New Credit Card Authorization Holds

HopperFan

"It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, princess."
Joined
Sep 6, 2003
I didn't see this posted, please merge or delete if it has.

Laughing Place is posting beginning Feb 27 Disney will be putting credit card authorization holds on guests credit cards if you choose to do charging back to room.

They do not say how much that hold is for ... the current caps they have at each hotel level now would be a large hold on one's account.
 


I’m fine with this policy, as I know it’s pretty standard at other hotels. Although, I would like to know ASAP how much these holds will be. We have a split stay between 3 resorts coming up in May... large holds can add up fast! Not to mention we are big souvenir spenders & love the convenience of charging to our room via Magic bands.
Also, say if they put a $500 hold on my card, will my room charges be deducted from that hold money or will it be additional? With the hold money coming back later? I will need to plan accordingly!
 
I have no issue with it, I think the question remains is how much will it be. I have been in Disney hotels where they say that you can charge back up to $500-$1500 dollars before they charge your card. Will that be the range they are going to put as hold on cards?

It doesn't impact me, I stopped charging back to room a few years ago. But not sure I'd be too happy to have $1500 hold on my card when I won't spend anywhere near that ... and have to worry about check out and making sure they released it. When I stay at hotels with holds, I always check out in person and get receipt from them that I owe nothing and hold is released before I walk out door.

Split stays could be an issue for some folks, problems with paying off with gift cards each day could get complicated, will this make it harder to split charges on different MB and cards? ....


Wonder how often it comes up that people charge all trip and can’t pay full amount? If that’s the case I don’t see any problem with auth hold on card

I have no problem with it but I've never had more than a $75-100 hold on my CC. Disney is a different animal as they have been offering pretty large charging limits before this.

It seems like common sense that they would do this. Most hotels put additional hold on card for incidentals. On all our cruises they put holds on cards for charges. What if a person doesn’t have sufficient credit left to pay for all their charges?

I've never had a cruise put a hold on my CC but I have with hotels. Unless a hotel is cashless, I never charge back to room.
 


I just want to know how this is going to work with non us credit cards and the exchange rate. If they place a hold and it converts I'm going to get less back than what they took
I feel you there. That exchange rate in the Cayman Islands hurt us bad this year during two trips. Ugghhhh.
 
On the agent site they answered the question of "How much of holds?"

Under the new policy, on the day of arrival, Resort hotels will place an authorization hold on the card for any balance due on the reservation plus $100 for estimated incidental expenses. If Guest spending exceeds the original $100 hold, additional incremental holds will be obtained automatically. The authorization holds on the card will not exceed the current balance due plus $100.
 
On the agent site they answered the question of "How much of holds?"

Under the new policy, on the day of arrival, Resort hotels will place an authorization hold on the card for any balance due on the reservation plus $100 for estimated incidental expenses. If Guest spending exceeds the original $100 hold, additional incremental holds will be obtained automatically. The authorization holds on the card will not exceed the current balance due plus $100.
I don’t have a problem with this. I think it is reasonable.
 
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 thought that Disney resorts have always put a hold or pre-authorised CC's if you want room charging privileges?

I thought it was $500 for value, $1000 for Mod, and $1500 for deluxe?

I don't have an issue with this anyway.
 
If that’s the case I don’t see any problem with auth hold on card

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.

On all our cruises they put holds on cards for charges.

Never happened for me on Disney or Royal.

It doesn't impact me, I stopped charging back to room a few years ago.

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.

If Guest spending exceeds the original $100 hold, additional incremental holds will be obtained automatically.

And when Disney and/or the bank you use doesn't release those funds immediately after charging but before authorizing more, it's going to be very very ugly.


We took nice, long vacations b/c I homeschool and my now-ex could take 2 weeks off without his work blinking. We tended to do split stays. The ONE problem with Universal hotels is that they have a hold per day if you do room charging, and it would never fall off quickly, and it did actually impact us if we'd had a larger bill at Disney then moved over to Uni.



What a pain this is. Disney is just going along with industry standard, and is forgetting the fact that they used to SET the standard. Sigh.
 
On the agent site they answered the question of "How much of holds?"

Under the new policy, on the day of arrival, Resort hotels will place an authorization hold on the card for any balance due on the reservation plus $100 for estimated incidental expenses. If Guest spending exceeds the original $100 hold, additional incremental holds will be obtained automatically. The authorization holds on the card will not exceed the current balance due plus $100.

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
 
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.
 
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.
No, it will climb in $100 increments. Initial hold is balance due + $100. Let's say you are $0 due, at check-in $100 will be authorized. That day you hit $105 in charges as soon as the $100 is hit another $100 will be authorized. They take into account what they have already authorized. Basically, the authorizations could be up to whatever your "tab" is with Disney + $100.
 
No, it will climb in $100 increments. Initial hold is balance due + $100. Let's say you are $0 due, at check-in $100 will be authorized. That day you hit $105 in charges as soon as the $100 is hit another $100 will be authorized. They take into account what they have already authorized. Basically, the authorizations could be up to whatever your "tab" is with Disney + $100.

Okay, so if they hold $100 and I spend $150, only $50 more would come out of my account that night since they were already holding $100? I thought it meant they would authorize the hold for $100 and then charge my card the $150 and the original $100 hold would fall off at some point?
 
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?
 
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