cindyNYC

Hey everyone... there was some discussion going around about email Hotel confirmations being the same as fax confirmations.. but I must say my biggest concern/question is about the safety of the emails.

Do you think it is safe to send your credit card number as a confirmation thru an email to a hotel? Since it is not a secure server, it could be picked up...Thoughts on this?

Has anyone had to send a fax to France from a Kinkos or something? Any idea how much it would be?

Thanks!!

FainaAgain

You can send a fax from your computer. Get one of those programs which offer a free 30-day trial, cancel on day 29, and get another one. There are so many of them, you can use them for as long as you need.

elaine

email is not a secure server, but neither is a fax hard copy being passed around. Thankfully I've never had a problem either way, but
I once had a fraud problem on a home shopping network years ago, I didn't order anything but someone had gotten my credit card number from some source (this was pre-email and before my internet days) and ordered A LOT

francophile03

I never had a problem sending c/c info. thru email.

nibblette

The suggestion that I've gotten about credit cards is never send all the information at once. Send the number in 2 or 3 parts and the exp date in yet another. I'm told that all e-mails are usually not intercepted so a hacker would not get all the info.
That being said, I won't send credit card info over my non-secure e-mail, even in parts.
I did check into Kinko's once but I remember they wanted an outrageous fee to fax the info to England (can't remember what). I ended up calling the hotel and they were willing to take the credit card info by phone. It was cheaper than what Kinko's wanted. And they sent me an e-mail confirmation (no credit card details in it). Maybe you can ask if your hotel is willing to do the same.

Underhill

Me neither, but I never send the whole c/c number in one message; best to split into two or more.

I'd still rather have a faxed confirmation on hotel stationery.

cindyNYC

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I do have a fax that can receive, so I may try the option of calling the hotel and receiving a fax confirmation.

Thx!

hopingtotravel

With English speaking countries I think I took care of everything else, then called or wrote them with my credit card #. I'm not sure I could make a French hotel understand I was mailing them my credit card #, but I might try doing that. I've quit making reservations over the phone since a place in the Cotswolds called me at 2:00 a.m. once ;&gt

ira

Hi Cindy,

You do realize, of course, that if you send your CC info by fax you have no idea who will see that fax.

I'll bet you give your credit cards to waiters, who then walk away with them.

Why worry about an eml?

francophile03

Ira, that is so true. How does one know that the fax that's sent isn't just lying on the fax machine or has fallen on the floor waiting for the day shift to pick it up?

Are we who have sent our c/c info. via email just lucky? I don't think so as it's so many of us who have done this without problem. I thought I did read somewhere (was it here?) that it's a misconception that the c/c numbers or personal info. can be intercepted via email.

Singletail

"I'd rather have a faxed confirmation on hotel stationery"...well, if that mkaes you feel more secure that's up to you. I've done it many times by e-mail and the name of someone (as in "Who did you talk to...?&quot ON that e-mail which I always take with me to the hotel is enough for me.
Dividing the CC # between e-mails might ensure greater security but most credit card theft/fraud liability is limited to $50 so I've never bothered to do that..perhaps I've just been lucky????or am I just smart?

bettyk

Every email confirmation I have received shows the responder's name and title, i.e., John Smith, Reservations Manager, XYZ Hotel.

Over the last several years, I have made reservations via email with at least 15 different hotels and have never had any problems giving my cc number by email. Lucky? Perhaps, but if you think of the sheer volume of emails out there, the chances of someone intercepting yours is pretty slim.

ira

>..it's a misconception that the c/c numbers or personal info. can be intercepted via email.<

Actually, it is possible. The NSA and FBI have been working on this for some years.

However, as noted by bettyk, the sheer volume of email makes it less likely that your cc info will be stolen that way than by a crooked hotel employee.

MFNYC

I email everything else, but fax or call in the credit card numbers. If you use 101 6868 before the country code and the rest of the phone number you get very reasonable rates to Europe.

travelbunny

..just a warning, i just had a hotel reneg on a confirmed email reservation despite the fact that I had stayed in the same hotel one week before, left a parcel, had a xerox of the recently reconfirmed reservation and am fluent in the local language..I dont think it was the email, I think it was a greedy hotelier who had a last minute weekend booking rather and took that rather than honor a confirmed one night booking. The bottom line is that there is NO guarantee and surprizes can happen when you are standing at the reception trying to check in! I dont think a fax, letter, or even a letter signewith blood can help,

Christina

I send credit card numbers to hotels by email and have never had a problem, I just don't worry about that kind of thing. I don't think there is any difference in printing an email confirmation which has names, dates and rates than a hardcopy FAX -- if a hotel is going to not honor your reservation, I don't think the form they sent it makes any difference. Anyway, I have sent a FAX by Kinkos because my home computer FAX software is a little mysterious, and it wasnt that expensive for the convenience. Just call and ask them what it costs if you want. I didn't do it for a hotel reservation as I use email, but I did it for an apt. confirmation where they wanted a FAX with something with my signature and the cost and convenience was nothing compared to what the apt. cost. I dont recall exactly, it was several pages and might have cost about US$10.