New Credit Card Authorization Holds

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...

But isn't that assuming the first incremental hold would drop off before they place another one? Most holds stay on for a few days to a week in my experience. Potentially you can have quite a few incremental holds on your account at one time.

The hold is a hold, the actual charge for the amount you spend will go through and the hold will also still be there until it falls off. That's how I'm coming up with these large amounts. :)

I think it's the wording about adding supplemental incremental holds that's throwing me off.
 
But isn't that assuming the first incremental hold would drop off before they place another one? Most holds stay on for a few days to a week in my experience. Potentially you can have quite a few incremental holds on your account at one time.

The hold is a hold, the actual charge for the amount you spend will go through and the hold will also still be there until it falls off. That's how I'm coming up with these large amounts. :)

I think it's the wording about adding supplemental incremental holds that's throwing me off.
Ah. So if they charge you plus the holds don't go away. That could be disastrous for people. The language Disney uses makes it look like Disney will correctly turn pre-authorizations into charges preventing a double hold of the funds- but that's just my interpretation (and I would not bet on it being correct until I see DPs from others).
 
So the question is will the hold drop off if you pay your balance with gift cards part way through the trip?

I can’t speak specifically to Disney, but I used to work in the timeshare tour scheduling industry a few years back. Most people who booked a tour had a $20 hold placed on their card as a guarantee they would attend the tour. The various resorts we worked with would release the hold the day the person toured, but some of the card issuers wouldn’t release the funds for as much as two to three billing cycles. We would have customers contacting us to get copies of paperwork or letters to the issuers to try to get the funds released faster, but even with providing that paperwork to the customers they were still at the mercy of the issuer.

I have been very fortunate with my two primary credit cards that holds are released very quickly. It might be a good idea for anyone that is concerned to contact their credit card company before their trip and find out what their policy is in regards to releasing the funds. It sounds like Disney will keep a $100 hold above and beyond what you have actually spent that won’t be released until you check out and the folio is paid in full (whether by credit card, cash, or gift card). So if you check out on the 5th, you need to ask your card issuer how many days after that you should expect the funds to be released.
 


What happens is going to depend on how Disney interacts with our credit or debit card companies

When an authorization is placed on your debit or credit card the amount of your available credit is reduced. If you have 2000 worth of charges your authorizations will equal that amount over the course of your stay.

Sometimes the actual charge of 2000 is then processed. If this is done without using the multiple authorization approval codes then there will be 2000 of pending authorizations in your card and 2000 actual charge.

How long the authorizations take to fall off will be dependent on the cc company. Typically you wouldn’t even notice this if you don’t pay attention to your credit card balance and availabile credit daily.

If the actual charge is processed within the realm of the preauthrization approval codes then the authorization holds will drop off at almost the same time as the actual charge appears.

We don’t know which system they will use.

Everyone is going to gave different issues with this.

Bottom line we used to be able to leave a credit card and either use it to pay a balance or we had time to pay in cash or gift cards before actual charges were placed on the cards. How much that impacts each guest will be individual

Personally I get it. They must be having issues with collecting on rooms. But I loved the flexibility of the way it was done.
 
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").

...

Ok, I think I understand....they'll still only actually *charge* the credit card once the resort spending limit is hit (or at the end of the stay, which ever comes first)?? But they'll basically have a $100 hold (on top of the actual amount of room charges *not* already charged to the credit card) on the card at all times??

It's this wording that's hurting my head, lol:

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.

My brain reads this as every time a room charge exceeds $100, Disney is going to add an additional $100 hold on top of any previous hold(s). We'll hit $100 within an hour of getting to our resort: 7 refillable mugs: $140; lunch at resort $125. So our room charge balance would be $265 and we'd have a $300 (3 x $100) hold on top of that...so the authorization/hold on credit at our credit card would be $565??? I'd like to think it would only be $365 (actual room charges plus one $100 hold) but that wording is making me think there will be numerous $100 holds that could take days/weeks/months to disappear (actually, it says "$100 incremental charges" so it makes it sound like they'll constantly be making $100 charges to the card). My son just had an issue when staying at a resort in VT. They put holds on his card ( two $250 holds) that didn't fall off of his Chase Freedom Visa for 5 days after he checked out of the resort (he paid his entire reservation balance at check-in and didn't charge anything to the room during the week -- he's still not sure why they put *two* holds on his card. He knew they'd put one on the card.). These holds pushed him right to his credit limit with the card and he wasn't able to use the card for gas/food on the drive home. Fortunately he has other cards that he can use so it wasn't a big issue for him, but it could have been a disaster.

