Has anyone used a prepaid debit card at a hotel or rental car place before? If so which one was it? I normally do not ever have to travel for work but in May I have to take a trip that requires me to rent a car and stay in a hotel for 2 days. My company makes us pay for everything then reimburses us afterward so I have to rent the car and hotel myself. I have 1 credit card that I use for emergencies only and it only has a $300 limit, the hotel I have to stay at is $160 per night plus I know that hotels typically require a credit card and put a hold on a certain amount. And there is the cost of the rental car, I estimate that I will need a card with roughly $600 on it for costs and holds. So if anyone is aware of a prepaid card that is accepted at rental car places and hotels I'd appreciate it! Thanks.

Typed this huge reply didn't post it ugh!

I use a Walmart prepaid master card for tons of stuff. We have never had credit cards even for emergencies. I hate my debit card too. I do however have a prepaid that I use for big budgets like Christmas and back to school. I have never had a single issue anywhere. It has even been linked to my Paypal during Christmas and worked just fine. I use it online, in stores at the gas pump etc. I got it at the cs desk. It looks like a gift card when you buy it, but they issue a real card, name and all, in a few days after registering. I choose the Walmart card because you can load it with cash at Walmart. Costs $3 to load best I can remember. I load in large amounts and only use it for times like Christmas. You can load at any Walmart and the upload is instant. There is a number you can call and "balance" it. Very user friendly https://www.walmartmoneycard.com/

She watches for bargians. Proverbs 31:18.

My son has used prepaid Visa CC also. He said that on a hotel there is no issue but for a car it is treated like cash. On the other hand, if you can get a secured CC from your bank or credit union it is like a prepaid but on your credit report it looks like a regular CC and will help your credit score if it is used and paid correctly. The secured CC works well for a car rental. HTH

No experience with a prepaid renting a car or airfare, but we also don't do credit cards, so we just use our debit card. In the past, we have had issues with prepaid cards at stores and never wanted to take a chance even though it said "use anywhere you would use a Visa/MC".

Also, if you chose to pay cash for your hotel room, I know most chains require a $35 - $50 cash deposit and you get it back when you check out. If you use a debit or credit, they will put the hold on it and it takes up to several days to get it back.

Btw, my mother's maiden name was Creech!

I don't see a hotel being a problem, but I do anticipate that you would have an issue with the rental car place. Hotels I have stayed at recently did not require a deposit for the reservation, just a credit card number (and they woul dhave no way to know if it was prepaid or not when you fill in info online), and when you check in they will charge the number of nights you are staying plus tax (you can find out the full total expected when you are making the reservation online it will tell you estimated taxes and is generally right on).

Each rental car company will hold on your card the cost of the rental + a certain amount, check the company website for that as it varies. Some it is 10% of the rental amount, others is a flat dollar amount.

"Have you seen that show on the coupon people? Dave saw it and said those people are nuts, I said, you know your cousin is one of those crazy coupon people!"

Also, it is probably best to check with the exact rental car company that you are looking to rent from in regards to how they treat the pre-paid cards. THey may treat them exactly as they do a debit card or cash and require a credit check, etc to determine the amount of deposit you need to give them....

"Have you seen that show on the coupon people? Dave saw it and said those people are nuts, I said, you know your cousin is one of those crazy coupon people!"