New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[Madame]

We are just back, checked out 2 March after arriving 21 February. In our case, starting 27 February, successive holds were placed on my credit card to keep the total at no more than the balance owing plus $100. (My bank lists these as "pending transactions" but states that in some cases, pending transactions are pre-authorizations that are later adjusted to match the actual charge; they give gas stations as the most common example.)

Specifically, on 27 March we had a small balance owing against room charges from the previous couple of days. A hold for this amount plus $100 was placed on the 27th. On the 28th, we charged a number of meals to our room using our magic bands and made a few small purchases. When the total of these new charges exceeded $100, a new hold for the additional charges was placed. In the evening of the 28th, we charged some additional souvenirs using our magic bands. A second hold on the 28th was added for the additional amounts after the transaction that brought the total of the new charges over $100. A third new hold appeared on the 28th after an additional purchase that exceeded $100.

So, by the end of the day on the 28th, we had four separate holds on our card, with the total of all four holds equal to the amount owing on our room charges plus $100. A new hold was placed each time a series of small charges accumulated to exceed $100 or after any single charge greater than $100.

We used cash to pay off most of the balance owing in room charges on 28 February, but added some new charges on 1 March and made an additional cash payment that evening. My bank currently shows a "pending credit" dated 1 March that offsets the 4 holds from 27 & 28 February and a pending charge for the correct net charges against the room, considering accumulated charges less the cash payments. This appears to be the pre-checkout charge to my card to clear the balance owing. We made some additional charges to the room for breakfast the morning of checkout; these currently appear as a pending charge dated 2 March.

In summary, the transactions appear reasonable. I will see what happens in the next couple of days as debits and credits either change from pending to posted or disappear. I am not sure at this point which will happen. The only potential complication in our case is that these are foreign currency transactions on my credit card, so debits and offsetting credits in USD could still cost me something, while a hold that is removed will not.

My apologies for the very lengthy posting. I will provide an update once all the credit card transactions are finalized (in "three to five business days", according to my bank).

Thx for this. We leave for our March break trip next Sat & was hoping a Canadian would chime in with his/her experience. Cheers!

 

[CarolynFH]

We are just back, checked out 2 March after arriving 21 February. In our case, starting 27 February, successive holds were placed on my credit card to keep the total at no more than the balance owing plus $100. (My bank lists these as "pending transactions" but states that in some cases, pending transactions are pre-authorizations that are later adjusted to match the actual charge; they give gas stations as the most common example.)

Specifically, on 27 March we had a small balance owing against room charges from the previous couple of days. A hold for this amount plus $100 was placed on the 27th. On the 28th, we charged a number of meals to our room using our magic bands and made a few small purchases. When the total of these new charges exceeded $100, a new hold for the additional charges was placed. In the evening of the 28th, we charged some additional souvenirs using our magic bands. A second hold on the 28th was added for the additional amounts after the transaction that brought the total of the new charges over $100. A third new hold appeared on the 28th after an additional purchase that exceeded $100.

So, by the end of the day on the 28th, we had four separate holds on our card, with the total of all four holds equal to the amount owing on our room charges plus $100. A new hold was placed each time a series of small charges accumulated to exceed $100 or after any single charge greater than $100.

We used cash to pay off most of the balance owing in room charges on 28 February, but added some new charges on 1 March and made an additional cash payment that evening. My bank currently shows a "pending credit" dated 1 March that offsets the 4 holds from 27 & 28 February and a pending charge for the correct net charges against the room, considering accumulated charges less the cash payments. This appears to be the pre-checkout charge to my card to clear the balance owing. We made some additional charges to the room for breakfast the morning of checkout; these currently appear as a pending charge dated 2 March.

In summary, the transactions appear reasonable. I will see what happens in the next couple of days as debits and credits either change from pending to posted or disappear. I am not sure at this point which will happen. The only potential complication in our case is that these are foreign currency transactions on my credit card, so debits and offsetting credits in USD could still cost me something, while a hold that is removed will not.

My apologies for the very lengthy posting. I will provide an update once all the credit card transactions are finalized (in "three to five business days", according to my bank).

