New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[saskdw]

I'm guessing the US banks must be more difficult to deal with.

With either of my RBC CC's here in Canada they would have that hold off in 5 secs after a quick call. Their customer service is top notch with stuff like that.

I would never use my debit card at a hotel. My CC's have all kinds of protection they provide against all the problems people are worried about.

I honestly probably wouldn't even notice the hold everyone is worried about. I do think it's stupid though if they make a bunch of small charges to my card instead of one big one. I'll continue to charge everything to my MB, that's one of the great convenience's of a WDW vacation.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I'm guessing the US banks must be more difficult to deal with.

With either of my RBC CC's here in Canada they would have that hold off in 5 secs after a quick call. Their customer service is top notch with stuff like that.

I would never use my debit card at a hotel. My CC's have all kinds of protection they provide against all the problems people are worried about.

I honestly probably wouldn't even notice the hold everyone is worried about. I do think it's stupid though if they make a bunch of small charges to my card instead of one big one. I'll continue to charge everything to my MB, that's one of the great convenience's of a WDW vacation.

Not all banks. Ours is great.

I agree it is always best to use a CC instead of a debit card for anything where a hold is used, as opposed to a direct charge (hotels, resorts, rental cars, and cruises are the most common), but some don’t have that option.

There won’t be a bunch of small charges. There will be a bunch of holds. Charges will come at the end of every. 5 days, and at check out.

 

[Smittolis]

I think while it obviously offers more security to the hotels, I actually think it will reduce the amount spent by a certain section of their customer base. Obviously this is something they would've taken into account in their financial simulations so you would have to assume they think this risk is more than offset by mitigating the potential losses from people that can't pay.

From a personal perspective, one thing I have found helpful is to pay off the full amount a few days prior to arrival. That way when checking in there is no confusion as to any outstanding balance, it has cleared your account so when you check on your spending (online account) you actually see the funds you have to spend. Anything from then on out is what you actually spend. I have always found the way they itemize bills to be confusing and counter intuitive. Working back from a credit (illustrated in the negative) to get to a $0 balance lol.... Took me a few trips to get the gist of that haha.

But everyone's financial position is different and some have more disposable income than others. My wife likes to have all the money we are going to spend in 1 account that isn't our usual 'billing' account so no random withdrawals or bills hit the amount and its 100% allocated to Disney. But this gets difficult when wanting to use the Chase Disney Debit discount when purchasing gifts etc. We try to budget a set amount per day we are comfortable spending then add some more as a failsafe and keep within those margins. Having experienced the notion of looking after every penny due to stretching a tad too far many moons ago, it made the vacation much more stressful than it ought to be so now we have general guidelines, put some money on gift cards for the kids to buy what they want so we are focused on the experience with the kids and not worrying about money. This next time I think we are going to put it 100% on one of our credit cards to get the cash back and simply pay it off in a lump sum..... but we will have to see! ;o)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think while it obviously offers more security to the hotels, I actually think it will reduce the amount spent by a certain section of their customer base.

I'm guessing this is the reason they did it though. Regardless of one's financial situation people don't always pay what they owe. Their customer base in this situation could simply be guests who are not paying their hotel bills in their entirety. It's probably more or less an deterrant.

Obviously though you'll likely have attrition based on principle (those who see it just as more of a hassle now to use charging to room(s) regardless of concern of the amount of the hold).

 

[Smittolis]

Yeah probably, its one of those things that they will monitor and gauge the reaction to as they move forwards. I wouldn't be surprised if they introduce some incentive for 'prepaying' for expenses upfront, kind of like when you see the 'pay now' 'pay later' prices on rental cars. Would be interesting to see! ;o)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm guessing the US banks must be more difficult to deal with.

With either of my RBC CC's here in Canada they would have that hold off in 5 secs after a quick call. Their customer service is top notch with stuff like that.

I would never use my debit card at a hotel. My CC's have all kinds of protection they provide against all the problems people are worried about.

I honestly probably wouldn't even notice the hold everyone is worried about. I do think it's stupid though if they make a bunch of small charges to my card instead of one big one. I'll continue to charge everything to my MB, that's one of the great convenience's of a WDW vacation.

I've seen a few use debit cards at hotels because they didn't have a credit card. That's really only been younger people in the case of those I know. You can stay at a hotel on your own at age 18 but with new laws and regulations regarding credit cards given to the under 21 crowd you might find young adults without a credit card and even before the new law some people around me didn't have one.

