Debt Card Pre-Authorization

[farmgirl63]

Does anyone know how much NCL will hold as a pre-authorized amount on a debt card or credit card for that matter?

 

Any information will be appreciated.

Tammy

[garycarla]

There have been a few long threads about using debit cards over the past month. You might want to do a search and dig them up. Quite the debate in some cases.

[shoreguy]

I believe the initial amount is $500.

[grandma bev]

I don't use a debit card for anything but incidental purchases, such as groceries, because in my case, a credit card company will go to bat for you in case of a dispute, and my debit card doesn't cover disputes. You should check with your cc and debit card people.

Bev

[melika091900]

we were on the NCL star in jan, and we used our debit card,

the most they held was 200, and our bill was over 2000....

they held that amount and then after we got off . or the last day they billed the full amount, i think it will be ok. just make sure your bank doesnt have restrictions on the amount that you can debit all at once. i think our limit was 3000.... other than that , i would check specifics with your bank.

we have used our debit card on all 3 of our cruises and never had any problems at all..

hope this helps

melissa

[garycarla]

Apparently you (Melika) keep a healthy balance in your checking account. Some people that use a debit card have low amounts and risk going over their limits, and then begin bouncing payments, etc. My daughter learned the hard way that she could do $10 debits all weekend long even though there was no money in her account. And EACH time she made a debit for a few dollars, the bank tacked on a $29 charge.

 

Makes credit cards look really cheap, doesn't it?

 

Actually, if you manage your spending and can pay them off, credit cards are free.

[TonyFred]

I actually use my PayPal Visa debit card. I transfer funds from my checking account into my Paypal account before I cruise. I use the debit card for everything and I make money using it. They have a 1.5% percent rebate on all purchases you make. So, I know exactly how much I have in my account to start with, can check it online when cruising, and make a nice little profit.

You can spend up to 3000 dollars a day with the card. And there is no charge whatsoever to get the card. I highly recommend it.

[melika091900]

Apparently you (Melika) keep a healthy balance in your checking account. Some people that use a debit card have low amounts and risk going over their limits, and then begin bouncing payments, etc. My daughter learned the hard way that she could do $10 debits all weekend long even though there was no money in her account. And EACH time she made a debit for a few dollars, the bank tacked on a $29 charge.

 

Makes credit cards look really cheap, doesn't it?

 

Actually, if you manage your spending and can pay them off, credit cards are free.

 

i actually put all the money that ive saved for our trip for spending into my checking account , so i can just use the debit card, i dont carry cash or travelers checks or anything. so it is a healthy balance but one for our trip only...........

and why would someone use their debit card with no money in there??? just curious.... ? ? ?

and debit cards are free. credit cards are a joke.....

melissa

[melika091900]

I don't use a debit card for anything but incidental purchases, such as groceries, because in my case, a credit card company will go to bat for you in case of a dispute, and my debit card doesn't cover disputes. You should check with your cc and debit card people.

Bev

 

wow we have Bof A and if theres ever a problem with a charge. or something was charged by mistake, they always take care of it right away..

we use our debit card for everything, and then you can always check it each day online, : )

melissa

[garycarla]

i actually put all the money that ive saved for our trip for spending into my checking account , so i can just use the debit card, i dont carry cash or travelers checks or anything. so it is a healthy balance but one for our trip only...........

and why would someone use their debit card with no money in there??? just curious.... ? ? ?

and debit cards are free. credit cards are a joke.....

melissa

 

re: carrying cash : I assume you carry some cash for those places that do not take a debit or credit card, which are few and far between. Cash is the best way to pay for lots of things when traveling.

 

I never pay anything for my credit cards. And with a higher than I need limit, there is no chance of an overdraft. You can overdraft your debit card. I

 

Why would someone use debit card with no money?

People try to use a debit card without money all the time. Either they forget to keep track of something, or somebody puts a hold on funds, which hotels, car rental companies, cruise ships, etc are known to do. Stuff happens.

 

Not sure what you mean about credit cards being a joke. I can not imagine life without them.

[garycarla]

I actually use my PayPal Visa debit card...They have a 1.5% percent rebate on all purchases you make.....

 

I love getting money back for spending money. If you are not getting miles, points or cash rebate on your charge card it is time to change. Flyers tend to value the miles in the 1 to 2 cents each which is similar to the 1.5% rebate. Though to be honest, cash spends really well without limits - I just love the miles part.

[melika091900]

re: carrying cash : I assume you carry some cash for those places that do not take a debit or credit card, which are few and far between. Cash is the best way to pay for lots of things when traveling.

 

I never pay anything for my credit cards. And with a higher than I need limit, there is no chance of an overdraft. You can overdraft your debit card. I

 

Why would someone use debit card with no money?

People try to use a debit card without money all the time. Either they forget to keep track of something, or somebody puts a hold on funds, which hotels, car rental companies, cruise ships, etc are known to do. Stuff happens.

 

Not sure what you mean about credit cards being a joke. I can not imagine life without them.

 

i just mean the high rates on credit cards... : )

and the cash, i get it out on the ship in the casino for the days we go to the ports. then i dont deal with cash in the room, etc etc

the most NCL held was 200$ that was all. and our bill was over 2000 since we used the casino to get the cash and had it charged to our room ( debit card )

same with carnival and celebrity, we never had a problem at all.

holding funds or anything.

like i said in a previous post , its good to check with your bank on your allowance for a debit..

take care

melissa

[MidtheNight]

I love getting money back for spending money. If you are not getting miles, points or cash rebate on your charge card it is time to change. Flyers tend to value the miles in the 1 to 2 cents each which is similar to the 1.5% rebate. Though to be honest, cash spends really well without limits - I just love the miles part.

 

I love the $$$ back! On our MasterCard we accumulated so many points it almost paid for our entire last cruise. We had enough prebooking that it paid for about 70% of the cruise, taxes etc and 10 months later we had enough to cover the onboard expenses.

 

About 30 days out from when you want the money I requested a check, got it within 3 weeks, deposited it into savings, took a two week cruise, racked up a nice bill for the two of us (no NCL excursions either, just lots of drinks and specialty restaurants) and paid for the whole thing as soon as it hit the credit card using the money they had sent me. And by charging the on board expenses to the c.c. I've gotten more points to use for cash to pay our next cruise.

 

As long as you can use credit wisely it works to your advantage....One little slip up though and you can really mess it all up (yes, been there and done that too about 20 years ago!)

[Missilecop]

I have used my debit card all the time on cruises. I just put the cruise money in my saving account until a few days before the cruise then transfer it to Checking. This way I know I have the funds.