New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Yes, you are understanding it correctly. You will have authorizations for $1,200 and then the actual $1,200 charge will hit your card and your available credit will be reduced by $2,400.

Disney throws credits for the authorizations on the card once the balance is paid, but depending on your bank, it could take a few days to reflect in your available credit.

Yes, some banks completely ignore pending credits until the credit actually goes through. Therefore, having an available balance double what you need will help guarantee everything runs smoothly.

 

[MarkinNM]

Yes, some banks completely ignore pending credits until the credit actually goes through. Therefore, having an available balance double what you need will help guarantee everything runs smoothly.

From what I have read here, from others experiences they dont dbl charge you. I have never had that happen to my card in any hotel, if you read earlier in the thread, of on the 1st day you charge $500 then your card will get authorized for $500 and as long as you dont go over that amount you are good to go, they dont slap on an extra $500 for whatever reason. Seems like they actually charge the card every 3 days, so if paying by gift cards/cash then it was suggested to pay the charges sooner then the 3 day cycle.

 

[Searc]

From what I have read here, from others experiences they dont dbl charge you. I have never had that happen to my card in any hotel, if you read earlier in the thread, of on the 1st day you charge $500 then your card will get authorized for $500 and as long as you dont go over that amount you are good to go, they dont slap on an extra $500 for whatever reason. Seems like they actually charge the card every 3 days, so if paying by gift cards/cash then it was suggested to pay the charges sooner then the 3 day cycle.

They charge every five days. And pending charges are the same as charges as far as available balance goes. So if you have a card with a $2,000 limit and you've spent $500, $1000 is tied up in pending charges, which means your available credit to spend is $1000.

 

[dreamer17555]

This might be a slightly spinoff question but I could use some help. With this new authorization I’m planning on paying with mostly gift cards due to the fact that I don’t want all of my credit tied up with authorization holds. When paying with a gift card say at a restaurant is it possible to apply two gift cards to the transaction? For instance if I have a gift card with says $60 left over can they use that one up before putting the rest of the charge through on my another gift card?

I combined all the gift cards into 1k cards but I’m concerned I’m going to end up with small amounts left on cards if I cannot use more than one (mostly concerned about TS meals).

 

[dansdad]

This might be a slightly spinoff question but I could use some help. With this new authorization I’m planning on paying with mostly gift cards due to the fact that I don’t want all of my credit tied up with authorization holds. When paying with a gift card say at a restaurant is it possible to apply two gift cards to the transaction? For instance if I have a gift card with says $60 left over can they use that one up before putting the rest of the charge through on my another gift card?

Yes, you can use multiple cards.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

This might be a slightly spinoff question but I could use some help. With this new authorization I’m planning on paying with mostly gift cards due to the fact that I don’t want all of my credit tied up with authorization holds. When paying with a gift card say at a restaurant is it possible to apply two gift cards to the transaction? For instance if I have a gift card with says $60 left over can they use that one up before putting the rest of the charge through on my another gift card?

I combined all the gift cards into 1k cards but I’m concerned I’m going to end up with small amounts left on cards if I cannot use more than one (mostly concerned about TS meals).

yes but you will need to let them know which one to use first. ps I would use a sharpie to make which one to use first if they look alike

 

[fla4fun]

I really hoped they would change their procedures as soon as people started having issues. We go in less than a month.

I think the only way it will change is if they discover guest spending is down significantly after the change, which could happen if enough people have issues and stop charging back to the room. Many people on this thread have mentioned they aren’t spending as much when paying by gift card or cash. That is the type of thing that gets Disney’s attention quickly.

I understand the reason behind what they are trying to accomplish. Obviously there have been a large enough number of guests with insufficient credit to cover their purchases that they are trying to get a handle on it. But I think they still have some tweaking to do. It doesn’t do either side any good to have credit cards locked for potential fraud, or for the cards to get to the maximum limit because the holds don’t come off in a timely manner.

I am hoping for my trip later this month that I will only have one $100 hold, as I never charge back to the room. I always use cash or present my card at the time of purchase. But at least I should have enough room on the card to handle a second $100 hold if they hit me with a second one halfway through the trip before dropping off the first. I really feel for those of you that use a debit card, as that can hurt if you have automatic bill pay from your bank account and funds are tied up with unnecessary holds.

 

[MarkinNM]

I went ahead and sent an email to guest services yesterday.. I figured it wouldn’t do much good, and I’d get a generic answer. But, it made me feel better lol
They got back with me today & we’ve emailed back & forth a couple times.
For the most part I did just get generic information, but he did seem very willing to help & answer my questions.
This excerpt from our conversation was the most interesting to me... he confirmed that the authorizations do in fact happen immediately each time you exceed additional $100 charges.

We all know how these guest services emails/information can go, so who knows how accurate..
but thought I’d share anyway

They charge every five days. And pending charges are the same as charges as far as available balance goes. So if you have a card with a $2,000 limit and you've spent $500, $1000 is tied up in pending charges, which means your available credit to spend is $1000.

No not according to a post way back in the thread that was from a CM, they do not hold double the amount at least according to that conversation, never heard of a hotel holding dbl the amount......?

 

[MermaidMommy]

No not according to a post way back in the thread that was from a CM, they do not hold double the amount at least according to that conversation, never heard of a hotel holding dbl the amount......?

