Buying plane tickets - why shouldn't I use debit?

[Saturngoddess]

DH and I are going to be buying plane tickets to London next week. We prefer to use our debit card, only because our credit card has a limit of $2500, and it is pretty full already- and we'd rather just have the plane tickets paid in full.

 

So, I'm asking honestly, because the I'm not quite sure how using a credit card vs using our debit card for plane tickets will be a detriment. Can someone point out what I should be aware of/potential pitfalls?

 

Thanks.

[Vista]

Depends on what credit card(s) you're going to use.

 

- Cash back/points?

- Travel rewards?

- Does your CC give you travel insurance? Cancellation insurance? Lost luggage insurance?

 

If not, the only reason is to keep spending on the card and then pay it off in full. Card companies like seeing this.

 

Personally, and I'm assuming you're trying to build credit, I'd pay off the current credit card balance in full and then put the tickets on the credit card.

[Sandscrit]

A hold can be placed on a debit card, when used, for several days in some instances.

[TheBanker]

A friend of mine bought plane tickets a few weeks ago using a debit card... They ended up pre-authing the debit card for 6 tickets. $3,000+ of his money was held up for a week because of it.

 

I recently has a similar thing happen on my Citi AAdvantage World MasterCard. Instead of canceling a ticket, United ended up charging me again for it. 19 times.

 

Some sort of system glitch, but you can bet I was on the phone yelling at them over it.

 

Hence why I don't use my debit card. For anything. Ever.

Edited February 23, 2012 by TheBanker

[Frank13]

Hmm, a week or two ago an Australian airline went belly up. Having charged those tickets to a debit card you most likely are out of luck. With a credit card you WOULD be granted a chargeback.

 

To me, this is the most compelling reason to use credit.

[TheBanker]

Not to mention many credit cards offer travel assistance, etc.

Edited February 23, 2012 by TheBanker

[twizzle]

Hmm, a week or two ago an Australian airline went belly up. Having charged those tickets to a debit card you most likely are out of luck. With a credit card you WOULD be granted a chargeback.

 

To me, this is the most compelling reason to use credit.

 

You can dispute on a debit, but in our case our bank freezes it until the issue is resolved. Another reason to not use debit.

 

 

 

[BDK]

Hmm, a week or two ago an Australian airline went belly up. Having charged those tickets to a debit card you most likely are out of luck. With a credit card you WOULD be granted a chargeback.

 

To me, this is the most compelling reason to use credit.

 

+1 Debit cards are JUNK I use CC for everything

[AKAGeorgiaGirl]

Let's say the tickets will cost you $1,000. Use the $1,000 from your checking account to pay your credit card. Then charge the tickets to your credit card. Your balances at the end of the 2 transactions will be the same as if you bought the tickets by debit card - but you'll have the protection of using your credit card.

[TheBanker]

Hmm, a week or two ago an Australian airline went belly up. Having charged those tickets to a debit card you most likely are out of luck. With a credit card you WOULD be granted a chargeback.

 

To me, this is the most compelling reason to use credit.

 

You can dispute on a debit, but in our case our bank freezes it until the issue is resolved. Another reason to not use debit.

 

Consumer charge back protections are far, far more superior on credit cards than they are on debit cards...

[LustfortheMoment]

Let's say the tickets will cost you $1,000. Use the $1,000 from your checking account to pay your credit card. Then charge the tickets to your credit card. Your balances at the end of the 2 transactions will be the same as if you bought the tickets by debit card - but you'll have the protection of using your credit card.

 

 

1+........

[jmz.d]

I agree with everything the others have said. Points, insurance, etc are all bonuses of using a CC over debit.

 

Also make sure to use credit when you check into a hotel. I've had them place a debit card hold on 3x the amount of the my stay which pretty much left me penniless in NYC.

 

 

It will also look good to your CC company to get a huge payment even if you turn around and charge it back up to that limit.

[cookiemommy]

pay the cc first! Definitely!

