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I plan to reserve a hotel for my vacation. The hotel frontline sent me a mail with the below information:

If you wish to go ahead with this booking please call us with your credit card details and expiry date of your card.

  • What card details do they need?
  • Will they be able to charge me anything on my card ?
  • I plan to settle the bill by cash
  • How would they be able to charge me anything if I do not reveal my PIN code?
  • Is it safe to give them my card details?
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2 Answers 2

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Essentially the card details are asked to charge you if you don't turn up. At times it's just a deterrent, i.e. to stop people from making booking that they never plan to use. More often quite a few Hotels will not charge even if you don't show up.

What card details do they need?

Generally the Card Number and Expiry date are sufficient. Do not give anything more.

Will they be able to charge me anything on my card ?

That depends on the Merchant, country of jurisdiction, etc. Quite a few countries would allow such a charge. Quite a few merchants would be allowed such a charge.

I plan to settle the bill by cash

This if fine. You can change the mode when you check-in or more like when you check-out. You can use different card or pay cash.

How would they be able to charge me anything if I do not reveal my PIN code?

As mentioned earlier, it depends. PIN is a method of establishing that you authorized the charge. If the merchant has other means, for example he can establish that it was you who entered the details [and this was not fraud, etc] and authorized them to charge, they can still go-ahead can charge. There are certain cards where this would Never be allowed. Most others it would be.

Is it safe to give them my card details?

This goes to trust. If you think the merchant is reputable, then yes. Else no.

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  • Thanks ..few doubts What is the guarantee that they will not use the credit card details again to charge me once i have checked out of the hotel since you have mentioned it does not require my PIN code? I was under the impression for any transaction on credit card to take place requires a PIN code
    – syed
    Commented Aug 4, 2016 at 12:59
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    @syed The business would not last long if they made a habit of charging customers additional fees after they left.
    – mhoran_psprep
    Commented Aug 4, 2016 at 13:49
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    @mhoran_psprep No, the hotel will not ask for CVV because they're not allowed to store it for future use and they don't need it to make the charges.
    – Moyli
    Commented Aug 4, 2016 at 20:50
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    If you're that concerned about how trustworthy the hotel is, maybe you should consider staying somewhere else. It isn't in any merchant's best interests to do anything stupid with your credit card.
    – Daniel Anderson
    Commented Aug 6, 2016 at 0:37
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    They might also ask for the name on the card and your billing address. Also, in the unlikely event they charge your card unauthorized additional charges after you leave, you can call the credit card issuer and dispute the charges.
    – stannius
    Commented Aug 9, 2016 at 17:49
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They will need your credit card number and expiration date. This is so that they can charge your credit card if you fail to show. When you check in you can change your method of payment. But until then they need a method of payment to protect themselves from the opportunity loss of not being able to give that room to someone else if you do not show.

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