The problem seems to be that the process isn't uniform, and different people have had different results. The inconsistency is part of the problem.

 

[EACarlson]

No not according to a post way back in the thread that was from a CM, they do not hold double the amount at least according to that conversation, never heard of a hotel holding dbl the amount......?

It is all going to depend on the card issuer. Some issuers deduct the authorization charge from the available credit, others don't. Some are much better at releasing holds. Disney didn't really think this part through all that well. I'm going to link my Chase Sapphire to the room, if it tells me I can't charge anymore than I won't be spending much more money at Disney. That simple.

 

[Chuck S]

Ugh. With a traveling party of 4 adults and a 10 year old, that $100 authorization is worthless. It won't even pay for one table service meal. And since I have TiW, no one else in the traveling party can pay for the meals...I've informed the issuing bank of my travel dates next month to Florida, like I always do...so now we'll see what happens.

 

[Turksmom]

I used a BMW Visa. My stay was booked as 1 night package/ 3 nights room only (same resort and room type, so I asked to have it linked before checking in). I had paid all of the room charges a few days prior to check in. My card was authorized for $100 around 6 am on the first check in day. No additional authorization for the second, but it may have been released and reauthorized. I paid mostly at POS, but did use the band for smaller purchases, not exceeding the $100. On check out day I was charged the actual amount of charges and the rest was released immediately.

We spent significantly less than we usually do.

 

[Chuck S]

I don't understand why they are bothering with a pre-authorization. They could simply immediately charge out anything charged to a magic band. They do that with some items already, like any park ticket or special event tickets you may purchase while onsite using your magic band.

 

[MarkinNM]

I used a BMW Visa. My stay was booked as 1 night package/ 3 nights room only (same resort and room type, so I asked to have it linked before checking in). I had paid all of the room charges a few days prior to check in. My card was authorized for $100 around 6 am on the first check in day. No additional authorization for the second, but it may have been released and reauthorized. I paid mostly at POS, but did use the band for smaller purchases, not exceeding the $100. On check out day I was charged the actual amount of charges and the rest was released immediately.

We spent significantly less than we usually do.

Thanks for your input, all this double charging is odd and never heard of it, its like going to eat and the restaurant says well you will probably spend $200 to eat but we are going to charge $400 just to be sure.....As was in the PP posted, as long as one does not go over the pre auth amount all is good, and if someone has a CC company that does charge a dbl $ amount, they should dump them fast.

 

[AngiTN]

No not according to a post way back in the thread that was from a CM, they do not hold double the amount at least according to that conversation, never heard of a hotel holding dbl the amount......?

The hotel isn't holding double the amount
The hotel is processing an authorization.
Then the credit card companies are slower (some at least) to release the hold.
In some cases, the holds are crossing in the system with the charge, leaving both on the books, for a period of time.
No, it's not double charged, since one is a charge and one is only an authorization.
But how long they stay is up to the credit card company. The hotel has nothing to do with it at that point.
And plenty do indeed find there are double taken from their credit limits. Again, this is something that varies by credit card company. Some deduct authorizations from credit limit, others do not.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for your input, all this double charging is odd and never heard of it, its like going to eat and the restaurant says well you will probably spend $200 to eat but we are going to charge $400 just to be sure.....As was in the PP posted, as long as one does not go over the pre auth amount all is good, and if someone has a CC company that does charge a dbl $ amount, they should dump them fast.

Don't confuse the preauthorization with a true charge.
It's never double charged. You do not pay interest on preauthorization amounts. They are only virtual charges, so to speak. As mentioned, deducted from your credit limit but never truly applied as a charge to your account.
And it seems a vast majority of cards do indeed leave the preauthorizations for several days and do indeed deduct them from your credit limit.
So finding one that doesn't do either is not easy

While not what happens at restaurants, what you present does happen at many gas stations, especially truck stop types. They will preauthorize your card when you swipe for a large amount in many places, sometimes $100. Then they process the true purchase amount also. The preauthorization eventually falls off but in some cases that can take a few days

 

[AngiTN]

I don't understand why they are bothering with a pre-authorization. They could simply immediately charge out anything charged to a magic band. They do that with some items already, like any park ticket or special event tickets you may purchase while onsite using your magic band.

There are many who would rather they never do this as that would mean they could never charge with the MB and then pay off with a gift card later.
The preauthorization makes sense simply not for such a low amount, since it causes too many

 

[AngiTN]

The problem seems to be that the process isn't uniform, and different people have had different results. The inconsistency is part of the problem.

And this is due to so many differing credit card company policies more than anything.
Whoever came up with this clearly never realized that was possible and when you combine it with too small an amount it's just a bad execution of their plan.

 

[MarkinNM]

Don't confuse the preauthorization with a true charge.
It's never double charged...SNIP....

Right there says it all, where some come up with the idea of it is odd, I have never heard of that, pre auth, yes, I am almost sure that every hotel does at some point pre auth a stay before one arrives, if anything to see if the card is legit........thanks for your reply....

 

[Searc]

Right there says it all, where some come up with the idea of it is odd, I have never heard of that, pre auth, yes, I am almost sure that every hotel does at some point pre auth a stay before one arrives, if anything to see if the card is legit........thanks for your reply....

I think you're still confused on how the policy is being implemented, depending on card issuer.