Originally Posted by
Hagabel
Our debit card is one of the major ones. Thanks for the info. We would rather not take out another one as we are pretty much with having cards but I wil talk to hubby about it.
Personally I would never go travelling without a credit card or A LOT of money in my current account (not savings as you never know when you need it and whether you'll be able to get online / to a phone to transfer it and if that transfer will go through instantly).
The good thing with a credit card is that it gives you peace of mind. If everything hits the fan and you need out / emergency medical treatment etc then you can do it. Similarly if someone nicks your wallet then having a credit card in your bag at the hotel is a godsend! My Dad once had to provide a deposit of around $20,000 for a medical emergency when we were on a family holiday - whilst it was covered by insurance the hospital wouldn't accept the insurer's promise to pay so he needed to provide evidence that they could; credit card out and the $20,000 was put on hold. Cost ended up being closer to $5,000 so paid up and reclaimed the money from insurance - but without that credit card it would have been much tougher!
99% of the time you may never use it (other than for when you put the rental deposit on a car / hotel etc - making sure you pay with the debit card); but that 1% of the time a credit card makes everything so much easier!