I don't think my sister-in-law (who is nearly 22) has a credit card and my other sister-in-law didn't get one until early 20s (she actually ran into issue when she went to get a rental car due to a car accident and they required a credit card and she only had a debit card, she's had a few other issues as well).

 

[chabs]

My experience from Tuesday, 1/15:

I have a credit card tied to my account so that we always have automatic check-in. I paid one night deposit on a room-only AP rate when I booked my room. I usually pay the balance of my room with gift cards purchased from Target prior to check out. When I went to the front desk (about 2pm on check-in day), Disney had already charged the rest of my room in full to my card. When I questioned this, they told me they always charged you in full when you check in (not true). I asked them to reverse the charges and let me pay with the gift cards, which they did. The charge showed up as pending in my account until I checked out on Friday, then Chase actually charged my card for the balance. There are no pending credits for the refund, so I guess I will give it a few days before I call and find out if they actually reversed the charges. I have receipts showing that they did. I was at opening day of the Arts Festival and heading to the airport after that, otherwise I would have stopped by the front desk.

Also, edited to add that we had two separate rooms under two different names and this happened to both of us.

 

[dansdad]

My experience from Tuesday, 1/15:

I have a credit card tied to my account so that we always have automatic check-in. I paid one night deposit on a room-only AP rate when I booked my room. I usually pay the balance of my room with gift cards purchased from Target prior to check out. When I went to the front desk (about 2pm on check-in day), Disney had already charged the rest of my room in full to my card. When I questioned this, they told me they always charged you in check in day, which I knew was not true. I asked them to reverse the charges and let me pay with the gift cards, which they did. The charge showed up as pending until I checked out on Friday, then Chase actually charged my card for the balance. There are no pending credits for the refund, so I guess I will give it a few days before I call and find out if they actually reversed the charges. I have receipts showing that they did. I was at opening day of the Arts Festival and heading to the airport after that, otherwise I would have stopped by the front desk.

They actually started doing this about a year ago. It's their standard practice now.

 

[chabs]

They actually started doing this about a year ago. It's their standard practice now.

I disagree. Since buying my APs last March, we’ve stayed at Disney at least every other month for the past year. This is the first time this happened to me, last trip was Thanksgiving. This is my first time at a moderate in several years though, maybe the deluxe hotel policies are different?

 

[dansdad]

I disagree. Since buying my APs last March, we’ve stayed at Disney at least every other month for the past year. This is the first time this happened to me, last trip was Thanksgiving. This is my first time at a moderate in several years though, maybe the deluxe hotel policies are different?

Maybe you've gotten lucky. There have been dozens of threads on the DIS of people getting blindsided by this new process and warning others because they had planned on paying the balance via Gift Cards and having to get the charge reversed. It only happens if you do Online Check In and they run them in batches. Sometimes you get lucky and hit the front desk prior to yours being run. It's happened to us our last 2 trips, both Deluxe.

 

[chabs]

Which resorts out of curiosity? Since March 2018, we’ve stayed at GF x 2, Poly, WL, AK, BC x 2 and last trip before APs expire will be this March at BC/split stay with another resort that we haven’t decided yet. Coronado was the only resort that charged us before checking in. So could be that our luck ran out.

 

[dansdad]

Which resorts out of curiosity? Since March 2018, we’ve stayed at GF x 2, Poly, WL, AK, BC x 2 and last trip before APs expire will be this March at BC/split stay with another resort that we haven’t decided yet. Coronado was the only resort that charged us before checking in. So could be that our luck ran out.

BC and GF.

 

[gillep]

Maybe you've gotten lucky. There have been dozens of threads on the DIS of people getting blindsided by this new process and warning others because they had planned on paying the balance via Gift Cards and having to get the charge reversed. It only happens if you do Online Check In and they run them in batches. Sometimes you get lucky and hit the front desk prior to yours being run. It's happened to us our last 2 trips, both Deluxe.

This has also been my experience over the past year or so, I get text alerts on my phone anytime a charge hits my card and I wake up to these on the morning of check in before I ever reach the resort. I have stayed at all deluxe resorts and one moderate, I do a lot of split stays so it has happened numerous times.

 

[Aries14]

I've seen a few use debit cards at hotels because they didn't have a credit card. That's really only been younger people in the case of those I know. You can stay at a hotel on your own at age 18 but with new laws and regulations regarding credit cards given to the under 21 crowd you might find young adults without a credit card and even before the new law some people around me didn't have one.