[Saturngoddess]

All good reasons :-). We have a credit union travel visa, which does offer protections, and also offers us $100 off our tickets IF we pay using our credit card AND we use their travel agency. I'm not quite sure about using their travel agency. We are going to London in July, which unfortunately, is the most expensive time to travel, and our card has a limit of $2500. The tickets will be about 3k (ouch).

 

Hubby wants his dad to purchase the tickets, but I'm not sure that is a good idea. Lots of things can happen, and I can't control getting our money back from his dad's credit card. I'm gonna have to talk him into putting it on our card.

[lynson]

How old is the card? Could it possibly get a CLI? Is it possible to apply for another credit card, so as not to max out the one you have?

Edited February 24, 2012 by lynson

[eelb]

A hold can be placed on a debit card, when used, for several days in some instances.

 

I never heard of a hold being placed for airline tickets. Holds are common for hotels. rental cars, and pay at the pump gas stations, where there is the potential for unforeseen excess charges. I don't think airlines are concerned about passengers damaging the interiors of their airplanes, or staying onboard past their destinations. I haven't dealt with bag fees, so that may be an exception.

 

Holds are irrelevant on debit cards if you have substantial funds in your account. Most people who complain about them, are using the prepaid variety, with a subsistence income, and no room for error when a couple of hundred dollars hold is applied.

[Link2k]

A hold can be placed on a debit card, when used, for several days in some instances.

 

I never heard of a hold being placed for airline tickets. Holds are common for hotels. rental cars, and pay at the pump gas stations, where there is the potential for unforeseen excess charges. I don't think airlines are concerned about passengers damaging the interiors of their airplanes, or staying onboard past their destinations. I haven't dealt with bag fees, so that may be an exception.

 

Holds are irrelevant on debit cards if you have substantial funds in your account. Most people who complain about them, are using the prepaid variety, with a subsistence income, and no room for error when a couple of hundred dollars hold is applied.

 

As the banker pointed out he knows of a situation where a hold was placed for $6k for airline tickets... Clearly a $6k plus hold would be an issue if you were using a debit card for your vacation. I had a hold on $8k worth of funds which was a pain. I'm not sure why you would think only people living paycheck to paycheck would dislike holds on funds....

 

To the OP as was said earlier if you can try for a CLI on the card go for it. I've used debit cards for vacationing before and while its possible to do its far easier and safer to use a credit card and just pay it off right away.

[lynson]

Another thing to consider - would your bank/CU authorize a charge of that size on the debit card? I ask because I just received a notice from NFCU that they are increasing their daily purchase limit on the Visa Check Card to $3000 on 4/1. I don't know what the limit is now because I never use the card, but a limit on debit transactions is something I never really thought of.

[Saturngoddess]

How old is the card? Could it possibly get a CLI? Is it possible to apply for another credit card, so as not to max out the one you have?

 

 

It's about 7 years old, I think. Our credit is not sterling, and it is a joint card. At this time I am unemployed, so I don't think a CLI is a viable thing. They turned Hubby down for a car loan, so along with that, I don't think getting another card is what we want to do right now.

I think we will just pay off this one and put the tickets on it.

[groze]

Let's say the tickets will cost you $1,000. Use the $1,000 from your checking account to pay your credit card. Then charge the tickets to your credit card. Your balances at the end of the 2 transactions will be the same as if you bought the tickets by debit card - but you'll have the protection of using your credit card.

 

That may not work.

The credit card bank may not raise the credit limit for a few days after you made the payment. There is also a possibility they would lower the credit limit down after a big payment.

 

 

To the OP,

 

Sometimes, you can pay cash for your ticket through a travel agency.

 

Some airlines may require credit cards.

 

The other poster is correct. Some banks & CUs have daily authorization limit from 300 & up.

Edited February 25, 2012 by groze

[ToddP]

Another thing to consider - would your bank/CU authorize a charge of that size on the debit card? I ask because I just received a notice from NFCU that they are increasing their daily purchase limit on the Visa Check Card to $3000 on 4/1. I don't know what the limit is now because I never use the card, but a limit on debit transactions is something I never really thought of.

 

NFCU currently has a daily limit of $2500 on their Visa logo Check Cards, but will temp. raise it if you call and notify them that you are about to purchase airline tickets.