Thanks for this detailed report! This is how I thought it should be, total hold equal to total amount charged plus $100, but an earlier report made it sound like the total hold equaled multiples of the total charged. Your report is more reassuring.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

This is really unbelievable. With $300 per night rooms being the median, and often people have 7 night stays, balance due can easily be $2000.

That means, at check out, someone could easily have $14,000 in holds on a $2000 bill. If they don't fix this, there's going to be tons of declined cards Disney is going to have to deal with. Plus, people may not have an alternate card that could cover the bill (and, they would be understandably under the belief the card with a $10,000 available balance would be more than sufficient, even if the common practice of double holds were utilized).

I'm hoping that was just a glitch, because that was the last hold I had.

 

[tex1989]

Since we have a balance due when we show up with a room reservation they usually processes it on check in day. Disney is really good at charging things right away. Or maybe it's your individual CC issuer but I have looked at my account the next day and it has already moved from "Pending" to an actual charge. That charge then counts against my credit limit. So I guess I am lucky, or naive about holds. I have never seen a charge sit pending on my CC for more than a day or two. If this practice continues then we would have no issues at all with the current system. In fact it would actually mean less pending charges that the past system that put holds based on your resort level ($500 for Value, $1,000 for Moderate, and $1500 for Deluxe)

In reading through all of the comments and possible scenarios I am beginning to think that the issue may not be with Disney but more so with the individual CC issuers. We bank with Chase and have for over 40 years. They have always cleared our Pending charges quickly when dealing with large entities like Disney. Maybe it's smaller banks and smaller CC issuers that have problems but I don't really anticipate issues. I will monitor charges and how they clear on our next trip and report back once I see it in action.

 

[Sajchinook2015]

I am so confused my head is spinning. Maybe cuz I flunked math in high school.

Okay, let’s see if I got this correct

Day 1 =. $100.00 hold and I spend $200.00 the hold goes up to $300.00
Day 2 = I spend another $200.00 the hold is changed to $500.00 (not additional holds)
Day 2 = I go down and pay off balance of $400.00
Day 3 = the hold goes back down to $100.00

 

[tex1989]

When you start paying down your balance with cash or gift card, I can't tell you what is going to happen cause I have never done that nor do I ever plan to do that. I will say this, in my experience with CC usage I know there are two ways to clear a hold (I am going with hold because it is the nomiclature that folks here have chosen, I call it Pending) First the charge becomes reality and moves from "hold" (or "Pending") to an actual charge. The second is at some point the company placing the hold (in this case Disney) somehow releases the hold. I think the reason for my confusion is explained by your question. Holds, or Pending charges usually move for me overnight because I want the charge on my card (I earn SWA points on my reward card) and am not paying the balance down at the hotel. Wanting to use your MB to charge to your room but wanting to pay balances via cash or Gift Card will mean releasing holds for charges that will never materialize so it somehow takes longer for the hold to be released therefore building a bunch of slow to release holds that start piling up muddying the water.

I will let someone who has experienced that or has a better understanding of the system explain.

For me to address your scenario it would be day one $100 hold plus room only charge at check in.
Day 2 hotel charge clears and $100 hold remains. I spend $200 and hold, or pending appears $300 total on hold.
Day three $200 spend clears and $100 hold remains. Room charge and $200 spent show on my CC as having gone through

And so it would go for the rest of our vacation.

I get home, go on line and pay my CC bill for whole trip and CC balance goes to $0. At least this is what I anticipate based on previous trips where charges flow through to my CC.

 

[bluezy]

Since we have a balance due when we show up with a room reservation they usually processes it on check in day. Disney is really good at charging things right away. Or maybe it's your individual CC issuer but I have looked at my account the next day and it has already moved from "Pending" to an actual charge. That charge then counts against my credit limit. So I guess I am lucky, or naive about holds. I have never seen a charge sit pending on my CC for more than a day or two. If this practice continues then we would have no issues at all with the current system. In fact it would actually mean less pending charges that the past system that put holds based on your resort level ($500 for Value, $1,000 for Moderate, and $1500 for Deluxe)

In reading through all of the comments and possible scenarios I am beginning to think that the issue may not be with Disney but more so with the individual CC issuers. We bank with Chase and have for over 40 years. They have always cleared our Pending charges quickly when dealing with large entities like Disney. Maybe it's smaller banks and smaller CC issuers that have problems but I don't really anticipate issues. I will monitor charges and how they clear on our next trip and report back once I see it in action.