I don't think my sister-in-law (who is nearly 22) has a credit card and my other sister-in-law didn't get one until early 20s (she actually ran into issue when she went to get a rental car due to a car accident and they required a credit card and she only had a debit card, she's had a few other issues as well).

I’m 37 and don’t have a credit card! Lol. We have a few store cards like Lowe’s, Best Buy - with small amounts. We paid off all our credit cards a few years ago and have since closed/got rid of the cards. So we only have whatever cash is in our bank account when we go on our trip in a few months- that’s why all these holds scare me

 

[Sarahslay]

My experience from Tuesday, 1/15:

I have a credit card tied to my account so that we always have automatic check-in. I paid one night deposit on a room-only AP rate when I booked my room. I usually pay the balance of my room with gift cards purchased from Target prior to check out. When I went to the front desk (about 2pm on check-in day), Disney had already charged the rest of my room in full to my card. When I questioned this, they told me they always charged you in full when you check in (not true). I asked them to reverse the charges and let me pay with the gift cards, which they did. The charge showed up as pending in my account until I checked out on Friday, then Chase actually charged my card for the balance. There are no pending credits for the refund, so I guess I will give it a few days before I call and find out if they actually reversed the charges. I have receipts showing that they did. I was at opening day of the Arts Festival and heading to the airport after that, otherwise I would have stopped by the front desk.

Also, edited to add that we had two separate rooms under two different names and this happened to both of us.

I have always been charged the morning of my trip when booking a room only for the remaining balance, I've always been aware of this policy. I keep hearing people say they have room only and pay at the end of their trip, but this has never been what I've experienced and I book a lot of room only AP discounts. For my trip in October the system had not worked properly and my online check-in didn't take (that I had done weeks prior with a room request), and they had not charged my card. Upon checking me in they then charged me for the remaining balance at check-in, and I had no problem with this since I always assume it has already been charged that morning to my card on file.

 

[maxiesmom]

I

I disagree. Since buying my APs last March, we’ve stayed at Disney at least every other month for the past year. This is the first time this happened to me, last trip was Thanksgiving. This is my first time at a moderate in several years though, maybe the deluxe hotel policies are different?

There have been reports of the credit card being charged before arrival for a couple of years now. Not all of the time, but enough that I have started to pay off the balance at least a few days ahead of my trip.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

My experience from Tuesday, 1/15:

I have a credit card tied to my account so that we always have automatic check-in. I paid one night deposit on a room-only AP rate when I booked my room. I usually pay the balance of my room with gift cards purchased from Target prior to check out. When I went to the front desk (about 2pm on check-in day), Disney had already charged the rest of my room in full to my card. When I questioned this, they told me they always charged you in full when you check in (not true). I asked them to reverse the charges and let me pay with the gift cards, which they did. The charge showed up as pending in my account until I checked out on Friday, then Chase actually charged my card for the balance. There are no pending credits for the refund, so I guess I will give it a few days before I call and find out if they actually reversed the charges. I have receipts showing that they did. I was at opening day of the Arts Festival and heading to the airport after that, otherwise I would have stopped by the front desk.

Also, edited to add that we had two separate rooms under two different names and this happened to both of us.

As they issued you a refund (not a void), then it is correct for the actual charge to appear.

Refunds generally won't appear until after the charge goes through. They never show as pending before going through.

Assuming your refund receipt has an authorization number, it should go through in a couple of days. If not, call Disney.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I disagree. Since buying my APs last March, we’ve stayed at Disney at least every other month for the past year. This is the first time this happened to me, last trip was Thanksgiving. This is my first time at a moderate in several years though, maybe the deluxe hotel policies are different?

They did it to me last January at POP. I wanted to use my Disney Visa rewards to pay for the room, but it was charged to my card while I was on the plane to MCO.

 

[kiford]

Which resorts out of curiosity?

We were asked to pay off the remaining balance at check in at BC last month. We've always previously booked a package so paid it off 45 days prior. This was our first time with a room only booking.

 

[Teamabcdefg]

The card that is currently on my account was closed for suspicious activity 6 weeks ago I have tried to change it to the new number on the app, on the website and over the phone but it gets an error message every time (the man on the phone couldn’t get the old card removed either) the rep I talked to told me it didn’t matter if I planned to not charge to my room but it looks like I’m going to need to try harder to figure out how to get it changed.