forkandknife

Hello,

I have asked for help on flights, car hire, and accomodation in OZ. Some on here have very kindly helped me by way of taking the time to reply. Which is very much appreciated. Two words spring to mind when dealing with all this travel stuff, Wind and P!ssing, if you get my drift, so thanks all who have helped me and Miss Knife, she cuts deep!

I have to book the car hire and accomodation now and pay in Australian dollars, my question is;

How do i pay, i have no credit cards, dumped them all, like a drug they were!

So i have a debit card, a current account, a cheque book, what is the cheapest easiest most convienient way to book and pay!

Cheers Mr Fork!

P.S. I mean paying while i am here in the UK, prior to departing the UK and arriving in Australia.

Timber Floor Au

Paying from UK -> to OZ
or in OZ ?

From UK, direct bank transfer ( poss Ozforex - have seen 1 or 2 million of their banners on here )

In Oz, in person with bank cheque or cash i suspect

jonah38

Hired quite a few cars, vans and campervans during 9 months in OZ this year. I think you may have a problem with cash without a credit card. The reason is that all car hire companies (Budget, Avis, Hertz etc etc) hold a substantial deposit each time you hire. On a family 4 door car they may ask for a AUD2,500 deposit and without a credit card this has to be left in cash!

Best to contact tenm before hand or get yourself an emegency credit card.

JoolsB

Hi Best way (if you dont have/cant get a visa card) is probably to set up an account with a forex co (tranzfers?) and use them to transfer from your uk bank to the Aussie recipients bank account.

I found uk debit card useless for booking Aus accomm etc-all they seem to accept is credit card. (We couldn't even activate our new joint Westpac account without one-OH had to apply for a new credit card specially-astoundingly his HSBC debit card from an account he has held for 10 yrs was no good as ID but a brand new dodgy visa card was fine!!)

Inglewhite

Hi
Why not apply for a pre paid mastercard on line(if you look under google there is a few to choose from.)
You can load them with money at Post office or set up standing order from wage and use them like a credit card for booking things , just like a credit card, except you have no debt .
You can only use the amount you put on card. It's a great way to control spending and you can also get additional cards for other members of family- you can leave one in uk for friends and relatives to top up if they want and ther're ideal for travelling. We've just got one for our hol in Florida at xmas- that way you can't spend what you haven't got, and there're accepted everywhere that uses mastercard.

jonah38

Its odd but we survived our whole lives in UK without any credit cards at all. We where advised to get one to go to OZ with as it would be needed for any hire or rental agreements. Hire car companies wouldnt of hired to us without one or a large cash deposit, which you dont have if your only there for a few weeks! Rental houses/apartments are the same but required less of a cash deposit without a credit card.

Wendy

The visa debit card described in the post above your are just as good. I have one of them and they are great for paying online etc.

I don't have a normal credit card

quoll

I stood (for a long time!!) behind a UK couple who were trying to hire a car at Melbourne airport a few weeks ago. They didnt have a credit card and it was a real problem! I dont know how they ended up with the car hire firm because it was all getting too difficult and they had been arguing for a long time and so they let the rest of the queue through while someone else sorted it out. Sorry, dont know the answer to that one!

jonah38

Yep. Personal experience is hard to refute. A credit card is the only sollution that is guaranteed to work.

Streaks

sorry absolutely nothing to do with your question but have to tell you a little story about your username. When my son was little he always used to ask for his fork and knife rather than say it the other way round, well, his pronounciation wasn't all that clever and if you say it quite fast you'll know what I mean. His two older brothers were always asking him to say it (in front of grandma, restaurants you name it) course the more people laughed the more he said it Anyway back as you were - good luck
S xx

jonah38

What a coincidence. My son used to say the same thing, although he was prompted by his uncle who thought it funny. It was funny, until he said it infront of every man and his dog

PoppetUK

Very funny.

Completely off topic again. My son is 2 and we have been potty training him. Anyway one day I say "oh no" to my husband and he says "what's the matter". I respond He's only gone an done a shit on the carpet. Obviously I wasn't thinking. My boy slighty miss heard it and now he sits on the toilet shouting MUMMY SHIP! I've tried explaining a ship is like a boat but to no avail. So now we have guests its a little embarrassing. Bless um.

My friends little girl couldn't say the l is clock. That was really funny to.

forkandknife

Yes, i know and remember well my childhood, i had the same problem, its where my username originated from! Kids, fanbloodytastic, until they grow up, then from sweetness to tasteless?

Vin 'n Bin

I have exactly the same as Wendy and use it for paying everything, online or at post office etc

aussiedreamer

Hi There

Visa Debit card OK to pay for hire charges and bookings online. But a VISA Credit card is needed for Car Hire deposit (in case of accidents etc) VISA Debit won't work or be acceptable. We know from experience, luckily travelling with a freind who lent me their credit card details for deposit, other than that paid for everything else with Visa Debit.

Hope this helps. I would keep hold of the Credit Card with a nil balance until you have safely arrived in Oz and set up the same here. When they take the deposit for car hire they don't physically debit the card.

Jane