<sigh> I'm not sure why I'm even trying to figure this out. It really doesn't affect our family (though I can understand why some people are very concerned/worries about this). We don't have a trip planned this year and I'm sure all the details/misunderstandings will be ironed out well before we step on property again. Plus, our Disney Visa has a credit limit that far and away exceeds any amount we'd spend on incidentals on a Disney vacation so it's really a non-issue for us. I was just curious/baffled/trying to clearly understand. No big deal.
 
Ok, I think I understand....they'll still only actually *charge* the credit card once the resort spending limit is hit (or at the end of the stay, which ever comes first)?? But they'll basically have a $100 hold (on top of the actual amount of room charges *not* already charged to the credit card) on the card at all times??

It's this wording that's hurting my head, lol:

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.

My brain reads this as every time a room charge exceeds $100, Disney is going to add an additional $100 hold on top of any previous hold(s). We'll hit $100 within an hour of getting to our resort: 7 refillable mugs: $140; lunch at resort $125. So our room charge balance would be $265 and we'd have a $300 (3 x $100) hold on top of that...so the authorization/hold on credit at our credit card would be $565??? I'd like to think it would only be $365 (actual room charges plus one $100 hold) but that wording is making me think there will be numerous $100 holds that could take days/weeks/months to disappear (actually, it says "$100 incremental charges" so it makes it sound like they'll constantly be making $100 charges to the card). My son just had an issue when staying at a resort in VT. They put holds on his card ( two $250 holds) that didn't fall off of his Chase Freedom Visa for 5 days after he checked out of the resort (he paid his entire reservation balance at check-in and didn't charge anything to the room during the week -- he's still not sure why they put *two* holds on his card. He knew they'd put one on the card.). These holds pushed him right to his credit limit with the card and he wasn't able to use the card for gas/food on the drive home. Fortunately he has other cards that he can use so it wasn't a big issue for him, but it could have been a disaster.

<sigh> I'm not sure why I'm even trying to figure this out. It really doesn't affect our family (though I can understand why some people are very concerned/worries about this). We don't have a trip planned this year and I'm sure all the details/misunderstandings will be ironed out well before we step on property again. Plus, our Disney Visa has a credit limit that far and away exceeds any amount we'd spend on incidentals on a Disney vacation so it's really a non-issue for us. I was just curious/baffled/trying to clearly understand. No big deal.
I get it, I think I'm spiraling a bit too trying to understand it. I hope Disney doesn't screw this up like other hotels (I've had that sort of authorization happen to me as well at hotels, I hate it) If they do it like that where charges that process through to the charge stage don't force the corresponding authorizations to disappear Disney Billing is going to be a nightmare for guests and CMs alike.
 


I get it, I think I'm spiraling a bit too trying to understand it. I hope Disney doesn't screw this up like other hotels (I've had that sort of authorization happen to me as well at hotels, I hate it) If they do it like that where charges that process through to the charge stage don't force the corresponding authorizations to disappear Disney Billing is going to be a nightmare for guests and CMs alike.

And it’s such a helpless feeling when you want to help the guest, and you have done everything in your power to get the funds released and the issuer just isn’t cooperating. I would not want to be working in Disney’s accounting department when this is implemented. I wonder if it will cut down on the number of people who do online check in, as I don’t think you can do that without a credit card on file for incidentals . . .
 
....
Personally I get it. They must be having issues with collecting on rooms. But I loved the flexibility of the way it was done.

