CC question

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kobiak

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#202029 14-Sep-2016 13:22

Might sound silly but I wonder if anyone with experience can advice.

We are off to North American holiday in November, and I thought I'd apply for CC (never had real CC, just Visa/MasterCard Debit cards). So currently I'm searching for lowest cost CC possible that will be used for the purpose of and have these features:

- no fees

- $5000 or more credit (arranged overdraft/or whatever it's called)

- CC will be used only for hold deposit reasons for car hire, hotels, anything else?

Let's say car rentals will hold $1000 for the duration of car rental, hotels will hold $100-200 deposits for duration of the stay at the hotel. Then these companies will release finds (how long it usually takes)?

I don't want to use Visa Debit as this will limit our budget (money actually will be withdrawn from account and refunded back, who knows when). Is this correct?

So far, I'm thinking KiwiBank MasterCard Zero, but they don't mention anything about credit amount.

Maybe I should consider something else?

Thanks guys.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

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#1630247 14-Sep-2016 13:57

Just get one from who you currently bank with. The only place they compete is in the rewards areas, and if you are not plannign on spending on it then that will not help you. Who you bank with is more likly to give you it for free rather than anyone else.

Richard rich.ms

mentalinc

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#1630270 14-Sep-2016 14:30

Some also offer travel insurance so maybe check on that as well.

But make sure the cover is suitable for what your needs are.

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timmmay

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#1630284 14-Sep-2016 14:47

It's called a limit. You should set the limit higher than the total expected holds and spend - there's no downside to having a higher limit since your liability is limited. Agree that getting a card with your current bank is the best idea, just their standard card. The difference in fees is negligible in the context of an overseas trip, and you'll have a credit history with them which should help you get approved easily.

I'd be wary with just credit card travel cover in the USA, read the policy carefully, and compare it to third party policies. It's an expensive place for treatment and I'd probably get a standalone policy to be sure.

mdf

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#1630286 14-Sep-2016 14:49

What others have said. They're all much of a muchness, they distinguish themselves based on reward schemes. Some of the lower cost ones have higher interest rates though, so something to be wary of if you're not planning on paying it off in full. Some other observations:

- Quite a few cards have the annual fee waived for the first year. If it's just for a trip, then you cancel, this might be helpful

- Ours is linked to our mortgage, so we only pay the mortgage interest rate rather than the CC interest rate (at least, I think that's how it works. We pay ours off in full each month).

- Some of the rewards are more rewarding than others. I'm seriously tempted by the Countdown Onecard Visa free delivery offer. $8 delivery fee x 50 (ish) weeks = circa $400, compared to an annual fee of $65. If you're travelling Air New Zealand, I think you can save their stupid credit card processing fee if you use one of their credit cards (I think). Obviously this all depends on your personal circumstances though.

kobiak

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#1630293 14-Sep-2016 14:55

Thanks guys.

Bank shopping on the weekend!

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Detruire

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#1630356 14-Sep-2016 16:17

The reason Kiwibank (and presumably other banks) don't state limits is because it's customer dependent. they will decide what limit they're willing to give you based on credit rating, customer history, etc.

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kiwiharry

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#1630376 14-Sep-2016 16:47

Is all your accommodation pre-paid?

I recently stayed in Chicago and the people I was working for had pre-paid my accommodation, so only USD$100 was held on my CC for minibar etc. I was only supposed to be there for 3 nights, but was asked by my client to extend my stay for another 4 nights. When I went to reception to get my room key recoded, they wanted my CC again. I asked how much they were going to hold and they quoted me about USD$1200. They said this was to cover the room rate, as it wasn't prepaid.

Held funds can take up to 1 week before they are released.

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Jase2985

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#1630587 15-Sep-2016 01:01

ive had a hold take over a week to be released, that was 6 years ago though so things might have changed.

kobiak

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#1630619 15-Sep-2016 08:14

kiwiharry:

Is all your accommodation pre-paid?

I recently stayed in Chicago and the people I was working for had pre-paid my accommodation, so only USD$100 was held on my CC for minibar etc. I was only supposed to be there for 3 nights, but was asked by my client to extend my stay for another 4 nights. When I went to reception to get my room key recoded, they wanted my CC again. I asked how much they were going to hold and they quoted me about USD$1200. They said this was to cover the room rate, as it wasn't prepaid.

Held funds can take up to 1 week before they are released.

it's not pre-paid but booked via booking.com with free-cancelation and pay-at-the-hotel

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RickD

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#1630694 15-Sep-2016 09:45

If you're planning on using it overseas, try to find a card with no currency conversion/foreign transaction fees otherwise you'll be charged 2-3% for non NZD transactions. I've found hotel holds in Europe & the U.S. are usually released within in 5 business days.

frankv

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#1630891 15-Sep-2016 13:19

If you can't get a big enough limit, just get several fee-free cards and use them in rotation.

robjg63

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#1630898 15-Sep-2016 13:29

kiwiharry:

Is all your accommodation pre-paid?

I recently stayed in Chicago and the people I was working for had pre-paid my accommodation, so only USD$100 was held on my CC for minibar etc. I was only supposed to be there for 3 nights, but was asked by my client to extend my stay for another 4 nights. When I went to reception to get my room key recoded, they wanted my CC again. I asked how much they were going to hold and they quoted me about USD$1200. They said this was to cover the room rate, as it wasn't prepaid.

Held funds can take up to 1 week before they are released.

Definitely dont underestimate the amount that may be 'held'. They wont always tell you the amount (unless you ask I guess), but it can be a surpisingly high amount and as mentioned above not always released too quickly.

If you are staying (for example) at several places over a couple of weeks you may end up with all three places having a sizable hold on your credit card at the same time - and you really dont want to find you cant stay somewhere because you cant pay for it!

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kobiak

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#1630995 15-Sep-2016 14:50

frankv:

If you can't get a big enough limit, just get several fee-free cards and use them in rotation.

Good idea, thank you!

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kobiak

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#1630999 15-Sep-2016 14:51

robjg63:

kiwiharry:

Is all your accommodation pre-paid?

I recently stayed in Chicago and the people I was working for had pre-paid my accommodation, so only USD$100 was held on my CC for minibar etc. I was only supposed to be there for 3 nights, but was asked by my client to extend my stay for another 4 nights. When I went to reception to get my room key recoded, they wanted my CC again. I asked how much they were going to hold and they quoted me about USD$1200. They said this was to cover the room rate, as it wasn't prepaid.

Held funds can take up to 1 week before they are released.

Definitely dont underestimate the amount that may be 'held'. They wont always tell you the amount (unless you ask I guess), but it can be a surpisingly high amount and as mentioned above not always released too quickly.

If you are staying (for example) at several places over a couple of weeks you may end up with all three places having a sizable hold on your credit card at the same time - and you really dont want to find you cant stay somewhere because you cant pay for it!

yeah, that's my initial thought, I don't want to end-up short on cash, thus thinking CC.

We will stay at 10 hotels over 17 days.

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richms

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#1631056 15-Sep-2016 15:35

A friend who travelled the US and stayed 1-2 nights at many places found out that a lot of them will manually do the hold on their terminal, and then manually charge you when you leave but not do anything about the hold, so it takes 7 days to drop off. $20000 limit and it hit it.

Also dont be suprised when retailers do things that would get you a huge slap from a bank here, like have you write down you card details including the CVV number and other absurdities like keeping the number in a database that all the staff have access to, they just do not care in the US.

Richard rich.ms

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