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I booked a hotel for my Mum's birthday. I put my Visa debit card info in, thinking it would work, but I received an email saying it was invalid and I need to give a valid card within the next 24 hours to guarantee my stay.

As I don't have a credit card, will I still be charged for cancellation? !

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    Have you contacted your bank and asked why the charge was rejected?
    – Patricia Shanahan
    May 1, 2017 at 12:53
  • Well the card I gave wasn't a credit card. I don't own a credit card
    – Jess
    May 1, 2017 at 12:55
  • That may or may not be the problem. The bank will know.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    May 1, 2017 at 12:57
  • Will I still be charged if I don't manage to sort it within the next 24 hours?
    – Jess
    May 1, 2017 at 12:58
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    There is no general problem with using a debit card on booking.com, I do this regularly (UK debit card, staying in the UK and elsewhere).
    – djr
    May 1, 2017 at 14:54

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You can use debit or credit cards in the booking.com which is mentioned in their terms and conditions.

https://www.booking.com/content/terms.en-gb.html

Payment is safely processed from your credit/debit card or bank account to the bank account of the accommodation provider through a third party payment processor.

Call your bank to see why they blocked the charge. I am afraid only your bank can sort this out.

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This has happened to me twice while using my credit card to book through Booking.com (both times were, coincidentally or not, in Paris). You can either contact the hotel to confirm your reservation or contact Booking.com who will try to work something out with the hotel for you.

As for being charged for cancellation: I don't think you need to worry about that, if you don't do anything your reservation will simply be canceled and you won't be charged.

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Several possibilities with your card issue:

  • Could you have made a mistake when you typed in the card number?
  • Was there enough money in your account to cover the charge plus a bit more?
  • Does your card have a single POS sale limit (ie max of ‎£200 purchase)?
  • Are you not in the UK and don't make global purchases very often?

But as for being charged for a cancellation, you have not yet guaranteed the booking and likely Booking.com will automatically cancel your reservation due to lack of your guarantee. They can't charge you for an unconfirmed booking cancellation they make.

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