Beware of Credit card Holds/Authorisations

Another tip from Beverly:
Almost all car hire companies and some hotels demand a credit card upfront to put a security deposit (hold) on the card which at the end of the hire or stay can be put through as a real transaction to pay for what you used.  Problem is that this hold will reduce your available balance immediately which will have to be factored into your ATM withdrawal plans. Depending on what you are hiring or where you are staying, these holds can range from $200 upwards – so ask in advance what the hold might be, and how long it’ll be on for!
Maybe the best option is to take both an exchange friendly debit card to just use for ATM cash withdrawals and a credit card to use for security deposit holds and general eftpos spending.

No comments:

Post a Comment