Do hotels ask for the card you paid with?

Ugh, hotels and their credit card obsession! So, do they always ask for your card, even if you've already paid? Yeah, mostly. It's a total drag, I know. I once tried to check into a cute little boutique hotel in Santa Fe – pre-paid the whole thing online, felt so smug – only to have them give me this whole song and dance about needing a card for incidentals. Incidentals?! Like, what, I was planning on smashing up the mini-bar? (Okay, maybe a little chocolate... but still!)

Anyway, they basically use it as a security deposit, you see? To cover anything you might, you know, accidentally break. Or, worse, purposefully destroy. They're not trusting souls, those hoteliers. I mean, it makes sense, right? Protects them from people who, for example, decide to host a wild party and trash the place. I read somewhere – I think it was a travel blog, maybe? – that something like 15% of hotels report significant damage each year. That's a lot! So, yeah, they're pretty much forced to ask.

So, pre-paid or not, bring a credit card. It'll save you a whole lot of awkwardness at the front desk. Debit cards sometimes work, but honestly? Don't risk it. I tried with a debit card once – a total disaster. They wouldn't accept it; ended up holding me up for twenty minutes while I called my bank, trying to figure out some alternative. Avoid all that drama. Just bring the credit card. It's easier. Believe me.