Disney didn't put holds on credit cards until last week. The $500, $1,000, and $1,500 you refer to were the room charging limits that Disney imposed. Once you hit those limits (which were actually increased about 5-6 years ago to $1500, $2000, & $2500 -- I believe, but I know for sure it was $1500 at AoA), Disney would charge the current balance of your room charges to your credit card and your room charging limit reset.

Pending charges aren't the same as holds. My son just recently had an experience with his Chase Freedom card where it took FIVE days for them to release two $250 holds that had been placed on his card on day 1 and day 4 of his five-day stay at a large ski resort (which was a big deal since that card has a low credit limit and those holds prevented him from using that card because he was at his credit limit until those holds fell off). Other people on this thread have shared similar experiences. I agree that pending charges usually clear within a day or two on our Chase cards, but holds are a different story (I've also had a several day delay in releasing a hold from a hotel reservation a few years ago).

 

[PrincessDuck]

When you start paying down your balance with cash or gift card, I can't tell you what is going to happen cause I have never done that nor do I ever plan to do that. I will say this, in my experience with CC usage I know there are two ways to clear a hold (I am going with hold because it is the nomiclature that folks here have chosen, I call it Pending) First the charge becomes reality and moves from "hold" (or "Pending") to an actual charge. The second is at some point the company placing the hold (in this case Disney) somehow releases the hold. I think the reason for my confusion is explained by your question. Holds, or Pending charges usually move for me overnight because I want the charge on my card (I earn SWA points on my reward card) and am not paying the balance down at the hotel. Wanting to use your MB to charge to your room but wanting to pay balances via cash or Gift Card will mean releasing holds for charges that will never materialize so it somehow takes longer for the hold to be released therefore building a bunch of slow to release holds that start piling up muddying the water.

I will let someone who has experienced that or has a better understanding of the system explain.

For me to address your scenario it would be day one $100 hold plus room only charge at check in.
Day 2 hotel charge clears and $100 hold remains. I spend $200 and hold, or pending appears $300 total on hold.
Day three $200 spend clears and $100 hold remains. Room charge and $200 spent show on my CC as having gone through

And so it would go for the rest of our vacation.

I get home, go on line and pay my CC bill for whole trip and CC balance goes to $0. At least this is what I anticipate based on previous trips where charges flow through to my CC.

I think that you are confusing a hold and a pending charge. I also don't think that you will have things clearing each night like you seem to think. Also, Disney has never done holds before. Disney had charging limits that you would hit and they would process a charge to your credit card and reset your account to $0.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I think that you are confusing a hold and a pending charge. I also don't think that you will have things clearing each night like you seem to think. Also, Disney has never done holds before. Disney had charging limits that you would hit and they would process a charge to your credit card and reset your account to $0.

I agree that holds and pending charges are not the same thing. I would just like to add, though, for many (most? all?) online credit card accounts, holds and pending charges are not differentiated in the list of transactions.

 

[tex1989]

Not been since the change but in 40 plus trips my charges usually clear and go through the next day. I can see my account online and check it each night so I can gauge where we are spending wise. As I stated, I have no experience with holds but as someone said when I view my account there is no difference between the two. I freely admit I have not experienced holds on my account at Disney, or any place else really. I think the point I was making really is that yes, there is a difference between holds and pending, but the concerns I see most here are with people wanting to reduce their holds by way of paying down their bill each day at the front desk so they can charge to their MB. If most if not all of my charges go through nightly then I could see in my case where I use the card and leave things on the card that my holds should be minimal. I have never tried to pay my balance down over the course of my stay.

 

[alyssa18o6]

When I read about this new policy I thought it was reasonable, and had no complaints.

Then we were on our third full day and had multiple pending charges on account totaling almost $700.. then Chase started giving us issues assuming the charges were fraud (we had a horrible experience last trip where our account was frozen for almost two weeks because of a Disney billing issue...). So my husband went down, paid our balance with GCs and no more charging with the magic bands for us. We called billing the second day and asked them to explain (I just assumed they held $200 until you checked out then charged your account whatever your balance was, clearly I wasn’t paying attention.) the girl from billing could barely understand and explain to us the policy and how it worked. It was a mess. We will just pay as we go with GCs for now on.