I'm sure they're having issues with collecting on rooms. When we were there in June, I had done online check-in and entered my credit card for room charging. I got a call from Guest Services the night before we arrived asking if we wanted to decline housekeeping and get a gift card instead. I politely declined that offer. Then the guy said that everything looked to be in order for my account and that we should get a text with our room location the next morning. The next morning I got a text saying we needed to report to the front desk upon arrival (I've done online check-in on 3 prior visits and never had to go to the front desk). When I got to the front desk, the CM said that there was something wrong with the credit card number. She re-entered my card information and we were good to go. We charge everything to the room so by day 5 they had already put through a ~$1,000 charge to the card. On check-out day, we had the usual envelope with the final room charges hanging on our door handle so I grabbed as we left and stuck it in a suitcase -- never went to the front desk. I didn't even think about the envelope until about a week later when I noticed that we had never been charged after that initial $1,000 charge. I pulled out the envelope and actually opened it and inside was a poorly photocopied notice that said there was a problem with our credit card and we needed to either call extension XXXX from our room phone or stop at the front desk. I actually thought it looked fraudulent (super dark copy, text was completely crooked on the page, etc). Oddly, there was no information on who to contact if you had already left the resort. So, I sent an email to guest services asking them who I should call to find out why our final charges hadn't been submitted to our credit card. We were now 7 days past check-out. Two days later, I got an email back from them telling me who to call. It was another day or so until I was able to call. Even when I did, the GS person wasn't the least bit phased. She said my credit card information was incorrect. I told her we took care of that at check in and that there had been an incremental charge to the card during our stay so I didn't understand how the credit card info got changed again. She said sometimes the system for whatever reason rolls back to previous information. She said this happens all the time. WTH??? I think I was more baffled by the fact that at 7 days past check out, no one from Disney had made any attempt to contact me to collect their $800 from me. It felt like if *I* hadn't made an effort to take care of it, they wouldn't have come after me for it (though I'm sure they would have at some point). I wonder how many people never call them to get the charges taken care of.
 
And it’s such a helpless feeling when you want to help the guest, and you have done everything in your power to get the funds released and the issuer just isn’t cooperating. I would not want to be working in Disney’s accounting department when this is implemented. I wonder if it will cut down on the number of people who do online check in, as I don’t think you can do that without a credit card on file for incidentals . . .
The majority aren’t going to have a clue about this. Even when Disney provides notice it’s something people will most likely gloss over.
 
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.)

My familiarity is admittedly with DLR, has WDW been charging full payment on check-in day for room-only reservations as well or is that something rolling out new with this?
To hell with those jerks who skip out without paying their balance. If Disney wants to protect themselves from deadbeats, good for them. Everyone up in arms over the new policy can direct their anger and annoyance at those idiots.
 
I'm sure they're having issues with collecting on rooms. When we were there in June, I had done online check-in and entered my credit card for room charging. I got a call from Guest Services the night before we arrived asking if we wanted to decline housekeeping and get a gift card instead. I politely declined that offer. Then the guy said that everything looked to be in order for my account and that we should get a text with our room location the next morning. The next morning I got a text saying we needed to report to the front desk upon arrival (I've done online check-in on 3 prior visits and never had to go to the front desk). When I got to the front desk, the CM said that there was something wrong with the credit card number. She re-entered my card information and we were good to go. We charge everything to the room so by day 5 they had already put through a ~$1,000 charge to the card. On check-out day, we had the usual envelope with the final room charges hanging on our door handle so I grabbed as we left and stuck it in a suitcase -- never went to the front desk. I didn't even think about the envelope until about a week later when I noticed that we had never been charged after that initial $1,000 charge. I pulled out the envelope and actually opened it and inside was a poorly photocopied notice that said there was a problem with our credit card and we needed to either call extension XXXX from our room phone or stop at the front desk. I actually thought it looked fraudulent (super dark copy, text was completely crooked on the page, etc). Oddly, there was no information on who to contact if you had already left the resort. So, I sent an email to guest services asking them who I should call to find out why our final charges hadn't been submitted to our credit card. We were now 7 days past check-out. Two days later, I got an email back from them telling me who to call. It was another day or so until I was able to call. Even when I did, the GS person wasn't the least bit phased. She said my credit card information was incorrect. I told her we took care of that at check in and that there had been an incremental charge to the card during our stay so I didn't understand how the credit card info got changed again. She said sometimes the system for whatever reason rolls back to previous information. She said this happens all the time. WTH??? I think I was more baffled by the fact that at 7 days past check out, no one from Disney had made any attempt to contact me to collect their $800 from me. It felt like if *I* hadn't made an effort to take care of it, they wouldn't have come after me for it (though I'm sure they would have at some point). I wonder how many people never call them to get the charges taken care of.
We had a similar issue! We did a split stay and while everything was fine at the first resort, the second resort had been booked under a CC that had since been canceled for identity theft reasons, but the system pulled that card for incidentals. We didn’t learn about this until we tried to use our MBs in the food court the next day before check out and it was declined. Had we not used our MBs to grab a juice we would have left without knowing it was an issue. I can imagine this happens a lot considering how many of us book months if not a year+ out?
 
