Learned a valuable lesson about using a credit card

[skylock]

The only reason I even noticed it was because my friend's pin began with 9 and so it hit my card for almost $10,000 at one time. My credit limit is fine and so is my trust in my friend. As I said, it was paid in cash every day. I put the card on the account so that I didn't have to tie up large amounts of cash when I had no idea how much I would spend (it was my first cruise) or deal with a long line at the end of the cruise to get my money back. I just posted this so others would be aware of how it works.

This still does not make sense. You were both going every day to add cash to the account so you did not need the card on the account at all unless you ran out of cash, then it could have been added.

 

No need to "tie" up all your cash. You were going everyday anyway paying it off. You could have made the whole thing easier on your self.

 

Live and learn I suppose, but you did not think this whole thing out very well if you did it the way you say and let the daily holds eat up the whole amount of available credit on you high value credit card to the point you were unable to put a deposit down on a future cruise.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Why didn't he just use cash for his account...that's actually what he was doing anyway....he didn't NEED your credit card at all!

[Mississippi Magnolia]

I'm really not looking for opinions on how to treat my friends or how to manage my payments. My goal was to remind those first timers like me that they will take out holds on a daily basis.

[Who Cares?]

Thank you for sharing. This has been mentioned before but it has been awhile. The same thing happens with debit cards.

It is up to the financial institution to drop the holds. Carnival clears them the last day of your cruise. (as you found out when the actual charge of $1.11 went through).

 

I have heard some sad tales like "we didn't have gas money to get home because of the hold on our debit card".

 

Keep some cash in reserve folks.

 

Or have to cards. I always carry one MasterCard and one VISA.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Someone once told me that you can set limits on the S&S card for others who are linked to your credit card account. Like for kids and people you don't want running up charges. I've never had this problem but I've heard of others who have enabled the limit at guest services.

[DebJ14]

Yes, $2,000 as a credit limit is quite low!

One can easily run over that with spending and holds in a 5 day vacation let alone a 7 day cruise!

That's why for young people starting out, cash is probably the best way to go. That way you know exactly how much you have and how much you can spend.

 

 

Yes, I agree that $2000 as a credit limit is low. As parents we did not want our kids traveling with low credit limits so we got them a credit card on one of our Mastercard accounts with a $30,000 limit. We wanted them to have something to fall back on in case of emergency.

 

When our oldest son and his wife went on their honeymoon they were fresh out of college. He had good credit and what I would call medium limits ($10,000) because our credit card counted towards his score, but we insisted that he take the card from our account just in case he had an emergency. Apparently, he thought a nice big tanzanite ring for the bride constituted an emergency. LOL He paid us back, and it has been a joke in the family for years. Once his cards got higher limits he gave us the card and we took him off the account. Our youngest son still has his.

Edited November 9, 2015 by DebJ14

[Budget Queen]

I am shocked, it appears they only had ONE credit card? What a mistake. I travel with several, and have experienced problems with foreign transactions, cards not working, locking up etc. No way would I ever think to only use one card. What do you do, if you lost one? Had your wallet stolen? (it's a given my funds are split up- ALWAYS) No guarantees- ever, no matter how smart you think you are. :)

 

Having another credit card, would have easily solved that cruise purchase.

[sc4125]

OP, isn't it great getting all this financial advise?? The fact that she let a friend use her credit card has nothing to do with what she was trying to let people know. I thank you OP for the warning.

 

As far as advising someone that $2,000 is a low limit - that depends. I've used a credit card that only had a $1000 limit - it had a zero balance & I knew that I wouldn't come close to the $1,000 limit on S&S card. I use cash in the casino & other than a few drinks a day, I don't have other expenses. So, if someone has a $2,000 limit they will be fine as long as they keep an eye on their spending.

[Havingfun2010]

Sounds like the lesson about holds, is only the minor lesson. By now, everyone should know that when a cc is swiped a "hold" is placed. A cruise ship is no different. But the real lesson is that no matter how "good" you friend is, access to your credit should never be given to another person, friend or family. This is one of the biggest ways to mess with your credit, as demonstrated by an intoxicated friend in a casino, using the credit card for gambling. The poster and others should know that it's ok, to use cash on the ship, and going on a daily basis, isn't needed. Just go first day, put you money down and if needed, replenish it a few days later.

[lizardhowson]

Sounds like the lesson about holds, is only the minor lesson. By now, everyone should know that when a cc is swiped a "hold" is placed.

 

Absolutely ! The credit card guarantees the merchant payment for the merchandise, service, etc. So a hold (temporary authorization) is placed every time the card is swiped.

 

Everyone using a credit card should be aware of this. Anyone using a credit card who doesn't understand this is either naive or a poor financial manager because they have failed to understand the obligation using a credit card incurs.

[gpb11]

Or have to cards. I always carry one MasterCard and one VISA.

 

Excellent advice. Assuming one has the discipline to pay them off every month, it's wise to have at least two cards from different issuers on different networks.

[Pops, Esq.]

On my recent Carnival Cruise, I allowed a friend to use my credit card as payment on his sign and sail card. Every morning he would check his balance and pay it with cash. One night at the poker table (after too many boat drinks) he accidently used his 4 digit pin to add to his poker account instead of to check his balance. As you can imagine, it was a large amount. Once he got over the :eek: the next morning, he was able to withdraw the balance and pay all charges. What I didn't realize was that every day Carnival was adding to the hold on my credit card, even though I paid in full every morning. I had planned to book a cruise before I left, but was unable because of all the pending holds. The holds dropped off a day or two after the cruise when the actual charge of $1.11 went through, so it wasn't a long term problem, but it was a major lesson learned. Next time I'll put some cash up front if I want to keep the holds on my card down.

 

Ignoring all the unsolicited advice on your finances and friendships....

 

This is a good point. Be aware that if you are handling this account this way, each day, you will get another "hold". For example, on Day 1, your account has, say, $120 in charges against the CC. You go down on the morning of Day 2 and pay $120 (or more) on your account. In your mind, your CC should now have a ZERO hold. It doesn't. It has a $120 (or more) hold, which could take a number of days to clear. Day 2 is a sea day, so you charge $200 to your account. There will now be a $200 (or more) NEW hold on your account. You go down on the morning of Day 3 and pay $200 to your account. You would THINK you have a ZERO hold on the account, but in reality, you have $320 (or more) in pending charges -- $320 (or more) on hold. And so on, and so on. It takes time to clear the holds, sometimes many business days.

 

The lesson that the OP wanted to pass along? Be aware of the holds! Good advice. If you have the cash, start a cash account. No need to tie up the CC.

[WindyFreedom]

Personally, I appreciated your post. I have always used my debit card but I planned on using my CC this time. Your post really helped. Thanks!

 

I'm really not looking for opinions on how to treat my friends or how to manage my payments. My goal was to remind those first timers like me that they will take out holds on a daily basis.

[jks336]

I work for a hotel and I have had our customers call up about the auth hold and said that their bank will hold up to 21 days!! i was like, are you serious!. sheesh..

 

Thankfully my bank for my debit card has not done that nor has my credit card.

 

But if a person is going to pay cash for their s & s why not just put it on your account with the ccard as back up. If you have cash left, they will issue you a check.

Edited November 11, 2015 by jks336