Oh crikey, I've booked a Premier Inn in Reading for the duration of the festival (because I'm a big wimp who likes showers), and used my mum's credit card online (with her permission, of course).
Does this mean I'll have to take her card with me? Or will I be able to pay on my own (Maestro debit) card? Or will I have to, er, pretend to be my mum?
Premier Inn or Travelodge?
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Gavin Scott
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You can pay on another card, it doesn't have to be the one you booked on.Psythor wrote:Oh crikey, I've booked a Premier Inn in Reading for the duration of the festival (because I'm a big wimp who likes showers), and used my mum's credit card online (with her permission, of course).
Does this mean I'll have to take her card with me? Or will I be able to pay on my own (Maestro debit) card? Or will I have to, er, pretend to be my mum?
Might be worth calling to see if they accept Maestro. I'm sure they will. Around the same time I couldn't use Electron online either, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more.
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Gavin Scott
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Our spending patterns must be different. There was a period of time when it wasn't universally accepted, despite being allied to Visa. The merchant services banks can lift them and lay them.nodnirG kraM wrote:Pretty much every website that accepts Visa will accept Electron. As do most supermarkets and, come to think of it, pretty much anywhere. I haven't had one for about six years, but even then there was rarely a time I couldn't use it.
Premier Inn is usually slightly better (and standard locations on standard tarrifs are usually slightly cheaper too) Travelinn, a few years before the merger, undertook a big refit programme to bring all of the older locations up to the same standard as their new builds (those that were previously Roadchef Lodges were looking a bit tired in particular). Travelodge do not seem to have followed suit, and still have many locations which don't seem to have seen a refurb since the 80's. Both though are always comfortable and clean. The nicest ones are the ex Premier Lodges, which used to position themselves above TI/TL and even today usually retain extras like Bars and Lounges from their previous guise.
That said, since trying an Ibis Hotel, I've not bothered with either. They look a bit tacky with all the rooms being outside in what looks like a block of balcony-access flats but they're just as clean and comfy (if a bit smaller), provide more TV channels if you're tied to the room (haven't seen Sky One and UK Gold on a TI/TL telly since the days of Sky Analogue - the best you'll get there now is a few basic Freeview channels and many locations still only have the basic 4/5 analogue channels) and because it's a full blown hotel (if a budget one) you'll get a bar and restaurant at every location, rather than having to hope that there's a Brewer's Fayre next door, or be at the mercy of motorway service station prices. Oh, and they're cheaper too.
Interestingly, Solo cards had (and I believe still retain) the Maestro logo on the back. In theory, you should have been able to use that abroad at any retailer which accepted Maestro. But when they retired the Switch brand here and renamed it Maestro, shouldn't that mean that anyone then advertising 'Maestro' acceptance should by definition also accept Solo? If that's the case, why don't they?
Acceptance is much higher than when I had a Solo card from 99-01, but there are still nevertheless a number of places you can't use it (the most notable of which being on the railways). It can't surely still be down to merchant fees, because the notoriously expensive Amex is sometimes accepted where Solo is not. Nor can it be down to security when Solo is a chip&pin card with embossed lettering made to exactly the same standard as a Maestro/Delta card. What's the reason then?
That said, since trying an Ibis Hotel, I've not bothered with either. They look a bit tacky with all the rooms being outside in what looks like a block of balcony-access flats but they're just as clean and comfy (if a bit smaller), provide more TV channels if you're tied to the room (haven't seen Sky One and UK Gold on a TI/TL telly since the days of Sky Analogue - the best you'll get there now is a few basic Freeview channels and many locations still only have the basic 4/5 analogue channels) and because it's a full blown hotel (if a budget one) you'll get a bar and restaurant at every location, rather than having to hope that there's a Brewer's Fayre next door, or be at the mercy of motorway service station prices. Oh, and they're cheaper too.
It did take them about 4 years, and they do still use the old Travel Inn logo.anyone find it slightly amusing how quickly Premier "Travel" Inn dropped the Travel bit of the name after the merger
I'd have killed for Electron 7/8 years ago! Being a poor HSBC punter, I was stuck with a Solo card, seemingly the most useless debit card brand ever devised in that pretty much next to no one accepted it. The 'upgrade' to Solo left me barely any better off than when I had a Midland Cashpoint card which did nothing more than work an ATM. But my Electron-wielding friends seemed to be able to march into almost anywhere and use their card.Pretty much every website that accepts Visa will accept Electron. As do most supermarkets and, come to think of it, pretty much anywhere. I haven't had one for about six years, but even then there was rarely a time I couldn't use it.
Interestingly, Solo cards had (and I believe still retain) the Maestro logo on the back. In theory, you should have been able to use that abroad at any retailer which accepted Maestro. But when they retired the Switch brand here and renamed it Maestro, shouldn't that mean that anyone then advertising 'Maestro' acceptance should by definition also accept Solo? If that's the case, why don't they?
Acceptance is much higher than when I had a Solo card from 99-01, but there are still nevertheless a number of places you can't use it (the most notable of which being on the railways). It can't surely still be down to merchant fees, because the notoriously expensive Amex is sometimes accepted where Solo is not. Nor can it be down to security when Solo is a chip&pin card with embossed lettering made to exactly the same standard as a Maestro/Delta card. What's the reason then?
IIRC, even though switch is maestro they're not the same thing, UK cards still use the switch backend. The chip and pin machines at WHSmith in particular always asked the customer whether they had a UK or Itnl Maestro card.
As for electron, wasn't the fact you have to do it electronically and check for funds first the problem with it, so those shops that still used floor limits didn't like them.
As for electron, wasn't the fact you have to do it electronically and check for funds first the problem with it, so those shops that still used floor limits didn't like them.
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Gavin Scott
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I've just remembered - Scotrail still don't accept Electron at any of their stations or over the phone.
Am-Ex isn't administered by any of the merchant service banks I've come across. Didn't they have their own system? I know they are prohibitively expensive for most retailers.
Am-Ex isn't administered by any of the merchant service banks I've come across. Didn't they have their own system? I know they are prohibitively expensive for most retailers.
I seem to remember that most cinemas wouldn't accept Electron, because it didn't have raised numbers. Or something. The number of cinemas I still see without Chip & PIN as well. Bizarre.
Yes, Amex seems to be the only card which a retailer's usual merchant bank can't clear, instead Amex handles their own transaction authorisation.Am-Ex isn't administered by any of the merchant service banks I've come across. Didn't they have their own system? I know they are prohibitively expensive for most retailers.
If you come across a shop which use separate PDQ machines rather than an EFTPOS system you'll also notice that the machine will usually announce 'Dialling Barclays Merchant Services/Lloyds Cardnet/HSBC/etc' but will specifically state 'Dialling Amex' for Amex.
Doing it means that the advertised transaction rate which the merchant bank provides won't apply to Amex - sometimes a retailer has to pay a transaction rate as high as 5% on an Amex transaction, which is why many decide that it's too expensive.
I'd be interested to know how larger companies with their own clearing services handle Amex. Do they manage to process it with their own system, or do they still have to go through Amex's own clearing just like everyone else?
AND TRAIN STATIONSlukey wrote:I seem to remember that most cinemas wouldn't accept Electron, because it didn't have raised numbers. Or something. The number of cinemas I still see without Chip & PIN as well. Bizarre.
It is a disagrace
However I have replaced my Elektron card with a Connect card (actually I was rather passive in the whole process, it was produced as my replacement on announcing that my previous card had been stolen). It seems to work a little more successfully but it still doesn't work on Oyster Card readers.