The majority aren’t going to have a clue about this. Even when Disney provides notice it’s something people will most likely gloss over.
Over the past six months I read two separate stories (on another board) one saying their card has been canceled while at Disney, before check out and they had no other way to pay so they wanted to know what would happen to them, and another story where someone was actually trespassed from WDW for declined payment. Magic band privileges can definitely be abused.
 
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I'm sure they're having issues with collecting on rooms. When we were there in June, I had done online check-in and entered my credit card for room charging. I got a call from Guest Services the night before we arrived asking if we wanted to decline housekeeping and get a gift card instead. I politely declined that offer. Then the guy said that everything looked to be in order for my account and that we should get a text with our room location the next morning. The next morning I got a text saying we needed to report to the front desk upon arrival (I've done online check-in on 3 prior visits and never had to go to the front desk). When I got to the front desk, the CM said that there was something wrong with the credit card number. She re-entered my card information and we were good to go. We charge everything to the room so by day 5 they had already put through a ~$1,000 charge to the card. On check-out day, we had the usual envelope with the final room charges hanging on our door handle so I grabbed as we left and stuck it in a suitcase -- never went to the front desk. I didn't even think about the envelope until about a week later when I noticed that we had never been charged after that initial $1,000 charge. I pulled out the envelope and actually opened it and inside was a poorly photocopied notice that said there was a problem with our credit card and we needed to either call extension XXXX from our room phone or stop at the front desk. I actually thought it looked fraudulent (super dark copy, text was completely crooked on the page, etc). Oddly, there was no information on who to contact if you had already left the resort. So, I sent an email to guest services asking them who I should call to find out why our final charges hadn't been submitted to our credit card. We were now 7 days past check-out. Two days later, I got an email back from them telling me who to call. It was another day or so until I was able to call. Even when I did, the GS person wasn't the least bit phased. She said my credit card information was incorrect. I told her we took care of that at check in and that there had been an incremental charge to the card during our stay so I didn't understand how the credit card info got changed again. She said sometimes the system for whatever reason rolls back to previous information. She said this happens all the time. WTH??? I think I was more baffled by the fact that at 7 days past check out, no one from Disney had made any attempt to contact me to collect their $800 from me. It felt like if *I* hadn't made an effort to take care of it, they wouldn't have come after me for it (though I'm sure they would have at some point). I wonder how many people never call them to get the charges taken care of.

I’m assuming for anyone that visits regularly your account would be flagged to pay the balance before check-in on your next trip or before you book? Although a lot of people aren’t regular visitors.
 
Imagine, if you will, people who choose to not use credit cards, and those holds are hitting their checking accounts. Imagine how difficult that makes things, if/WHEN the authorizations don't come off immediately.

Imagine, if you will, a person who has been out of the workforce for 16 years, who had no credit cards of her own, who has a secured credit card of $500, who owns DVC and wants to take a trip, but now Disney is going to take up all that room during her stay. Imagine the PITA that's going to be.

Yes, I agree this could be a huge problem. More and more folks are sticking to debit cards, me included. I remember the Disney trip 20+ years ago that I showed up with a wad of cash to pay my room and the remaining was our food money.

Do you do online checkin? If you do, you have to enter a card now. So when you enter that card, it's going to assume you want room-charging, and it's going to charge you.

Not in a couple years. I used to but the pluses began to slip away ..... (1) rarely got room number text, and sometimes not until days in to our trip (2) stopped paying any attention to room requests and (3) removed room requests from check-in. So I no longer found value in it. I prefer to go to desk and make my requests in person even if it means I wait. This has usually resulted in the location I would like. I tell them right then remove all charging ability from MB if it is showing that way, it is no plus for me. I can pull out a card just as easy as use my MB.


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.

Either you are lucky, or myself and many others are unlucky. Disney has been charging the full amount due for room only upon arrival or earlier. I have often been notified they charged my room at 6 am long before I have arrived. It's been this way for at least 5 years (I remember because we had to reverse it one trip to my DH card since he was working and it was travel expense.)

Per Disney Website: "If you have a room-only reservation, you will pay off your balance when you arrive at your Disney Resort hotel."

Last Hilton I stayed at it was a $250 hold.

