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Hotel payment
Hello,
I contacted the list a couple of weeks ago re. booking hotels in the USA and Canada. The vast majority I have managed to do so via Expedia as they take a switch card - and I have prepaid. One or two in a bit more out-of-the-way places however don't accept switch cards - even through Expedia. What I'm thinking of doing is getting someone else,with a card of the type which the hotels accept) to make the deposit (then I pay them back), then get my own credit card (of one of the acceptable types) in the meantime. Would they accept a different credit card to the one used for the deposit? Alternatively, how about travellers' cheques? Of the two hotels that don't take switch through Expedia, one is a family run "inn" in the mountains and another is a Super 8 Motel. Thanks, Nick |
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Hotel payment
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Hotel payment
On 05/30/2004 6:45 AM Nick Whitelegg consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared:
Hello, I contacted the list a couple of weeks ago re. booking hotels in the USA and Canada. The vast majority I have managed to do so via Expedia as they take a switch card - and I have prepaid. One or two in a bit more out-of-the-way places however don't accept switch cards - even through Expedia. What I'm thinking of doing is getting someone else,with a card of the type which the hotels accept) to make the deposit (then I pay them back), then get my own credit card (of one of the acceptable types) in the meantime. Would they accept a different credit card to the one used for the deposit? Alternatively, how about travellers' cheques? Of the two hotels that don't take switch through Expedia, one is a family run "inn" in the mountains and another is a Super 8 Motel. Thanks, Nick Nick, I have no idea as to what a "switch" card might be. I don't think many businesses in the US know what one is either. VISA and MasterCard credit cards are accepted almost universally. Obtain one of these before you travel. As for Super 8 Motel, stay anywhere else. You aren't missing out on anything great by not being able to book at a Super 8 Motel. As for the "Ma and Pop" Inn in the mountains. You might try calling them directly and asking them for alternatives to secure your room, i.e. certified bank check in US Dollars, Money-Gram, etc. -- ________ To email me, Edit "xt" from my email address. Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!" View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951 |
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Hotel payment
I have no idea as to what a "switch" card might be. I don't think many businesses in the US know what one is either. VISA and MasterCard credit cards are accepted almost universally. Obtain one of these before you travel. As for Super 8 Motel, stay anywhere else. You aren't missing out on anything great by not being able to book at a Super 8 Motel. As for the "Ma and Pop" Inn in the mountains. You might try calling them directly and asking them for alternatives to secure your room, i.e. certified bank check in US Dollars, Money-Gram, etc. Having stayed in lots of Motels in the US I can confirm that Visa or Mastercard is what you need - a debit card will do but not always (and not Switch - I can't recall ever seeing a switch logo in the US). A word of warning though - recently my girlfriend and I tried to buy a train ticket in a machine in Washington with a Visa debit card (in fact we had three differnt cards from two different banks between us) but even armed with the pins none of them worked - if you can get hold of a "proper" credit card then you'll be able to spend more time on what you want to do and less time running up blind alleys. As far as I know the best UK account for using in the US is a Nationwide one as you can get money out of ATMs without incurring charges. I'm not sure why the poster advised against Super 8 (probably because no reason was given!) - I've stayed at quite a few and while not the best, are perfectly acceptable and are often found on their own with no other Motels within miles - the same goes for Motel 6. Personally I would rather stay at one than at a Ma & Pop Inn but I prefer the impersonal touch! Note that most (all?) hotel chains in the US are franchise operations and presumably because of this the standard of the rooms is quite variable from location to location - it may not be to everyones taste (and these days they cost a lot more than $6 a night!) but I've found that Motel 6 suffers the least from this variation. You will normally find that if you book a hotel from one of the big chains, if you go straight to their site you will be asked to give them a credit card number as a guarantee but when you arrive at the desk you need to present them with the card you want to actually pay with (or cash but you may have to pay an additional deposit with cash) and the card you used as a guarantee is never charged. |
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