Cash to settle credit account

[wild0826]

Just have a curious question. I sail next Friday and want to know can you use cash to settle your seapass account if you have a credit card on file. In the past I have used my debit card as the card on file for my seapass account. When doing this it puts holds on the account and even though it balances out by the end it was just too confusing especially when bills were due to be withdrawn from my account. This time when checking in online I just used my credit card instead. I do have the cash for the account but didnt want to deal with daily cash limits if they exist since I have never set up a cash selection on any of the cruises I have taken. My question is can I settle my seapass account with cash at the end of the cruise before my credit card is charged the final total. Not really a big deal just want to know if anyone has done this. Would also help me to know of I should bring the money along or just leave it in the bank so I could pay the bill upon my return.

[gerif]

Yes, just because you've secured your account with a credit card doesn't mean you can't settle out at the end with cash - or even partial cash and partial credit, your choice.

[scooter90]

You can definately go pay your bill at Guest Services prior to departing. I would suggest the morning before the cruise ends (the day before you get off the ship)....at least pay the bulk of your bill. This way (1) if anything is charged after that time, only that amount will hit your credit card and (2) you will avoid the long lines at Guest Services later in the day.

 

Have a great cruise!

[wild0826]

Yes, just because you've secured your account with a credit card doesn't mean you can't settle out at the end with cash - or even partial cash and partial credit, your choice.

 

Thanks for the quick reply

[bouhunter]

Or leave it on the credit card and pay it off when you get home. We've probably spent 100 nights in very expensive hotels over the past 10 years for FREE using credit card points. I really don't get the reason to pay in cash and not take advantage of some of the many CC plans......

Edited August 13, 2014 by bouhunter

[edjny]

Or leave it on the credit card and pay it off when you get home. We've probably spent 100 nights in very expensive hotels over the past 10 years for FREE using credit card points. I really don't get the reason to pay in cash and not take advantage of some of the many CC plans......

 

We do the same thing and it is the BEST way to do it. We really enjoy all those free nights in the hotels. :D For us, EVERYTHING above $10 gets charged to the Choice Hotel VISA credit card and paid off at the end of the billing period. Personally, I would never want a Debit card. I see no logic in taking the money out of my account NOW when I could leave it there for an additional month until it EFT's to the credit card company.

 

But, the OP said they put a Debit Card on for on-board expenses and has to deal with that unless they change to a credit card.

[trev71]

being from canada I always seems to have some us funds left and around the last port of call if i did not use all my port spending money I will put the rest on my account and whatever is left goes on my card and I have done that on every cruise no problems at all

[wild0826]

We do the same thing and it is the BEST way to do it. We really enjoy all those free nights in the hotels. :D For us, EVERYTHING above $10 gets charged to the Choice Hotel VISA credit card and paid off at the end of the billing period. Personally, I would never want a Debit card. I see no logic in taking the money out of my account NOW when I could leave it there for an additional month until it EFT's to the credit card company.

 

But, the OP said they put a Debit Card on for on-board expenses and has to deal with that unless they change to a credit card.

 

Dont use much credit to get free nights in hotels. The card in question is only used in emergencies. My husband and I worked very hard and sacrificed so we could be debt free. We have no credit card debt at all. We never carry a balance and we prefer cash if we have it. The credit system in this country is abused too much and we have learned not to spend above our means. It is our preference. When we plan a vacation we have the money first then buy, we do not buy then pay it off. We see no reason to give a credit card company extra money in interest if I have the cash. That is why I prefer to pay off the balance before it hits my card. That is just us and our preference. Others have their preference and thats perfectly fine.

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

Had my seapass acct secured with a CC every sailing. One particular sailing I won enough $$ in the casino to cover our bill and then some!! Just went to pursers desk at like midnight:30 to make sure we wouldn't spend anything else, and paid off the balance....no problems whatsoever....

[reallyhooked]

That's what we do. No problem

[WupperAV]

We pay with a United Airlines FF Visa. Gets free miles for everything.

[sr4mjc]

Dont use much credit to get free nights in hotels. The card in question is only used in emergencies. My husband and I worked very hard and sacrificed so we could be debt free. We have no credit card debt at all. We never carry a balance and we prefer cash if we have it. The credit system in this country is abused too much and we have learned not to spend above our means. It is our preference. When we plan a vacation we have the money first then buy, we do not buy then pay it off. We see no reason to give a credit card company extra money in interest if I have the cash. That is why I prefer to pay off the balance before it hits my card. That is just us and our preference. Others have their preference and thats perfectly fine.

 

That's why you never pay any interest. Pay the bill when it arrives, can even be paid online before it closes if you wish. But at least you get something for your spending. We pay cash for nothing, get the points for everything and never ever pay a dollar in interest.

 

But you do have to be disciplined about it and make sure you don't spend more than you can pay off, that month.

[edjny]

Dont use much credit to get free nights in hotels. The card in question is only used in emergencies. My husband and I worked very hard and sacrificed so we could be debt free. We have no credit card debt at all. We never carry a balance and we prefer cash if we have it. The credit system in this country is abused too much and we have learned not to spend above our means. It is our preference. When we plan a vacation we have the money first then buy, we do not buy then pay it off. We see no reason to give a credit card company extra money in interest if I have the cash. That is why I prefer to pay off the balance before it hits my card. That is just us and our preference. Others have their preference and thats perfectly fine.