Hilton is our brand and only once can I remember a CC hold and it was $75 on a week long stay on POINTS. I wonder if that was a particular Hilton that has some issues or folks with high in house charges.


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.

I have stopped using the MB for charges ..... as I found, like you say, that I didn't think twice about a cute item or several Mickey Bar breaks or other items I might have thought twice about. Now I use my debit card which is instant reality or my cc, which I keep receipts together and keep an awareness of spending. It's just as easy to pull out a card for me since I take a mini purse. And with more and more stays offsite it's my only option so I'm used to it. Going in two weeks, staying onsite, have not done online check in and won't be allowing charging to MB.

Now when I was talking to DS about this .... his thought that many will stop hooking up the charging if they are dealing with many of the issues discussed ... and just like Disney saw huge increases in spending after MB, they may see that go down. He says "do you think Disney is finally ready to hook credit cards direct to MDE in a way so your charge to MB goes direct to CC company like they do with Mobile Ordering? AND could this finally lead to AP holders having CC hooked up to their MDE/MB? That would be tapping a new source." Doing that gets Disney out of the "credit" business and may increase revenue.

I think we all get the authorization hold ........ but at most hotel stays some might spend a hundred dollars or two for room service, a meal, drinks at the pool. At Disney the volume of spending per guest is on a whole new level, even way beyond what most would spend on a cashless trip like cruise or all inclusive. It will be interesting to see how this plays out given the many ways folks usually plan to pay for their expenses.
 
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We had a similar issue! We did a split stay and while everything was fine at the first resort, the second resort had been booked under a CC that had since been canceled for identity theft reasons, but the system pulled that card for incidentals. We didn’t learn about this until we tried to use our MBs in the food court the next day before check out and it was declined. Had we not used our MBs to grab a juice we would have left without knowing it was an issue. I can imagine this happens a lot considering how many of us book months if not a year+ out?


Oh, that reminds me....we also had our MB charges denied the last night we were there. We didn't even really bat an eye about it -- just figured we were at the resort limit and they hadn't put the charge through yet. We just pulled out the credit card and paid the bill at that time. Didn't even think about going to the front desk since we knew we were leaving first thing in the morning.

I suspect our problems also stemmed from a previously cancelled credit card. I think our reservation had been made (a year in advance) with a card that was cancelled and replaced due to a security breach shortly after I made the reservation (through a TA). I do know that the final payment, online check-in, etc. were all done with the new card, though.
 
I always pay-off my room only reservation 100% in full prior to arriving on WDW property. I am in the group that throws everything onto my MB and then pays off my balance with Disney gift cards. As long as the caps are the same and I can pay with gift cards, I will be happy.

My main concern is the number of "authorizations" I will have on my card. I have a high enough limit to allow for what I will charge, but if I spend say $400 a day between meals and souvenirs, will I have 28 different $100 holds on my CC at the end of the trip? If gift cards cannot be used the same as now and then I have a $2,800 charge on top of the 28 $100 authorizations, will $5,600 of my credit line be tied up? I'm also worried that my card issuer will think there is some type of possible fraud with 28 different $100 authorizations.
 
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I always pay-off my room only reservation 100% in full prior to arriving on WDW property. I am in the group that throws everything onto my MB and then pays off my balance with Disney gift cards. As long as the caps are the same and I can pay with gift cards, I will be happy.

My main concern is the number of "authorizations" I will have on my card. I have a high enough limit to allow for what I will charge, but if I spend say $400 a day between meals and souvenirs, will I have 28 different $100 holds on my CC at the end of the trip? If gift cards cannot be used the same as now and then I have a $2,800 charge on top of the 28 $100 credit, will $5,600 of my credit line be tied up? I'm also worried that my card issuer will think there is some type of possible fraud with 28 different $100 authorizations.

My plan is to ask them at checkin if they can just pre-authorize $2000 instead of a bunch of smaller ones. My guess is they will do this if asked.
 
This is how I see it. They will pre-authorize $100. When this is hit, authorize an additional amount to cover charges, rounded up to the next $100. Therefore, at the end of the trip, your total authorizations will be the total amount charged to the room, rounded up to the next $100. There might be lots and lots of individual authorizations.

