You can book a hotel room with a checking account, but doing so could tie up your money for as long as 15 days after you've checked out. If you haven't got a credit card or are wary of getting yourself into debt, contact the hotel you want to stay in before using your checking account's debit card to make a booking.

Take a look at the debit card linked to your checking account to make sure it carries the logo of a major payment processor such as Visa, MasterCard or Discover. If it does, there's a good chance you'll be able to book a hotel room with it.

Contact the hotel or broker service you're planning to book a room with and ask about its debit card booking policy. Confirm that it accepts payments made with the type of card you have. Your chosen hotel or broker will put a hold on funds to cover the projected cost of your stay plus an additional amount for incidentals. Find out how much this will be before booking. You won't be able to access this money while the hold is in place.

Make sure you have enough money in your checking account to cover the full hold amount before booking. You should also check that you have adequate funds to take care of other outgoings on top of this.

Pay for your stay when you check out. If you use a payment method other than your debit card or are owed money from the funds your hotel held, you won't receive this back into your account for up to 15 days. Your hotel will typically release your money as soon as you've settled your bill, but the time it will take for your funds to be credited to your account will depend on the polices of your payment processor and bank. While you can contact your bank to inquire about how long it might take for your money to returned to your account, any time frame you're given might not be guaranteed.

Warning

Any cancellation fee your hotel charges you will be debited from your card. Your card could be declined if you don't have adequate funds on top of the money held by your hotel to pay for a purchase.