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Others, unfortunately, are not so pleasant. When your efforts toward financial independence finally allow you to take a vacation, you will probably be happy knowing that you can book airfare and a hotel room with a debit card or pre-paid debit card. Just about any online travel site, such as Travelocity , Expedia or TripRes will let you do this.
I recently traveled to New Orleans travel grant students to meet with a business client. Aside from wi-fi aggravations (I still can t believe some airports try to charge for internet access), the trip was pretty uneventful until I arrived at the car rental desk. Although I had paid for the rental with a debit card, the rental travel grant students company told me I couldn t use that card for the hold fees that is, the charges I might or might not rack up if I trashed the car.
I escalated the matter to the supervisor, and then the manager. Each time, the story was the same. Although I had paid them for the rental, I couldn t pick up the car without a debt-trapping, soul-stealing, honest-to-goodness credit card.
At this point, I m not sure of the answer. I called a dozen car rental agencies when I got back home. Some required credit cards; others were fine with debit cards or pre-paid cards. Out of curiosity, I called some places in my own city, and got similarly mixed reactions.
travel grant students My suggestion: Book your rental car separately, and call to make your reservation. Specifically ask if a debit or pre-paid card is acceptable for hold charges. And if it is, have a few hundred extra dollars in the account before your show up at the car rental desk. Surprises suck when you re traveling, and making a few phone calls ahead of time can help save you a whole lot of aggravation.
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