New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[Farro]

Sounds to me like skipping out on tabs is becoming a bigger problem for Disney. I think it was last year DLR hotels started a full payment at check-in policy. They were testing it around Dec 2017 as we were told by a concierge at the time GCH was trying a new policy and we asked why and he straight up said people have been bailing on paying their bill at the end of the trip. (Give Disney a cc that they close or has a minimal limit and disappear into the sunset after living it up.)

I'm so out of the loop. I thought everyone had to pay in full before check in. Is that only for packages?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I would rather they just put a $1000 hold on my card. Hopefully they are willing to do it that way.

Agree. I don't want a bunch of $100 text alerts from my cc company throughout my trip. (And under no circumstances would I turn off my cc alert text feature.)

 

[saskdw]

I'm so out of the loop. I thought everyone had to pay in full before check in. Is that only for packages?

This is for purchases charged to your magic band.

 

[gottalovepluto]

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[diskids2]

Someone clear this up for me because I'm reading replies and getting confused.

It's an initial $100 hold, I charge $100, they charge my card and put another $100 hold.

So if I spend $2000 on my card, the actual amount being held from my available balance would be $4000 until the $2000 hold falls off? Or am I reading this wrong?

We normally spend more than $100 a day anyways.

This is how it is done at most hotels However they might not do it that way.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This is for purchases charged to your magic band.

This policy includes "any balance due on your reservation" plus incidentals. The $100 increments will obviously only apply as you rack up in park charges but the starting authorization with be balance due plus $100.

 

[Kimrlav]

Last vacation, I charged to my magic band and before my check-out paid for the incidentals (restaurant tips, souvenirs, dining costs, cocktails ) with Disney gift cards. It is very easy to incur a $100 charges in a Disney day -- guess going forward all my purchases like souvenirs need to be paid with the actual gift card, rather than my magic band. The charging purchase to the room was a great benefit of staying at a Disney resort and being able to combine gift cards and use one at the end of the stay. I think this may hurt Disney spending in the long run -- it does not seem like "real" money when using a magic band.

 

[ellbell]

This is going to he a nightmare with exchange rates and forex fees.

 

[Farro]

This is how it is done at most hotels However they might not do it that way.

I'm inclined to agree that this could be potentially annoying.

Most hotels I'm not charging back to the room, so if they put a $500 hold on one of my cards, so be it. But using my magic band I could potentially have $4000 tied up on my account with only $2000 of actual billable charges. Dependent on how long the hold took to fall off (and which card I used, sometimes I use my bank/check card), they could be tying up quite a bit of money!

I also hope I'm allowed to up the limit on my hold to what I think I would spend.

Or maybe just use my credit card and not charge to my room is another option. (but I love using my magic band, it feels like vacation )

 

[gottalovepluto]

This is going to he a nightmare with exchange rates and forex fees.

Don't think so. When I made charges in foreign currency on my Chase card Chase padded the authorization liberally (like 10% too much) but it was adjusted to the correct exchange rate when the charge posted. At the end of the day when you get your cc statement all you'll see is what posts (which should be the normal end of trip charge, or part way through trip I guess if the charge limits are still in place) not each of this authorizations.

 

[bluezy]

Maybe I’m looking at it the wrong way ... but to me, if this is the case ... it completely takes away one of the benefits of using your magic band for charges and keeping a running balance on your room account. Now, instead of having one lump sum charged to your card on the day you check out, you will have multiple charges throughout your stay. Not a dealbreaker, but that is just something that will annoy me on my statement!
I’m sure like most things... Bad apples ruin it for the rest of us. I’m sure Disney has run into people’s cards being declined at the end of their stay.

For what it’s worth, I chatted with Disney online and DVC... neither had heard anything about this. The online chat specialists on the Disney website are notorious for being clueless.. but in my experience, DVC seems to be a little bit more in the know

I don't think we've ever only had one lump sum charge for a Disney stay. We have 5 kids, don't typically use a dining plan, and charge everything back to the room. Since we stay at Pop Century or AoA, the charging limits are reached quickly when you have a large family (even with the increase to $1500 in charging limit at AoA several years ago, we still usually have 2 charges). The final printout still shows every individual charge and a total amount at the end of the report. It just also includes the credits when they put the charge through.

I have issue with this “maybe” as it will depend on how it works.

Typically an authorization hold remains even after the actual charge goes through.

I’d rather them just charge my card at the end of each day.

Could also cause issue for those using gift cards. In the past I couldn’t pre load them. I see lots of trips to the front desk.

I understand why. I just always loved the way it was typically done

Let’s see how it plays out.

I'd rather they just charge my card at the end of each day as well. If they're going to charge the card every time we hit $100, they're going to be charging our card 2 or 3 times a day most days and potentially 5 or 6 times some days.

I'm also hoping they now will allow people to front-load gift cards. I usually use all the gift cards we have to pay off our reservation balance prior to check-in and then just use the credit card to pay incidentals while we're there so it doesn't really affect us, but I know a lot of people like to use gift cards for all of their incidentals while there.

