Is there a why to tell the difference between a Credit Card and a Debit Card number?

[The Farmers Daughter]

... If you don't have the card as a point of reference?
In other words: If someone books online and enters their card number, is there a way to eyeball it and tell if its Credit or Debit?

 

[Joey Camb]

Debit cards have a start date and an issue number credit cards don't.
Mastercards always start 5454
Visa cards start 4546
Debit cards start with whatever they fancy (in this country anyway) that's how we used to tell when I worked in a big hotel as the computer had to know the card type to accept it. Don't know if it is in the same in the US.

 

[JBloggs]

No there is no way to tell for an online booking, unless you asked them. Is there a reason? Fees or?

 

[Scott]

Debit cards have a start date and an issue number credit cards don't.
Mastercards always start 5454
Visa cards start 4546
Debit cards start with whatever they fancy (in this country anyway) that's how we used to tell when I worked in a big hotel as the computer had to know the card type to accept it. Don't know if it is in the same in the US..

Mastercards always start 5454
Visa cards start 4546

At least in the US Mastercards will start with 5xxx, Visa with 4xxx. Debit cards issued via Mastercard will also start 5xxx and those issued by Visa will start 4xxx, but I'm not aware of a way to determine debit vs. credit.

 

[The Farmers Daughter]

No there is no way to tell for an online booking, unless you asked them. Is there a reason? Fees or?.

No there is no way to tell for an online booking, unless you asked them. Is there a reason? Fees or?

The reason is I take an approval only (authorization) against the card when the reservation is made online.
An authorization is taken against the credit line of a credit card. Debit cards are entirely different because they don't have a credit line, they have only whatever funds are in that account. Additionally, they have parameters set up by the issuing bank and will vary from bank to bank.
An auth taken against a Debit card will show as a 'sale' even tho it is only a hold. This makes the funds unavailable to the account holder for a period of time determined by the bank.
Some banks will hold for a week. Some banks will hold for 30 days. Not only do many guests find this extremely inconvenient, a majority have no idea that a debit card processes differently than a credit card.
I always ask if the reservation is made over the phone, but online, you can't tell.

 

[JBloggs]

Yes and most debit card holders SHOULD know that by now.
Worst case are the overseas debit cards, they do not get that the amount is held and not taken yet, but to them it IS taken. I have had issues with this in the past. It is better to just run the dang thing, as they think you have anyway.
I wish no one used a debit card with us, it would make things so much easier. I also wish no one used an Amex. They have been slow to hit the account lately.

 

[Joey Camb]

We don't take Amex for that reason and the fact they batter you for commission. Amex is always pushing itself in this country as it is taken everywhere but actually it is taken in very few places for that reason.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

This is one of the reasons why I just charge their deposit upfront. You might as well get the money, know the card is good, and if they cancel, you don't have to hassle getting a cancelation charge out of them, you just credit back minus the cx fee.

 

[Morticia]

Debit cards have a start date and an issue number credit cards don't.
Mastercards always start 5454
Visa cards start 4546
Debit cards start with whatever they fancy (in this country anyway) that's how we used to tell when I worked in a big hotel as the computer had to know the card type to accept it. Don't know if it is in the same in the US..

It's different here. MC starts with a 5, Visa a 4, AmEx a 3. Not the same first 4. That sequence of 4 is, I think dependent on the issuing bank. Lots of cc's have a start date on them. Or a 'member since' date. One of my cc's has a start date, the other doesn't and they're both the same kind of card, issued by different banks. Neither is a debit card.
As to FD's question, I don't know the answer to that.

 

[gillumhouse]

The banks advertise the debit card that it is handled like a credit card. No one kows it is not a credit card. Here, when using a VS or MC you will be asked: credit or debit? before it is provessed. The FEES are different for both sides of the transaction if it is debit instead of credit.

 

[MTLLodge]

On my Mastercard debit it starts with 52, on the card it has debit.

 

[Copperhead]

No you can not tell the difference between a credit and debit card! Agreed with the beginning # and type of card - Discover (not previously mentioned) begins with a 6. The next set is the issuing bank.
JB is right, if people are using a debit and you state that you get an approval upfront, they should know that amount is being held from their account. They can not be that foolish... (well we know better

don't we)
FD - Authorizations for the full amount are good IF the reservation is going to be within the hold period...(i.e. if you did an authorization on the First, and the hold is good for 14 days, the check in needs to be within that 14 days to be assured the card still has that amount of credit available) If you are doing and authorization for a booking for 6 months from then, the only good the authorization does is to verify you have a good card. So really there are 3 ways to handle this:
1. Do an authorization for $1 - just to verify that you have a good card #
2. Continue to do an authorization for the full amount each time the one drops off.
3. Take a deposit instead of an autorization.