulent purchases, if that ever happen, will get processed as credit so you have all your normal protections.  My funds have always been restored immediately when my card was used fraudulently (happened twice over 10 years.)  The only way anyone gets your PIN# is with a skimmer at an ATM or POS terminal.  Which is why you should always process as credit and not use your PIN#.

 

Just because it says VISA on your debit card, IT IS NOT in any way like a VISA or Master Card. Wait until there is a problem or you have unauthorized uses on it. Then you will see that it is handled differently. A real credit card doesn't affect your bank accounts but a debit card will.😉

[Snit13]

12 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

We wouldn't have a debit card. From what I understand, if someone gets a hold of your card number and PIN number, they can drain your account dry. The money is withdrawn instantly. With a credit card, you can contest any charge. We use our credit card for just about everything and last year we got about $700 back.

Agree.  Heard of someone who had his account cleaned out after dining at a restaurant in Atlanta.  Only have credit cards.  I now have about 80,000 points on my Celebrity Visa which I will use on my November cruise.

[ryano]

29 minutes ago, brentconn said:

 

Just because it says VISA on your debit card, IT IS NOT in any way like a VISA or Master Card. Wait until there is a problem or you have unauthorized uses on it. Then you will see that it is handled differently. A real credit card doesn't affect your bank accounts but a debit card will.😉

 

Ive had my VISA DEBIT card compromised twice.   I filed affidavit and my bank had my money back in my account by close of the day and I never heard another word about it.  Ive NEVER seen a credit card company work that fast?     The problem with your statement is, ALL of this depends on how each individual institution handles fraudulent charges and your blanket statement "then you will see that it is handled differently" isnt a one size fits all  🙂     It REALLY helps to bank with a small community bank or credit union that handles this NOW over the big banks that can take weeks to get your money back.

Edited May 24, 2019 by ryano

[ryano]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you want to use a Visa/Debit card I would set yourself up as a cash account.  On a 7 day sailing you can charge up to $500 before being asked to pay down the balance.  If you reach this limit or at the end of the cruise you can go to guest services and use your Visa/Debit to make a one time payment towards your account therefore no holds will be done.  You can do this as often as needed.

 

The absolute BEST way to use a debit card on a Royal Caribbean cruise!    

[brentconn]

I wasn't trying to make a blanket statement but I was trying to point out that in general it is better to use a credit card rather than a debit card. I've seen bank accounts drained entirely because their accounts have been linked to their savings. I am glad you had a good experience with getting your money back. It was really just my opinion based on information from my own bank and most legitimate banking sites say the same thing. There are advantages also to using a debit card especially if you can't pay off your balance every month. I use debit cards from time to time to get cash when I need it. Twice I had unauthorized charges on my CC and I didn't have to make a phone call. I clicked a couple of times on my laptop and I never heard another thing. I also get around $750  per year just using a CC. Just another perk. I agree that it might have taken weeks for them to resolve what ever happened but the point is that they took care of it and I never heard another word while all along MY money stayed safe in my accounts. I just googled credit cards and debit cards and you'll get links like this.

 

https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2017/which-is-better-debit-or-credit-card-fd.html

 

I understand your position but I think the advantages of a CC out weigh the DC.

[darthvadrouw]

1 hour ago, brentconn said:

 

Just because it says VISA on your debit card, IT IS NOT in any way like a VISA or Master Card. Wait until there is a problem or you have unauthorized uses on it. Then you will see that it is handled differently. A real credit card doesn't affect your bank accounts but a debit card will.😉

It depends on what your definition of Visa/Mastercard is 🙂
Visa and Mastercard do not issue any debit/credit/prepaid cards, they are card associations/schemes that facilitate communication (authorisation,capture) between issuing banks and acquiring banks via their networks (VisaNet for Visa and BankNet for Mastercard)
They also provide secure online cardholder authentication (3D Secure) for merchants that desire it. 3D Secure not prevalent in the US, although it will become more and more used in the future as the goal of the schemes is for it to be used for every transaction with 3DS V2. (Verified by Visa for Visa and Secure Code/Identity Check for MasterCard).

If it says VISA on your card (Debit or Credit) it will use the VisaNet network and Verified by Visa if the online merchant desires it and the card is compatible. Same thing for Mastercard.
So in regards to the Visa scheme perspective, a debit and credit Visa will work in the same way.

Now a credit card does not work in the same way as a debit one in regards of how the customer pays his bill (directly from bank account or credit). But that doesn't depend on Visa/Mastercard, it is to do with the issuing banks.

Regarding concierge services, insurances etc.. those are based on what the issuing banks offers for the card you got. For example you could have one issuing bank that offers concierge service for it's Visa Gold card but another bank will not propose it for their Gold offer.

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by darthvadrouw

[brentconn]

All good points. I think 3D secure is provided by Visa and MasterCard under the name Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code.

Edited May 24, 2019 by brentconn

[PelicanBill]

1 hour ago, brentconn said:

 

Just because it says VISA on your debit card, IT IS NOT in any way like a VISA or Master Card. Wait until there is a problem or you have unauthorized uses on it. Then you will see that it is handled differently. A real credit card doesn't affect your bank accounts but a debit card will.😉

I have had fraud issues happen to me twice. It was handled exactly the same way as a credit card and by the same department as the credit cards at the bank.  I believe it all depends on your bank.  Chase is a large bank and handles it well.   My funds were restored immediately and my card was re-issued. 

[darthvadrouw]

18 minutes ago, brentconn said:

All good points. I think 3D secure is provided by Visa and MasterCard under the name Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code.

For V1 :
Visa : Verified By Visa
MasterCard : SecureCode

For V2

Visa : Verified By Visa
MasterCard : Identity Check



Regarding 3DS, they also only handle the DS part that facilitates exchanges between ACS/3DS Server. Authentication will be done by the bank's ACS (text message, fingerprint or whatever).
 

Edited May 24, 2019 by darthvadrouw

[AlanF65]

I opened a Capital one 360 checking account with debit card for travel. There are no transaction fees on currency exchange at ATM's they honor. I used it in Vancouver to get some cash. I will use it for my vacation cash account.

[phardiva]

Thank you all for your reply's