 

[gottalovepluto]

...I'd rather they just charge my card at the end of each day as well. If they're going to charge the card every time we hit $100, they're going to be charging our card 2 or 3 times a day most days and potentially 5 or 6 times some days.

I'm also hoping they now will allow people to front-load gift cards. I usually use all the gift cards we have to pay off our reservation balance prior to check-in and then just use the credit card to pay incidentals while we're there so it doesn't really affect us, but I know a lot of people like to use gift cards for all of their incidentals while there.

Authorize vs Charge are 2 different things. Disney is going to authorize $100, meaning they've put the cc on alert they are entitled to $100 (or whatever amount) of your credit limit. The charge part happens at the end or as the charge thresholds are hit. Just because it's authorized doesn't mean it will be charged or that that is the amount that will be charged. (But you will most likely still get a text alert saying "charge" from your fraud alerts, but disney clearly stated "authorization").

Gift cards: don't see any reason for Disney to do that. Disney doesn't allow that because they don't want to have to issue refunds on gift cards. You should still be able to pay your account as usual, you just might want to do it more frequently if the authorizations are problematic for you (like you're working off a debit card and this is directly affecting your available checking balance).

 

[Kimrlav]

I'm also hoping they now will allow people to front-load gift cards. I usually use all the gift cards we have to pay off our reservation balance prior to check-in and then just use the credit card to pay incidentals while we're there so it doesn't really affect us, but I know a lot of people like to use gift cards for all of their incidentals while there.

I would love to be able to pre-load gift cards for spending with my magic band. Hope this happens with this change, but doubt it. Disney is probably getting wise to people purchasing gift cards at a discount and using during a Disney vacation.

 

[focusondisney]

But using my magic band I could potentially have $4000 tied up on my account with only $2000 of actual billable charges.

If they are only going to hold the amount due + $100, how could you ever have double what is billable held?

 

[Farro]

If they are only going to hold the amount due + $100, how could you ever have double what is billable held?

It's dependent on how they do it. I've had some holds where they put the hold, then charge my card for the amount I spend and the original hold falls off later. So hold for $100, I spend it and they charge card for $100, waiting until original hold falls off I would have $200 being held from my available balance.

If they don't do it that way and hold falls off immediately, then it won't happen.

But reading this description seems to me they will do multiple holds, a new $100 hold each time you hit your hold -
The authorization hold placed on the guest’s credit card on file will be any remainder due on the reservation plus an extra $100 for incidental expenses. In the event that room and/or MagicBand charges exceed the original $100 hold, supplemental holds will be added to the card on file automatically. Authorizations on the guest’s credit card will not exceed the current balance due plus the $100 incremental charges.

 

[fla4fun]

I'm so out of the loop. I thought everyone had to pay in full before check in. Is that only for packages?

When I book a room only with Disney, my card has not been charged until the end of the trip. I know this because sometimes my trip has overlapped my statement processing date and I have had to wait another billing cycle for the charge to appear.

Sometimes I go through a third party site and pay the room only, in full, in advance. But I have never paid more than a one night deposit in advance when booking room only through Disney.

All it takes is a few people skipping out without paying to make it tougher on the rest of us. I would totally understand if Disney started billing the card for payment in full at check in instead of check out in addition to the hold for incidentals. It’s just a shame that it’s come to this as I agree it may cause some issues with debit cards and international cards. What many people don’t understand is that it’s the card issuer, not Disney, who controls when the hold drops off and the funds are released.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It's dependent on how they do it. I've had some holds where they put the hold, then charge my card for the amount I spend and the original hold falls off later. So hold for $100, I spend it and they charge card for $100, waiting until original hold falls off I would have $200 being held from my available balance.

If they don't do it that way and hold falls off immediately, then it won't happen.

But reading this description seems to me they will do multiple holds, a new $100 hold each time you hit your hold -
The authorization hold placed on the guest’s credit card on file will be any remainder due on the reservation plus an extra $100 for incidental expenses. In the event that room and/or MagicBand charges exceed the original $100 hold, supplemental holds will be added to the card on file automatically. Authorizations on the guest’s credit card will not exceed the current balance due plus the $100 incremental charges.

Yes, they will do multiple holds (authorizations) but it will never double what you actually owe because of the bolded part. As long as Disney has their charging systems programmed correctly...

 

[SL6827]

I just wish they would let you put down money on your room with gift cards or cash. Then let people use that. Then when that is all gone, they can no longer charge to the bands.

 

[gottalovepluto]

... What many people don’t understand is that it’s the card issuer, not Disney, who controls when the hold drops off and the funds are released.

So the question is will the hold drop off if you pay your balance with gift cards part way through the trip?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I just wish they would let you put down money on your room with gift cards or cash. Then let people use that. Then when that is all gone, they can no longer charge to the bands.

No longer charge to the magical bands that don't feel like spending money? What sort of business model is that?!