Use that to buy a pre-paid Visa or AmEx card with enough to pay for the bill. I don't know if banks sell pre-paid Visa card, but one can certainly buy them elsewhere with high denominations. Traveler's checks are also a good option.

Here's another possibility: Call the credit card company, and ask them to raise your limit. They might. They might not. It's worth a try.

That's what I did when I was in Florida years ago.

However, look into a Credit Union when you return.

We pay ZERO fees on ALL of our accounts; no limits and the reciprocal ATM reimbursments with other CU's nationwide is top notch.

Just a thought, good luck...

Even though they're guaranteed, I ran into a lot of banks that wouldn't cash them if I didn't have an account there. I will never use them again. A pre-paid credit card is your best option, and should be available at most large banks. Check on-line (http://www.creditcards.com/ is a good site) and you s/b able to find a good one for your needs.

I have done this for large online purchases several times. Also a good idea to tell them you will be on vacation so they don't see sudden charges from outside your home area and shut off your card thinking fraud.

Have a fun vacation!

are you paying the hotel cash but they also require a credit card as a guarantee or something?

As someone else said, if you phone your credit card companies and your credit is okay, my experience is they will raise your limit. Also do tell them you will be traveling and where.

Ideally I would use my debit card which would draw the cash from my account.

Most times they will put a hold on up to double the charge per night. It also can take 3-5 days for the hold to come off your account. You could use your bank info to pay off one of your credit cards to free up enough for your trip. Try to use credit before debit cards for greater protection.

Have to be prepared for that.

Does your bank have a branch near where you're staying so you could get the money out on the same day? Maybe the hotel has a safe? I've definitely stayed in some that do.

Use it to do your shopping, but pay cash for your restaurant purchases.

When you check out of the hotel, use that to pay your bill, not your debit card.

I am assuming you have enough money to put it on the card -- you don't want to use credit for this trip.

If your hotel takes American Express, FYI AMEX now has a prepaid card that has the same protections as their regular card/travellers checks. You might want to look into that.

but it is where I bank, and I have never had a daily limit on my debit card.

There is a daily cash withdrawal limit at ATMs, but going inside to a teller can take care of that. I've never heard of a daily limit on debit purchases.

There used to be a $300 limit on daily withdrawals from ATMs, but that has changed because I have withdrawn up to $600 at a time.

BERTHA, you may not have a TRANSACTION limit, just a daily cash withdrawal limit. There should be NO limit on transactions, as long as there are sufficient funds in the account.

Do be aware, as noted above, hotels will take an 'insurance' amount, from debit card accounts, and hold it for a few days to be sure the bill is paid.

and have a GREAT time!

It happened to me a couple years ago. I called up the bank, they reset the limit higher for that day and the card went through without a hitch.