Urban Myth: Hotel Card Keys - Don't Hand Back

Are you aware that all your details, including your credit card details are held on the strip of the hotel key card, and remains there until a new guest checks in, when your info is 'overwritten'. Any canny hotel employee can scan your card and use your credit card. So always take it with you and destroy it.

Re: Hotel Card Keys - Don't Hand Back

Have wondered about that. Do you have a particular reason to be concerned? Did anything happen?

Re: Hotel Card Keys - Don't Hand Back

Not they don't.

They store a reference to a record on the hotel computer , which all the employees would have access to anyway.

Re: Hotel Card Keys - Don't Hand Back

Source?

Seems unlikely to me. If I were designing a key card system, I'd just put some kind of unlock code on the card for the door. Why put credit card details on there?

Re: Hotel Card Keys - Don't Hand Back

Fail

snopes.com: Hotel Key Card Identity Theft