When you check out, they will then charge your card. They will not want to use the pre-authorizations. Instead, they will make a new charge for the total amount owed, then release all the holds. The reasons is that there is a per charge fee the credit companies charge. If they make were to use all the smaller pre-authorizations, then there fee would be quite a bit more, than by making a single charge at check out.

This will result in both a charge and authorization being on the card for nearly identical amounts (within $100), so the guest’s available balance will decrease by just over double what they actually spend.

If the guest doesn’t have enough of an available credit to cover double the charges, Disney can contact the credit card company, and they can work out the charging of the card (as the guest did have the available balance for what is actually being charged, and Disney hadthe pre-authorizations for it, it can be done, Disney might just have to eat the extra fees of using the pre-authorizations instead).

When the guest gets their statement (or looks at their account a few days later), they will just see the one charge at the end.

This is exactly how Carnival cruise does it.

If this is correct, then it will be easier than ever to use Disney gift cards,as you won’t have to worry about using the gift cards before the resort limit is reached. The resort limit will be a thing of the past. With the pre-authorizations, there is no need for it.

I always pay-off my room only reservation 100% in full prior to arriving on WDW property. I am in the group that throws everything onto my MB and then pays off my balance with Disney gift cards. As long as the caps are the same and I can pay with gift cards, I will be happy.

My main concern is the number of "authorizations" I will have on my card. I have a high enough limit to allow for what I will charge, but if I spend say $400 a day between meals and souvenirs, will I have 28 different $100 holds on my CC at the end of the trip? If gift cards cannot be used the same as now and then I have a $2,800 charge on top of the 28 $100 credit, will $5,600 of my credit line be tied up? I'm also worried that my card issuer will think there is some type of possible fraud with 28 different $100 authorizations.

The number of pre-authorizations doesn’t make a difference to you (whether it be a bunch of smaller ones or one big one), but yes, $5600 (to use your example) will be tied up (if my understanding is correct). However, gift cards should be able to be used the same way. The bank will understand what is happening and won’t bat an eye (and will have lots of customers doing this).

My plan is to ask them at checkin if they can just pre-authorize $2000 instead of a bunch of smaller ones. My guess is they will do this if asked.

Why bother? It shouldn’t make a difference. UNLESSS.......

Now, it is possible they will actually charge your card every time you exceed the $100 threshold. However, there would be no need for them to keep making new $100 pre-authorizations. When the balance due passes $100, they make a new charge for the balance, and then leave the original $100 in place.

Record of activity would then be something like this (assume room balance paid in full in advance).
1. Pre-authorize $100
2. You spend $165 for lunch and refillable mugs
3. Disney charges $165 to your card
4. You spend $30 for snacks
5. You spend $60 at resort bar
6. You spend $30 in gift shop
7. Disney charges $120 to your card
8. You spend $75 for lunch
9. You check out
10. Disney charges $75 to your card
11. $100 authorization drops off days later

Under this way of doing it, it would be virtually impossible to use gift cards (or cash) to pay the balance for things charged to your room without them allowing for pre-loading your account. However, the benefit to the guest is that they won’t have the double authorizations.

Also, this second way would result in a LOT more credit card transactions, and thus more fees to the credit card company. However, it is possible Disney was able to negotiate their fee to be a percentage only, without a per transaction fee.

Now, if the pre-authorization is for $2000, then it would be easy to pay down your balance with gift cards/cash before your credit card is hit with any charges (you just must keep track of how much you spend, and not go over the limit).
 
If this is correct, then it will be easier than ever to use Disney gift cards,as you won’t have to worry about using the gift cards before the resort limit is reached. The resort limit will be a thing of the past. With the pre-authorizations, there is no need for it.

The number of pre-authorizations doesn’t make a difference to you (whether it be a bunch of smaller ones or one big one), but yes, $5600 (to use your example) will be tied up (if my understanding is correct). However, gift cards should be able to be used the same way. The bank will understand what is happening and won’t bat an eye (and will have lots of customers doing this).
I get what you're saying (if it works this way). The cap would be removed because Disney knows I have enough to back it all on my card with the authorizations. Instead of say auto-charging me at $1,500 and worrying about swiping my gift card prior to that, I can wait until the night before checkout and pay off (from my scenario) $2,800 in gift cards. The next day when check-out happens, my account will be $0.00 and the authorizations to my CC will be released.

I guess we will have to see how it plays out. It looks like people will have to pay down their cards if they charge a lot to the room and don't have double the credit limit.
 

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