I need some advice on the normal procedures followed when confirming a booking. Is it normal and secure to give one's credit card details via email? Has anyone done this with say Hostal Dulcinea?

Hi tonyt!
Hostels requiring a credit card to secure reservations is pretty normal. Many people would suggest faxing your credit card data instead of via email as faxing is more secure.

I just did a search for you in the forum and found the following useful and relative threads:

" Hostel Dulcinea, other questions... "

" Stopping fake bookings "

" Question about sending credit card info "

" credit card number (okay via email?) "

" Question about sending credit card info "

Good luck and have a great time in Madrid and throughout Spain!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Many thanks MadridMan, for the prompt response!
This forum is a real goldmine of useful practical info, which I am still in the process of mining for my Spain/Portugal trip in May/June. Congrats!

I recently had to respond to the parador system when my CC number did not go through. My very computer-savvy husband says that e-mail is relatively secure, as it is not "form" oriented, so hackers are not likely to pick out credit card numbers in the odd e-mail. Concerned about who might have access to the e-mail on the other side, I made sure to transmit my response during business hours and got a response in a secure form. So, while I wouldn't make a habit of e-mailing my cc to the masses, I felt safe to do so in this case!