Back to Basics: Pay Travel Expenses by Credit Card
There are a lot of scam artists in the world, and unfortunately the travel business has seen its share of them. That’s why I ALWAYS use a credit card to pre-pay travel expenses.
Whether it’s an airline or tour operator that has gone out of business, a hotel that has closed it doors, or an outright dishonest travel business, if you pay by cash you are not going to have much luck in recovering your money. And once cash is gone, it’s usually gone for good. Paying by credit card affords you the protection offered by the issuing institution, providing you the best chance of recouping your loss.
While you may think that this could never happen to you. . . there are lots of people who thought that very thing. . . right up until the time they arrived at their destination and found that they weren’t met at the airport and whisked off to their resort because the tour operator had gone out of business.
If a company requires pre-payment, but does not accept credit cards, I’d recommend you run for the hills. While that doesn’t mean they are a scam artist, it still places you at a serious disadvantage if something goes wrong.
Should you find yourself in a position of having to recover from a defunct business, immediately dispute the charge(s) following the procedure the credit card company sets forth. You then have the credit card fighting the battle as well, and that’s a force that you want to have on your side.
Photo credit: wikimedia
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POSTED IN: Air Travel, Money Saving Tips, Travel Tips
5 opinions for Back to Basics: Pay Travel Expenses by Credit Card
Astroprof
Jan 23, 2008 at 5:53 am
I use a credit card, too, for these sort of expenses. Also, I make sure that it is a credit card, not a debit card. While many banks insist that they will offer the same protection as with a credit card, it is still usually quite a bit more difficult getting your money back when things go wrong with a debit card than not to have to pay in the first place in a credit card dispute.
Robert
Jan 23, 2008 at 6:36 am
Don’t forget to let your bank or CC company know you’ve gone abroad, so a sudden number of overseas transactions don’t trigger their anti-fraud system - otherwise they might cancel the card!
Debbie
Jan 23, 2008 at 2:39 pm
That goes double for purchases made abroad that you intend to have the store mail home. I cannot say how many times I have seen a store offer a “discount” for cash. Once you’ve handed over your cash & walked out the door, the store has no incentive to mail you what you’ve purchased, and you have absolutely no recourse.
Debbie
http://www.deliciousbaby.com
Mary Jo Manzanares
Jan 28, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Astroprof - I agree. A debit card dispute will likely get resolved, but you’re out the money until then.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Jan 28, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Good tip, Robert! I did that with my credit card(s) before heading to Paris. While a fraud alert is easy to get cleared up here at home, I didn’t want to worry about it in a country where I didn’t even speak the language.
Debbie - I’ve been known to shop a time or two when traveling as well. The credit card gives you protection on a couple of fronts.
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