IDENTITY THEFT: Debit card usable at motel, safely?

[oscar111]

On my trip, how will a motel desk clerk use my debit card? Still use the sliding gadget and paper receipts, or now use the new gadget in stores, that thingie i tap on with my pin number?

Will a motel need to use that pin number or the odd three digit verification no. from the back of the card? Or both? accck!

It will be a cheap motel, ... are they not up on the latest thingies for debit cards, like the store tap-on thing?

Many thanks,
a concerned oscar

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Probably just run it like a credit card.

[oscar111]

2. thanks. Anyone else too? nt

ccccc

[oscar111]

3. a debit, not a credit card nt

xxxxx

[LostinVA]

18. Does it have a Visa or Mastercard icon on the front?

Then it can be run as a credit card anyplace that accepts credit cards.

[Benfea]

4. Correct me if I'm wrong but...

…the only difference between a debit and credit card (at least as far as identity security goes) is that if someone steals your debit card number, there's a limit to how much money they can remove: the amount of money in your account. Typically, the limit on your credit card would allow someone to take far more money before maxing out.

[mongo]

5. If your debit card has a visa or mastercard symbol

on it, you can use it as a debit or a credit card.

Many banks still put a low limit on debit transactions anyway, so I usually run all my transactions as a credit card. Some places make you jump through hoops on their little machines now, but I've never been forced to run something as a debit except at an ATM, or buying Money Orders at the Post Office.

[ChoralScholar]

6. I had one problem which may or may not apply.

I was staying (for business) at a Red Roof Inn in Irving, TX (the one just north of DFW, for locals).

I checked in for five days, and gave them my corporate credit card to pay for it. I then gave them my personal Arvest Debit card to use for incidentals (room movies, etc.).

I even double checked with them, which card was for what, before I left the desk.

Somehow they STILL mixed it up, and I'm out 580 dollars in my checking account. (given what I was making, that's a lot of money)

They did fix it and acknowledge the mistake, but it was a big pain in the ass for a few days.

[oscar111]

7. Still seeking info on what they will ask for.. PIN or code from back, and

if they use the old paper receipt sliding machine, or the new thingy that i tap my PIN into?

anyone know?

[LostinVA]

19. They won't ask for ANYTHING except your signature!

Like everyone on this thread has been saying: it's run as a credit card through a credit card machine. They aren't going to use the paper receipt, but even if they did, it used as a credit card.

[RebelOne]

8. In my experience, it will be considered as a credit card.

No PIN required. You usually have to sign a receipt.

[oscar111]

9. thanks: anyone else? nt

xxxxxx

[oscar111]

10. thanks!! but my card is debit only.. what will i have to give them?

many thanks, your re was the most helpful of all!

my bad ankle is limiting me for the coming month.. can they bring the receipt to my motel door, you think?

that is , if i have to sign some receipt?

i have rarely done anything with this debit card and NEVER used a genuine credit card, thus all these dumb questions from me.

gratefully,
babe in the woods

[oscar111]

11. I meant to say, the card is only tied to checking, so it cannot be

treated like a cc, as far as my logic sees it.

but then, logic and US banking are miles apart LOL.

[SOteric]

12. It'll work just like a credit card, but please be aware

that many hotels and car rental places block off as unavailable a far greater amount from credit/debit cards than the estimated charges will be. For instance, if the room is $50 a night and you've registered from 3 nights, they'll block off as much as $500 rather than the $150 you might think. This is in large part to insure that any incidentals and damages you might inflict are covered should you depart without checkout. The actual amount charged will settle on your account within 30 days. That's important to know if you have rent or mortgage cheques which might be clearing the bank during your stay. Your available cash could be far less than you think and there's no way to access the cash once the hotel/car rental, etc...company has blocked it and before the charges are submitted.

[oscar111]

13. motels able to tell my card has enough cash behind it in some account

to cover my charges? Are they hooked to some computer that knows?

i hate the embarassing type of scene when someone doubts myh honesty.

thanks for the help,
oscar

[SOteric]

14. Yep, they'll know how much cash is behind the card.

Unless they're maybe a little mom & pop kind of place with no sophisticated technology whatsoever.

