I'm going on a trip. Will hotels accept prepaid visa or mastercards?

Answer 1

Yes, they will. The Visa or Mastercard logo ensures they'll take the card.

Answer 2

There are 3 different kinds of Visa and Mastercards, and some businessess have the ability to tell the difference between them and can decide if they are going to accept each kind. The three different kinds are credit, debit, and pre-paid. Many hotels will only accept credit cards and not the other two kinds, because they believe that only responsible people are able to obtain credit cards and therefore would be much less likely to trash the hotel room. If they do accept the prepaid or debit card expect them to put a hold on an amount greater than the total to cover things like room service, pay movies, etc. And don't expect the bank to release the hold until a few days after you check-out.

Answer 3

This is a dicey issue, and I think you'll have a hard time trying to use it. I know that my company accepts check/debit cards but not prepaid cards, simply because they aren't attached to an account and if something happens there isn't a way to draw more money off of the account or really to track the cardholder down. The thing is that many rental agents might not notice; for instance, we just got new software that detects when a credit, debit, or prepaid card is swiped--it won't let us proceed with a prepaid card. I'm sure that not everywhere has them and it's more than likely that most rental agents won't notice or care, but I'd be willing to bet that in principle at least, you aren't going to find a major rental agency that will rent on a prepaid debit card. Sorry. One option for you, though, is to attempt a cash qualification. In most places, Thrifty, Enterprise, and Budget (sometimes Avis) will let you bring in a cash deposit. It requires some legwork since they have to verify a whole bunch of information about you and they'll collect an amount that can be significantly over the estimated total cost of the rental ... but it's worth a shot. Good luck!

Answer 4

I used to work for a check cashing business that distributes pre-paid mastercards. As long as the hotel accepts Visa or Mastercard, they will accept your card.
I believe many of the pre-paid cards charge per use, so just be sure that you have enough on the card to cover your purchase and any additional fees.

Answer 5

Prepaid Visa and Mastercards are just like regular Visa or MC. If a place takes either one, they will take your prepaid card.

Answer 6

WOW!!! people tried...but ok, the answer is this. Yes...BUT....You have to have like more than the amount of the room on it, BECAUSE when they scan the card they authorize for incidentals too (sometimes only $50 , sometimes double the rate) so call the hotel, ask what they authorize, add that to the room total and make sure you ahve that much on card (you get the authorized $$ back if you dont spend it)

Answer 7

I have been using debit cards with no problem. They swipe the room charges when you check in instead of when you check out, and may do the same with the pre-paid credit card. However, it is rare to find a car rental that will accept a pre-paid card.

Edit Nov 25
I have never had a hotel put a "hold" on funds on my debit card. They debit the full room rate at check-in. If there are other charges, my card is swiped for the difference in the morning.

Answer 8

You may want to call ahead to the specific hotel you are staying at.
I found out the hard way that Carnival Cruise Lines do not accept them.

Answer 9

i work at a bank and yes it will when but when using the cards for example if you are going to buy a room for 100 you must have 100 dollars on the card or you must tell the murchant to run the purchase for the amount on the card and then take the rest in another transaction...

Answer 10

Yes