Credit card necessity to book a trip??

[disneydumbo101]

Help! I'm planning a trip to Disney and my friends and I are 18 and 17. None of us have crebit cards but we do have debit cards. We were planning on paying for our hotel using gift cards. However my parents are saying that you NEED a credit card to reserve a room and you need to show it when you check in. Is this true?? Or can we just pay with a gift card... if we only pay with a gift card then how would they know it was actually us when checking in to the hotel .... thanks in advance!!! )

 

[MickeyMomV]

Another way of looking at it is if your debit card has a credit card logo on it you are good to use it as a valid way to secure the room against any room charges.

From personal experience, we have not had a actual credit card in our name in well over 10 years and have been to WDW 8 or 9 times in those same 10+ years. Never had an issue.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Someone correct me if this is wrong. If you use a gift card to pay for your reservation hang on to the card, if you were to cancel the refund amount goes back onto the card.

For this example I would make sure you combine any gift cards using the Disney GC site. This prevents having to keep track of stacks of cards.

Disney GC's are also a great way to save money on your trip as you can get cards at a discount at places like Sam's Club (4.7% off) and Target (5% off when purchased with a Target Card). GC's are also accepted everywhere on property just incase the OP's parents wanted to get them extra $$ on a gift card.

 

[Tuvalu]

When you book your room you just indicate the credit card. It doesn't mean that if you indicate it you will automatically pay for the room. You pay everything when you make the check-in or check out.

To clarify, the room deposit (the cost of one night for a room-only reservation or $200 for a package) WILL be charged to the credit card when the booking is made.