3 ms·

Do hotels in the US not allow you to pay with cash any more? What if you don't have an internationally accepted card?

by grishka 1y ago

jmb99 1y ago
Generally speaking, no. Most major hotel chains require a credit card.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  Credit card is a proxy for an acceptable credit score. It's a filter so they can exclude irresponsible people without exposing themselves to claims of discrimination or racism. Unfortunately people who simply choose to live without using credit are caught up in that too.
  - RandomThoughts3 1y ago
    You can easily book at big chains in the US as a foreigner despite having no credit score whatsoever so I don’t think that’s it. I guess it’s probably just that a having credit card and an id card ensure that they won’t have trouble charging you if they need to. The possibility alone is probably enough to deter most people who could be tempted to commit petty things like stealing towels.
  - lxgr 1y ago
    I’ve seen some hotels actually take out an authorization hold for the deposit. That can be done on debit and credit cards.
  - maccard 1y ago
    In Europe, UK and Ireland it’s not an actual credit card - a debit card is perfectly acceptable and normal.
    - disgruntledphd2 1y ago
      Although it's better to use a credit card if possible as they put a rather large hold on it, which can wipe out your balance.
      - LoveMortuus 1y ago
        I had that happen in Portugal when I was refueling my scooter, the Galp gas station tired to take 100€, which I didn't have to it took everything it could, but then said that I don't have enough money to pay, even though it was less than 10€... I had to pay with cash and I didn't see the money that was taken on my debit card for almost a month...
    - grishka 1y ago
      Back when Russia had Visa and MasterCard, debit cards issued by our banks counted as credit cards as far as the payment systems were concerned. I'm sure there are other countries where this is the case.
lxgr 1y ago
I believe many US hotels won't let you check in without at least a debit card these days. Possibly you can also put down the same amount they take as a hold on the card in cash, but I've never tried it.
- grishka 1y ago
  I've stayed at a hotel in UAE that took a deposit that they returned on check out. They were perfectly fine with it in cash. Last time I visited the US was in 2016 and back then my country wasn't an international outcast so I had a debit card that counted as credit in the system. I'm just curious what people like me would do these days. Or maybe the hotels I stayed at were too cheap.
- vkou 1y ago
  You either need a card + ID, or a ~$300 cash deposit and ID.
hansvm 1y ago
You can pay with cash. You usually can't stay without a credit card. Even debit often doesn't suffice.
- spauldo 1y ago
  Debit is a pain for them to deal with, because the hold they put on the card is a lot more than people expect. Customers complain when all of a sudden they have no money in their accounts. I avoided getting credit cards for years, but you really do need on if you travel a lot.
  - account42 1y ago
    I have never had an issue checking in with a debit card. A couple hundred dollar hold really shouldn't be an issue if you can afford to travel in the first place.
dreamcompiler 1y ago
30 years ago it was possible to check into a good US hotel with cash under an assumed name. That is pretty much impossible now; they want to see your ID and a credit card. It might still be possible to pay cash in fleabag hotels; I don't know.
- btilly 1y ago
  That was not my experience 30 years ago. I know that because the experience of being turned away from hotels while driving across country was why I applied for my first credit card.
- bluGill 1y ago
  Try 60 years ago. I'm not sure when the change happened but 30 years ago cards were required. In 60+ year old books it is common for the 'dective' to look in the hotel book and find a false name.
- cheese_van 1y ago
  A few more than 30 years ago it was possible to buy plane tickets from the classified pages from people who, for whatever reason, couldn't take the flight. And of course the ticket was in their name, but no one cared. It was treated by the airlines like a purchased token. You had the token, you flew.
jimt1234 1y ago
I worked at a small hotel during college. A couple of girls wanted to rent a room, but they didn't have a credit card. We didn't rent rooms without credit cards, but I made an exception. They paid for the room in cash and provided a small deposit. The girls were so sweet, how could anything go wrong? Well, they threw a party and completely trashed the room. Lots of damage. The police eventually showed up, but the girls were gone. The ID they provided turned out to be a fugazi. They played me.
- Terr_ 1y ago
  It feels like if nobody proactively creates a privacy-preserving solution, exploitable ones arise into the vacuum. Or, as a more-depressing thought, they win out anyway.
  - MichaelZuo 1y ago
    At least the bottom quarter of the American population in terms of virtue would run away in situations like that. There are a lot of scoundrels. Maybe even more… so what kind of cash based solution could there be? (that’s not physically preventing them from ever travelling)
josephcsible 1y ago
Wouldn't cash be worse? With a credit card, you might be able to get your deposit back in a chargeback, but with cash, your deposit is definitely gone.

Do hotels in the US not allow you to pay with cash any more? What if you don't have an internationally accepted card?

jmb99 1y ago

Generally speaking, no. Most major hotel chains require a credit card.

SoftTalker 1y ago
Credit card is a proxy for an acceptable credit score. It's a filter so they can exclude irresponsible people without exposing themselves to claims of discrimination or racism. Unfortunately people who simply choose to live without using credit are caught up in that too.
- RandomThoughts3 1y ago
  You can easily book at big chains in the US as a foreigner despite having no credit score whatsoever so I don’t think that’s it. I guess it’s probably just that a having credit card and an id card ensure that they won’t have trouble charging you if they need to. The possibility alone is probably enough to deter most people who could be tempted to commit petty things like stealing towels.
- lxgr 1y ago
  I’ve seen some hotels actually take out an authorization hold for the deposit. That can be done on debit and credit cards.
- maccard 1y ago
  In Europe, UK and Ireland it’s not an actual credit card - a debit card is perfectly acceptable and normal.
  - disgruntledphd2 1y ago
    Although it's better to use a credit card if possible as they put a rather large hold on it, which can wipe out your balance.
    - LoveMortuus 1y ago
      I had that happen in Portugal when I was refueling my scooter, the Galp gas station tired to take 100€, which I didn't have to it took everything it could, but then said that I don't have enough money to pay, even though it was less than 10€... I had to pay with cash and I didn't see the money that was taken on my debit card for almost a month...
  - grishka 1y ago
    Back when Russia had Visa and MasterCard, debit cards issued by our banks counted as credit cards as far as the payment systems were concerned. I'm sure there are other countries where this is the case.

lxgr 1y ago

I believe many US hotels won't let you check in without at least a debit card these days. Possibly you can also put down the same amount they take as a hold on the card in cash, but I've never tried it.

grishka 1y ago
I've stayed at a hotel in UAE that took a deposit that they returned on check out. They were perfectly fine with it in cash. Last time I visited the US was in 2016 and back then my country wasn't an international outcast so I had a debit card that counted as credit in the system. I'm just curious what people like me would do these days. Or maybe the hotels I stayed at were too cheap.
vkou 1y ago
You either need a card + ID, or a ~$300 cash deposit and ID.

hansvm 1y ago

You can pay with cash. You usually can't stay without a credit card. Even debit often doesn't suffice.

spauldo 1y ago
Debit is a pain for them to deal with, because the hold they put on the card is a lot more than people expect. Customers complain when all of a sudden they have no money in their accounts. I avoided getting credit cards for years, but you really do need on if you travel a lot.
- account42 1y ago
  I have never had an issue checking in with a debit card. A couple hundred dollar hold really shouldn't be an issue if you can afford to travel in the first place.

dreamcompiler 1y ago

30 years ago it was possible to check into a good US hotel with cash under an assumed name. That is pretty much impossible now; they want to see your ID and a credit card. It might still be possible to pay cash in fleabag hotels; I don't know.

btilly 1y ago
That was not my experience 30 years ago. I know that because the experience of being turned away from hotels while driving across country was why I applied for my first credit card.
bluGill 1y ago
Try 60 years ago. I'm not sure when the change happened but 30 years ago cards were required. In 60+ year old books it is common for the 'dective' to look in the hotel book and find a false name.
cheese_van 1y ago
A few more than 30 years ago it was possible to buy plane tickets from the classified pages from people who, for whatever reason, couldn't take the flight. And of course the ticket was in their name, but no one cared. It was treated by the airlines like a purchased token. You had the token, you flew.

jimt1234 1y ago

I worked at a small hotel during college. A couple of girls wanted to rent a room, but they didn't have a credit card. We didn't rent rooms without credit cards, but I made an exception. They paid for the room in cash and provided a small deposit. The girls were so sweet, how could anything go wrong? Well, they threw a party and completely trashed the room. Lots of damage. The police eventually showed up, but the girls were gone. The ID they provided turned out to be a fugazi. They played me.

Terr_ 1y ago
It feels like if nobody proactively creates a privacy-preserving solution, exploitable ones arise into the vacuum. Or, as a more-depressing thought, they win out anyway.
- MichaelZuo 1y ago
  At least the bottom quarter of the American population in terms of virtue would run away in situations like that. There are a lot of scoundrels. Maybe even more… so what kind of cash based solution could there be? (that’s not physically preventing them from ever travelling)

josephcsible 1y ago

Wouldn't cash be worse? With a credit card, you might be able to get your deposit back in a chargeback, but with cash, your deposit is definitely gone.