 

It is all a matter of self-control to limit your spending to the amount that can be paid in full at the end of the credit card billing period. No interest paid to the CC when the monthly bill is paid in full every month. There is absolutely no financial difference between taking the money out of your bank acct immediately (debit card) or a month or so later (credit card) via EFT. The big difference is taking advantage of credit card bonuses and keeping the money in your acct longer. As long as the credit card companies want to 'give' me hotel stays, airline trips or other goodies for free, I will take full advantage of them.

 

We use very little cash every month. Most everything we spend goes on the credit card. That CC charges build up points that give us some very nice fringe benefits all for FREE.... Everyone has a choice, they can carry around a lot of cash or debit card (no benefits), or leave the cash in the bank account to pay the credit card at the end of the billing period (lots of free benefits).

[beshears]

I didn't read all the answers, but we just sailed the end of April. I had my credit card on file, but paid CASH the night before on my Seapass, as I didn't want to have a big credit card bill when I came home. This way, it was something less that I had to pay for when I got home. :)

[Bosjoe]

Just setup your seapass account as cash account. You do not have to put down a credit card. You will get called down to pay once you reach a certain limit, you can pay cash or credit at this point. I usually don't hit that limit, but on the last night/day I pay off with cash or credit, and secure the last night with the credit card on file. Also doing it this way saves you from Casino fees, a little secret I learned.

[BND]

Usually we let the charge go to the credit card and pay if off the next billing cycle which incurs NO interest so I'm not sure why the OP was concerned about that. Anyway, a couple of times, I've paid down the account with cash the last sea day and then let whatever else gets charged go to the card. It just depends on how much cash I have or how long the line is lol.

[wild0826]

It is all a matter of self-control to limit your spending to the amount that can be paid in full at the end of the credit card billing period. No interest paid to the CC when the monthly bill is paid in full every month. There is absolutely no financial difference between taking the money out of your bank acct immediately (debit card) or a month or so later (credit card) via EFT. The big difference is taking advantage of credit card bonuses and keeping the money in your acct longer. As long as the credit card companies want to 'give' me hotel stays, airline trips or other goodies for free, I will take full advantage of them.

 

We use very little cash every month. Most everything we spend goes on the credit card. That CC charges build up points that give us some very nice fringe benefits all for FREE.... Everyone has a choice, they can carry around a lot of cash or debit card (no benefits), or leave the cash in the bank account to pay the credit card at the end of the billing period (lots of free benefits).

 

Thanks for your opinion. I value all input. I didn't really have a problem just inquiring. As I said don't use the card much and it is just fir emergencies. We have learned to discipline ourselves and that is why we use cash. You may use little cash and that works for you. What works for you may not work for others and there is nothing wrong with that. My husband and I rather pay with cash because for us it is easier. Dont get me wrong we have had credit card benefits for FREE things but for us if we use the cash then we know there is no more to spend. We are by no means spendaholics lol. It is just the way we were raised. Our past credit card debt was not from spending on things we didnt need. We run our own businesses and years ago when the economy crashed we suffered alot and had to use our credit for basic needs. Thankfully we survived and pulled ourselves from under and are doing fine now with absolutely NO credit card debt at all. I respect everyones point of view and am no way saying anyone is wrong. Just like to do it our way..

[dacsmom]

There is no daily limit for a cash account. When you hit $500 they ask that you come to guest services and pay on it. I will use a CC or Debit card and then pay cash at the end of the cruise.

[M&JfromSDL]

I've settled my account with cash a couple of times. Frankly, it's more work than it's worth. Last cruise we stood in line for a bit to settle up. So much quicker to just electronically transfer funds to my credit card to cover the bill.

[BDL]

I like to charge it on the card for the miles. We always pay the full balance when the bill comes in - we just like the mileage benefits.

 

Last year on a Freedom cruise with my mother I won some money in the casino. The night before we debarked I went down to guest services and paid off her account. :D

[DisnyMik]

Thanks for your opinion. I value all input. I didn't really have a problem just inquiring. As I said don't use the card much and it is just fir emergencies. We have learned to discipline ourselves and that is why we use cash. You may use little cash and that works for you. What works for you may not work for others and there is nothing wrong with that. My husband and I rather pay with cash because for us it is easier. Dont get me wrong we have had credit card benefits for FREE things but for us if we use the cash then we know there is no more to spend. We are by no means spendaholics lol. It is just the way we were raised. Our past credit card debt was not from spending on things we didnt need. We run our own businesses and years ago when the economy crashed we suffered alot and had to use our credit for basic needs. Thankfully we survived and pulled ourselves from under and are doing fine now with absolutely NO credit card debt at all. I respect everyones point of view and am no way saying anyone is wrong. Just like to do it our way..

 

I totally get it and we use cash to pay off our onboard acct as well. I don't think you should have to justify :confused: why you do it! That is best for you and that's awesome! Have a great trip ;)

[luvscruising2007]

We secure our account with a credit card. We always hope to pay part or all of the onboard account with cash. Our last cruise, about half way through, we paid cash, a little later on some more and the remainder with the credit card. We avoided the long lines at the end of the cruise by paying a few days in advance of disembarkation.

Enjoy your cruise.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

How much of a hold do they put on a debit card?

[Clarea]

How much of a hold do they put on a debit card?

There's no set amount, and it also depends on your financial institution. Some people report no holds. Others report holds up to the amount actually charged. In other words, if your SeaPass bill is $100, you could have that amount debited, and another $100 on hold for a few days.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

There's no set amount, and it also depends on your financial institution. Some people report no holds. Others report holds up to the amount actually charged. In other words, if your SeaPass bill is $100, you could have that amount debited, and another $100 on hold for a few days.

 

Gotcha. Hmm...way to make it confusing and hard to plan. :rolleyes: