You know how sometimes you don’t learn about a travel rule until you’re standing at the counter and it’s suddenly your problem?
That’s exactly what happened to the friends of one of our readers during a hotel stay overseas.
The reservation wasn’t the problem. Their identification wasn’t the problem. But the hotel still wanted something they didn’t have.
Not long ago, we posted a piece about the one credit card you should always bring to the airport.
One of our readers, John, mentioned the exact issue that we described in the piece, which adds him to a long list of people who’ve had that problem.
However, the comment from another reader, InLA, really caught our eye, since it had to do with making reservations for hotels and having the card you used to make the reservation:
Always carry the credit card(s) used to book your hotel(s). We were with friends, checking into a very good hotel overseas, and they didn’t have the hotel branded loyalty credit card they used for their reservation. The hotel would not charge the loyalty card without seeing it. So our friends had to use another credit card and lost all the points and benefits that came with the hotel branded credit card. We’ve also been asked at check in for the physical loyalty card, but we always have it.
I hope that InLA doesn’t mind that I quoted them verbatim, but they explained it so perfectly that I couldn’t resist.
Of course, there are times when you may not need to have the hotel-branded card. Not everyone chases points and miles during every single stay (I know, right? Can you BELIEVE it? LOL! But hey, sometimes you’re at an independently owned hotel, or just don’t travel enough to bother) and if that’s the case, you don’t need any sort of “branded” card.
HOWEVER (and this is a big however) you still need to have SOME credit card with you, and sometimes it needs to be the original one.
- The hotel is going to want to put a hold on your card for incidentals. In this case, some (but not all) hotel brands allow you to use a debit card, if you prefer.
- If you prepaid for the room with a third party, the hotel won’t have the credit card information on file – Hotels.com, Expedia, etc. may have that information, but the hotel itself often won’t. So again, they’re going to want to have a card on file for you.
- Also note that, on occasion, a hotel WILL require the credit card with which you made the original reservation. This is to prevent and decrease the number of chargebacks from the banks. Some unscrupulous guests pay with one card online, provides a different one at check-in, and then goes home and files a dispute with the bank. By having to provide the credit card at check-in and swipe it through the credit card machine, it proves the card does, in fact, belong to the guest.
Fortunately, situations like this are relatively uncommon. Most hotels are perfectly happy to put incidentals on whatever card you present at check-in, and many travelers never encounter an issue.
But every now and then, a hotel will want to verify the original payment method, whether it’s to confirm eligibility for cardholder benefits, reduce fraud, or prevent chargebacks.
It’s one of those travel rules that most people never think about—until they’re standing at the front desk after a long day of travel.
So before your next trip, it might be worth taking a quick look at how you booked your hotel and which card you used. Chances are you’ll never need it. But if you do, you’ll be glad it’s in your wallet instead of sitting in a drawer back home.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
