Can we use a debit card instead of a credit card for our on-board account?

[MrsPeel55]

@elmsliebev thanks!!!!! 

[ovccruiser]

20 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Because credit cards are more secure and better protection especially if something goes wrong.

Only on sale of faulty goods. If your debit card is hacked they can get the money from your current account, if the credit card is hacked they can max out your credit card. Most credit card have a much higher limit than most hold in their current account.

[majortom10]

22 minutes ago, ovccruiser said:

Only on sale of faulty goods. If your debit card is hacked they can get the money from your current account, if the credit card is hacked they can max out your credit card. Most credit card have a much higher limit than most hold in their current account.

Lot more secure than just sale of faulty goods.

[Solent Richard]

On 6/12/2023 at 11:52 PM, Mr and Mrs A said:

We have always tried to avoid consumer debt and we don't own any credit cards.  We do have Mastercard debit cards attached to our everyday bank accounts.  Debit cards have always been sufficient for us, ours have all the facilities of a Mastercard, Visa or Amex - we just prefer spending our own money rather than borrowing from the bank.

 

My understanding is that we will have to give our card details to be linked to our room account, so is it a practical option to use our debit cards?  Has anyone had experience of doing this?  Or should I bite the bullet and apply for a credit card?

 

Thanks all, Mrs A

 

It would appear that most comments/answers have gone off on a tangent that may not be the comfort you were seeking @Mr and Mrs A .

 

There is a problem, not insurmountable, that comes with using a 'Debit' card in preference to a 'credit ' card and that revolves around the fact that the cruise company, in fact all cruise companies, will require a pre-authorisation amount to cover your possible onboard spend. 

 

No great problem with a credit card, they usually have a generous amount  of credit available to you.

 

Not so a debit card. To obtain the pre-authorisation your Debit card account (Usually here in the UK a current account) must have a sum of money equal or more to that pre-authorisation amount. Should you then reach that amount while onboard the cruise line will seek a further amount of authorisation to cover their sales to you.

 

So, in a nutshell, you simply have to have in excess of your anticipated spend sat in your 'current' or whatever account your debit card is linked to. Plus of course any additional amount that may be required to pay any Direct Debit against that account.

 

By the way, that pre-authorisation amount will take upwards of 14 days to clear, after your final bill has been paid. 

 

I hope this helps. 

[tacticalbanjo]

1 hour ago, ovccruiser said:

Only on sale of faulty goods. If your debit card is hacked they can get the money from your current account, if the credit card is hacked they can max out your credit card. Most credit card have a much higher limit than most hold in their current account.

Banks have to refund fraudulent transactions whether it has been done on a credit or debit card unless you've done something really daft like give your PIN to someone. But with a credit card you wouldn't have to pay your bill immediately giving you time to fix the problem. With a debit card you might get direct debits bounce depending on when in the month your account gets cleared out and how long it takes the bank to refund you.

[Teddy123]

If you use a debit card you need TWICE the anticipated full amount of onboard expenditure in your bank account because every day Cunard puts on a reservation equal to the daily spend then at the end of the cruise makes a real charge for the full amount without removing the reservations. There are several threads here about the problem.

[MrsPeel55]

so, approximately how much would the pre authorisation could be?

How do they work out how much one will spend?

 

[D&N]

Firstly, in my earlier post I hadn't checked that the OP was from NZ. My experience is with UK and French registered financial products. I'm not actually sure that being a French resident our UK accounts are fully covered by UK regulations although I have had refunds on fraudulent activity. We certainly don't qualify for Nationwide's travel insurance.

 

On the 'Wise' debit card. My experience has been that I didn't need to have an inflated balance on the card. In practice I did have about double on the card when boarding QM2 because we were making a separate visit to New York a few weeks after our crossings. However the charge to: Cuk Qmary Ii Usd, was listed as being taken the day after we boarded. The card record shows: "The total of this payment has been updated. The original amount was 1 USD. The difference has been taken from your balance."

 

Every time we spent anything the authorisation was updated but never at any time exceeded our actual spend.

 

When we checked in to Sofitel New York we had already paid for the stay in full, and for all our planned sightseeing trips. There was just over $1,000 left on the card and they applied an authorisation for $600, probably on basis of $100/night. I didn't want to have lots of USD left on the card when we returned to France and I told them re-authorise to my credit card. When I did that the $600 was immediately released and available to spend.

 

In summary, we didn't need to have more than our planned spend on QM2 and pre-authorisations clear immediately on the Wise card.

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by D&N
line spacing

[Mr and Mrs A]

4 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

 

It would appear that most comments/answers have gone off on a tangent that may not be the comfort you were seeking @Mr and Mrs A .

 

There is a problem, not insurmountable, that comes with using a 'Debit' card in preference to a 'credit ' card and that revolves around the fact that the cruise company, in fact all cruise companies, will require a pre-authorisation amount to cover your possible onboard spend. 

 

No great problem with a credit card, they usually have a generous amount  of credit available to you.

 

Not so a debit card. To obtain the pre-authorisation your Debit card account (Usually here in the UK a current account) must have a sum of money equal or more to that pre-authorisation amount. Should you then reach that amount while onboard the cruise line will seek a further amount of authorisation to cover their sales to you.

 

So, in a nutshell, you simply have to have in excess of your anticipated spend sat in your 'current' or whatever account your debit card is linked to. Plus of course any additional amount that may be required to pay any Direct Debit against that account.

 

By the way, that pre-authorisation amount will take upwards of 14 days to clear, after your final bill has been paid. 

 

I hope this helps. 

 

Yes, helpful thanks - and it seems that it although we could get by with our debit cards only - it's just not worth the stress.  

 

I've applied for a credit card from our bank.  We'll only use it for pre-authorisations and emergencies.

 

Really like the sound of the Wise account, it'll be useful for sticking to our holiday cash budget - I think that we'll get one of those too.   

Mrs A

[Dermotsgirl]

21 hours ago, MrsPeel55 said:

so, approximately how much would the pre authorisation could be?

How do they work out how much one will spend?

 

They do it each evening, for the amount you have spent during the day 

[MrsPeel55]

27 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

They do it each evening, for the amount you have spent during the day 

 

Thanks 🙂