Cunard On-board Spend

[rumchaser]

Just off QV and not happy with the way Cunard withheld final payment from account balance? Is there anyone else not happy using their debit card , would you suggest using a credit card instead?

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, rumchaser said:

Just off QV and not happy with the way Cunard withheld final payment from account balance? Is there anyone else not happy using their debit card , would you suggest using a credit card instead?

We use Amex  with no problem although I think many folk use credit cards. Wouldn't dream of using our bank debit cards.

[david63]

7 minutes ago, rumchaser said:

Just off QV and not happy with the way Cunard withheld final payment from account balance?

Do you mean that there was a daily pre-authorisation on your debit card and then final balance taken resulting in, effectively, taking the money twice? If that is the case then the pre-authorisations will roll off eventually but, depending on the bank, could take up to 28 days.

 

This is the standard Carnival way of operating and why credit cards are a better option as the pre-authorisations tend to roll off sooner.

 

There is a constant argument over this - Carnival say it is the banks at fault and others say that it is Carnival's system that is wrong. Not being a banker I cannot say one way or the other.

[rumchaser]

Thankyou both. Yes that's exactly what happened, both bank and Cunard blamed each other. We will use our credit card for our next Cunard cruise.

[tacticalbanjo]

Putting on a hold then separately taking a payment seems to be consistent with how a lot of petrol station preauthorisations and also stuff like Asda shopping deliveries work. It’s ok if you have the balance to cover twice the payment but causes difficulties for the many people who don’t. 

[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, rumchaser said:

Just off QV and not happy with the way Cunard withheld final payment from account balance? Is there anyone else not happy using their debit card , would you suggest using a credit card instead?

Standard procedure , has been this way for years. Hardly anyone I know presents a debit card , credit card is the usual way to save any hassle. 

[rumchaser]

Thank you will be using a credit card in future.

[rumchaser]

16 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

Putting on a hold then separately taking a payment seems to be consistent with how a lot of petrol station preauthorisations and also stuff like Asda shopping deliveries work. It’s ok if you have the balance to cover twice the payment but causes difficulties for the many people who don’t. 

Yeah thankyou.  It was the principle we were not happy with. Will use credit card in future.

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, rumchaser said:

Just off QV and not happy with the way Cunard withheld final payment from account balance? Is there anyone else not happy using their debit card , would you suggest using a credit card instead?

Always use credit card too many issues with "pending holds" on debit card.

[MylesS]

3 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

We use Amex  with no problem although I think many folk use credit cards. Wouldn't dream of using our bank debit cards.

Same here, or Capital One Mastercard as it has better exchange rates I believe

[rumchaser]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Always use credit card too many issues with "pending holds" on debit card.

👍

[rumchaser]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Always use credit card too many issues with "pending holds" on debit card.

👍

[D&N]

We would normally use a UK credit card, which does not charge any fees. Until a few years ago it did add a 1% fee for spend outside their Europe area.

 

In preparation for QM2 and a visit to New York I signed up for a "Wise" multi currency card and loaded that account with USD when the exchange rate was favourable. On QM2 I was alerted in real time to every update to the pending hold and it was never any higher than the actual spend.

 

A few weeks later I used the Wise card at a New York hotel. The bill had already been paid but they required a card registered for potential spend during the stay. They put on a hold of $600. We planned to spend that money during the stay and we had no intention of spending in the hotel. I transferred the hold to a credit card and the $600 was released within seconds.