Proud Texan
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I've been Googling all afternoon trying to find an answer to this one. For those of you who take credit cards (online or in person), do you know if there is anyway to discern if a credit card is a regular card or a "prepaid" card?
We require at least one-night's full payment as a deposit when a guest makes a reservation. Whether the reservation is taken online or over the phone, they are required to provide a valid credit card number with all the associated security information and have the card charged for the deposit before they are given a reservation confirmation. At this point in the transaction there is no authorization for the full amount.
I went round and round with a recent guest who insisted on paying in cash. The only problem with that is that we have no recourse if they're a no show or if any damages are incurred during their stay. He finally provided me with his mother's credit card number. Everything went O.K. (except a champagne flute is missing from our romance package stuff). He indicated that when (and if) they come back, he will use a prepaid credit card.
O.K., is it me or does this defeat the purpose of having a credit card number on file in the first place. If their prepaid card is only good for the initial balance, there is no fudge room for additional charges. This is the same as being paid in cash.
I would like to be able to identify and deny prepaid cards, but I can't see away around this one.
We require at least one-night's full payment as a deposit when a guest makes a reservation. Whether the reservation is taken online or over the phone, they are required to provide a valid credit card number with all the associated security information and have the card charged for the deposit before they are given a reservation confirmation. At this point in the transaction there is no authorization for the full amount.
I went round and round with a recent guest who insisted on paying in cash. The only problem with that is that we have no recourse if they're a no show or if any damages are incurred during their stay. He finally provided me with his mother's credit card number. Everything went O.K. (except a champagne flute is missing from our romance package stuff). He indicated that when (and if) they come back, he will use a prepaid credit card.
O.K., is it me or does this defeat the purpose of having a credit card number on file in the first place. If their prepaid card is only good for the initial balance, there is no fudge room for additional charges. This is the same as being paid in cash.
I would like to be able to identify and deny prepaid cards, but I can't see away around this one.