"When you check into a hotel with a debit card, many hotels put a "hold" on money in your account. That "hold" that starts the moment you check in, can be for more than the amount of the room multiplied by all the nights you're planning to stay, too. How can it be for more than you'll be spending? They argue that you may decide to use the mini-bar or charge things to your room, so they're just protecting themselves from your potentially free-spending ways. Meanwhile their hold, while temporary (and often arbitrary), can cause devastating results for you. One consumer complained that a phantom charge -- a hotel hold for a room that was eventually paid for with cash -- cost him $140 in overdraft fees because he was unaware that his stated bank balance was made partly "unavailable" by the undisclosed hold. It caused his regular bills, which were scheduled to be paid while he was away, to bounce.
Gas stations also commonly place holds of $50 to $75 on your bank account when you use a debit card to purchase gas. These holds can last for days after your visit to the gas station. And it doesn't matter that you only put $10 of fuel in the tank to top off the rental car.
If you use your debit card at a gas station or hotel, find out what their hold policy is and make sure you have plenty of money in your account to cover it."
More of the article in Finance Yahoo '5 Reasons using a Debit Card is Dangerous' by Kathy Kristof:
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