I've never seen a definitive answer--if I pay with cash upon checkout, will ANYTHING show up on my credit card bill? Any differences between a high end hotel, to a Travel Lodge to a cheap motel? Are there even decent hotels where you DON'T have to leave a credit card imprint?
Almost any reputable hotel will take a CC imprint, to cover themselves in case of damage, etc. Most will seek pre-approval for the amount of one nights room & tax. That won't show up on your bill, but will potentially be shown as "pending" if you (or some family member) were to pull it up on the CC's website within 24 hours of checkin. Assuming that you pay cash and don't damage anything, there's little chance of a trail...BUT...I do know of a guy that had the receipt mailed to his house.
For those reasons, many guys opt for outcall when travelling on business, and incall when on their home turf.
Get a prepaid Master Card You don't even have to use your real name. I always book through hotels.com so the room is already paid for but they always ask for cc to cover extra charges.
if you you pre-pay for the room, as you do with hotels.com and other discount travel providers, you are out the money if you have to cancel.
And you still have to provide a CREDIT card to cover potential charges when you check in. Read thd fine print, merchants are disscouraged from accepting debit and pre-paid cards for future, indefinent, charges, for which there is little recourse for them to make you pay if your available comes up short.
When your card is swiped, you actually authorizing a charging a charge(usually only $1, to ensure the card is active) which may lead to exposure.
You can use your pre-paid card, or debit, card to pay for final costs, but deposits are usually a no-no.
-- Modified on 3/9/2006 10:30:32 AM