In most cases they'll have access to all the information they need to process your transaction.

[oscar111]

15. Plastic Wall at desk, kind of motels, how they get receipt to me?

Wall usually has tiny hole at the bottom that they slide money thru... for safety.

If the receipt is lodged in that slider machine i saw long ago, how do they get the machine to the customer for him/her to sign the receipt?

puzzled oscar invites replies..
solve the puzzle!

[SOteric]

16. Two receipts print at the register at the time you slide the card.

You sign and a carbon copy impression is made. One is for your records, one is for theirs.

[Left Is Write]

21. That happened to me on my honeymoon...

Ever since then I ONLY use a credit card for hotels, never my checking card.

The charge for the week's stay was $1500, and they had put a hold on $3000 - a fact of which I was unaware. I was shocked when I saw the available balance on an ATM withdrawal receipt at one point during that week. It was at least a week after we checked out before my money was available to me again. We're lucky it didn't leave us without spending money for the duration of our stay.

[LostinVA]

17. Run it like a credit card

[oscar111]

20. thanks, now i understand. My cheap type motels probably still

use the old slider gadget with paper lodged in it, not some new gadget like in Radio Shak for purchases.. the only one i ever tried to use.

How do such motels have me sign , if the receipt is lodged in a gadget ten inches long, and they have a plasic wall at the desk, with a tiny hole at the bottom for pushing money.. or maybe a cc.. thru?

how do they get it done?

thanks a lot,
ignorant oscar

[LostinVA]

22. I don't understand your question

ALL motels have credit card machines... even cheap ones. Maybe very rural, run down ones might not.

YOU don't use anything. They hand you a receipt. I don't know what you're talking about re: a wall, or a ten-inch gadget.

[oscar111]

24. cheap motels have clear plastic wall for safety from customers

who might be robbers. with a tiny hole at the bottom for sliding things thru.

rough areas, the wall is a huge mirror, with the same hole.

Like the gas stations, in rough areas , very defensive.. stations have alarm buzzers sound for everyone who oopens the door.. to unnerve any robber.

anyone know how the wall motels have customeres sign the slider gadget's receipt?

[LostinVA]

26. They won't use a slider gadget, they'll use an electronic device

That spits out a receipt like in a store. Someone on this thread already explained it.

[Dora]

23. I've used my debit card at many kinds of hotels

It's always worked. Never a problem.

[leftofthedial]

25. I don't know

what's the number and name on the card and which motel?

:evilgrin:

[oscar111]

27. ho ho

what flag is that, BTW?

[leftofthedial]

28. new mexico

[oscar111]

29. can they pull the receipt paper out of the slider for me to sign?

that would solve the problem of the tiny hole in the plastic wall.

i think i have also seeen waiters carry the slider thing to a table.. so it must be portable. Right?

[CBGLuthier]

30. No one uses sliders unless their machine is broken

The machines only cost 400 and just need a phone line to work. Embossers have gone out of fashion because of the delay in processing, popularity of debit cards, and the fraud factor of the old-style carbon or even carbonless forms.

They will never ask for your pin number and in fact if they did you should run away quickly. If they can run it as a debit card they will have a pin pad for you to enter the number in and that is perfectly safe.

The only time they will ask for the security code on the back is if it is a card-not-present transaction as in mail order, over the phone, or internet.

Debit card and credit card are practically the same thing. Sometimes a place can not handle it as a debit but they can always run it as a CC.

And, as mentioned above, they will put a block on your funds so you must have more money than you woudl think you need in your account.

Also, there may be some misunderstanding about fraud in this thread. Usually, you have more protection with a credit card than with a debit card. Your banks policies may differ.

What would be best is if you could get an actual CC and just never use it to incur debt. They may insist you have a CC to cover any charges but you can still pay cash when you check out.

I don't blame you in the least for being a little nervous about the whole thing.