Entered debit card details instead of credit card

Entered debit card details instead of credit card - Person Holding Debit Card

While booking a hotel in Phuket online, they needed card details to secure the reservation. In hurry I entered my debit card details instead of credit card. I received confirmation of booking from the hotel, but the terms and conditions read - "All reservations must be guaranteed with a valid credit card". What happens if I enter debit card details instead of credit card while reserving a room??

Actually I rechecked their booking page and it only had "credit card" option (nothing else to select from e.g. debit card/ paypal/ netbanking etc.) and in hurry I missed this.. So I entered debit card details. I hope there won't be any issue?



Best Answer

They might mean a MasterCard/Visa/whatever-card allowing “card not present” transactions. They don't necessarily care whether it's technically a credit, debit or prepaid card, as long as it has sufficient funds to process the authorisation. By contrast, many people have debit cards that do not allow online transactions and don't have a number you could use in hotel booking systems. Those would obviously not work, which might explain the language in the terms and conditions.

As an example, Mastercard offers two flavours of debit cards: Maestro and Debit MasterCard. I have one of each and used the Debit MasterCard to book accommodation before, without any issue.

One difference is that a booking accommodation often involves a pre-authorisation and this works differently with a debit card. If you are using a credit card, the bill will be settled later, you haven't really paid anything yet. If you are using the debit card, the money will be withdrawn from your account immediately. Any difference between the authorisation and the final bill will be reimbursed later but you are out of pocket for a while.




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Can I enter debit card instead of credit card?

Yes, sometimes it can be. Your debit card is tied to your checking or savings account. If tied to an account that is linked to an overdraft line of credit, using your debit card can access this LOC if your normal account balance is not sufficient to cover the expenditure.

What happens if I use my debit card as a credit card?

When you run your transaction as credit using your debit card, you are still authorizing a debit from your checking account. You will never be charged interest or receive a bill for doing this. Of course, choosing credit at the point-of-sale will not help you build your credit.

Can a debit card be used as a credit card online?

If you're paying for something online, you can typically use your debit card just like a credit card. You don't need to specify that you want to use a debit card (just select the "pay with credit card" option).

Can a Visa debit card be used as a credit card?

Debit cards are cards with funds available to be drawn from an associated bank account, and Visa Debit cards do the same thing as debit cards but can be used like credit cards. In all three cases, you cannot access borrowed money or have access to a credit limit.



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More answers regarding entered debit card details instead of credit card

Answer 2

In my experience, they sometimes don't do anything with the card number until the morning of the day of arrival, or maybe the day before. Then they run an authorization, and that's when it will fail.

I learned this the hard way a couple years ago when my card number changed between the time I booked and the time they run the authorization. It bounced, and I solved it by chance, when I got a call from them when I was literally in the line for boarding my plane. Luckily I was able to give them the new number, otherwise I would have found myself with no booking on arrival.

Answer 3

There is probably a fee/fine for missing your reservation or something like that. The reason they want a credit card is because they can charge it regardless of whetever you have the funds. That said, unless they reach out to you to solve the problem - you're probably fine.

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