 

[Iowamomof4]

When I read about this new policy I thought it was reasonable, and had no complaints.

Then we were on our third full day and had multiple pending charges on account totaling almost $700.. then Chase started giving us issues assuming the charges were fraud (we had a horrible experience last trip where our account was frozen for almost two weeks because of a Disney billing issue...). So my husband went down, paid our balance with GCs and no more charging with the magic bands for us. We called billing the second day and asked them to explain (I just assumed they held $200 until you checked out then charged your account whatever your balance was, clearly I wasn’t paying attention.) the girl from billing could barely understand and explain to us the policy and how it worked. It was a mess. We will just pay as we go with GCs for now on.

How much did you actually owe?

 

[Nancyg56]

When I read about this new policy I thought it was reasonable, and had no complaints.

Then we were on our third full day and had multiple pending charges on account totaling almost $700.. then Chase started giving us issues assuming the charges were fraud (we had a horrible experience last trip where our account was frozen for almost two weeks because of a Disney billing issue...). So my husband went down, paid our balance with GCs and no more charging with the magic bands for us. We called billing the second day and asked them to explain (I just assumed they held $200 until you checked out then charged your account whatever your balance was, clearly I wasn’t paying attention.) the girl from billing could barely understand and explain to us the policy and how it worked. It was a mess. We will just pay as we go with GCs for now on.

And this is why I am not monkeying around with this hold business. I am paying as I go. I never leave with a balance on my account so for me the ease of swiping my band does not equal any amount of frustration.

 

[alyssa18o6]

How much did you actually owe?

I wanna say around $380, I can’t remember the exact but it definitely wasn’t over $400.

 

[cajunbaby1]

For those that use gift cards in the park is it hard I weto keep track of the balance? Also can a tip be put on the gift card?

I went in Sept and only used GCs and the balance shows up on the bottom of ur receipt.

 

[FSU Girl]

I'm a little confused by the new policy. I never charge back to the room so we typically will only have the parking car charge at the end of the stay. So with this new policy they will put a hold of $100? on the card and then at the end of the stay it's removed since we aren't charging anything to the room? At other hotels that due a hold when you check in I mention we won't be charging anything to the room and they don't put a hold of anything on the card, is it possible to do that at Disney?

 

[dansdad]

I'm a little confused by the new policy. I never charge back to the room so we typically will only have the parking car charge at the end of the stay. So with this new policy they will put a hold of $100? on the card and then at the end of the stay it's removed since we aren't charging anything to the room?

Yes.

At other hotels that due a hold when you check in I mention we won't be charging anything to the room and they don't put a hold of anything on the card, is it possible to do that at Disney?

Not with this new policy, no.

 

[tex1989]

I don't know the actual practice of the new policy but if you don't want any type of hold on a card then could you just not have charging privledges on your MB and therefore as long as your room is paid for in advance via a package paid 30 days in advance, or room only paid at checkin with cash or gift cards then they would have no need for a hold. Seems there would be a way around it. Some folks don't have credit cards.

 

[Patches Lee]

I'm a little confused by the new policy. I never charge back to the room so we typically will only have the parking car charge at the end of the stay. So with this new policy they will put a hold of $100? on the card and then at the end of the stay it's removed since we aren't charging anything to the room? At other hotels that due a hold when you check in I mention we won't be charging anything to the room and they don't put a hold of anything on the card, is it possible to do that at Disney?

Just remember they put the charge through every 5th day for longer stays. I haven't experienced how the parking is billed yet, nightly or full amount at once.

 

[sponica]

I don't know the actual practice of the new policy but if you don't want any type of hold on a card then could you just not have charging privledges on your MB and therefore as long as your room is paid for in advance via a package paid 30 days in advance, or room only paid at checkin with cash or gift cards then they would have no need for a hold. Seems there would be a way around it. Some folks don't have credit cards.

Unfortunately when you do online check in, they make you put a credit card/debit card down and I think they removed the option to check off "disable charging to the room" or however it was phrased. I know I had two on site stays where I had disabled the ability to charge to the room back in the pre magic band days.