Charging Items to Room?

[Tsi2quick]

We are leaving on our trip in a few days and I saw something, or at least I think I did, that I wasn't aware of. Can you charge items to your room using your room keycard like you would any credit card? My wife and myself seem to think we have read somewhere that you could do that? If so, is there a limit on what you can purchase (only food?)? It would be nice to just carry that and put everything on it and pay for it all at one time.

Any clarification would be appreciated. We both may have had the same dream that night or something! lol

 

[ctrabada]

When checking in, they will ask you if you would like to place a credit card on file for making charges to the room. It makes life so much easier! And you can charge anything, not just food. I believe they place a limit of $500 or $1,000 (I don't remember) and if you exceed the limit, you can just go to guest services and tell them it's ok to continue charging. They will just charge your credit card for your purchases and then start another "batch."

 

[Tsi2quick]

Sweet! Could you use a debit card (Visa) instead of a normal credit card?

What are the pro's & con's of doing this? It sounds good but I want to make sure I have the bases covered since our trip is very soon! Thanks.

 

[zipDdoodah]

Yes you can use your Visa debit card. We used ours. I think the limit they put on it depends on whether you're staying at a value, moderate, or deluxe. From what I've heard, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong: Value $500, Moderate $1,000, Deluxe $1,500. I know the $1,500 for Deluxe is true because we just stayed at WL. Also, when you check out you can use other methods to pay. You just have to tell them at the front desk where to put your balance. They're really accommodating. Have a fun trip!

 

[ducklite]

Just keep in mind that the Visa checkcard often has a daily limit on it, and if you rack up $900 in charges at the end of your trip the bank might not allow it to go through.

If you use this method, you're best off having them run the charges through every other day.

Anne

 

[lillygator]

We stayed at AKL and had the $1500 limit...I found that WDW would put the charges through when they reached about $400.....maybe they were planning ahead for the Visa daily limit?

I found it to be a wonderfully easy thing....this way there are only one or two charges on your card, you aren't scrambling for cash and it's very easy!

 

[newholiday]

We just stayed at the VWL where the limit is $1500
I had the charging priviledges put on mine but the other 3 keys turned off
Twice I went down to pay off the charges (cash & Disney dollars & $8 on a disney rewards card i wanted to finish off) and walked out of there with a Zero balance

 

[mahoneyth]

Does anyone know if SOG has this option of charging everything to the room key?
Thanks for any info, going in two weeks.

 

[Dcat2u]

SOG does not have this option. This is one of the perks that we enjoy staying at a Disney resort. We stayed at Pop last week and loved it however I had to go down every other day to have them run balance through so we had enough to charge meals etc. Did not care for only having $500 limit.

 

[Chicago526]

Yup, for me, this is the ONLY way to pay! Just have enough cash on hand for little purchases like snack carts, most carts don't take the room keys since they aren't hooked up to the computer system. Also make sure to have small bills on hand for tips to bellhops and such. Otherwise, CHARGE IT TO THE ROOM!

You can charge to your room at and Disney restaurant or shop in WDW. If you didn't know, you can also have packages from purchases in the parks delivered to your resort, so you aren't lugging your shoping bags all over Fantasyland.

For me, it great! We are charging everything to the room, then paying the bill when we get home from the money we've put in savings for the trip. And since it will be charged to my Milage Plus Visa, I'll get LOTS of miles to boot!

 

[10drum]

We always get the uph, and the room key becomes the "Key to the World".

Only way to go!

Lock the cash and credit cards in the safe and carry one card.

 

[sjams]

I think Cristy is right on...I do remember doing that 10 years ago on my honeymoon...now that was 10 years ago. I would call Central Reservations and ask. Someone who works there should know...also maybe try the resort you are staying at, they may know too...good luck and let us know...

sjams

 

[lark]

It's pretty convenient. One thing that's great about it is that you get an itemized bill at the end, so you have a decent record of where and how you spent money, which makes budgeting nice and takes away a little of that post vacation shock as the bills start coming in. Note, though, that the card may stop working after you check out, so if you're headed back into the parks after you check out, make sure to have some other form of payment.

This most recent time that I went, they pre-authorized my card for the whole limit at the time of check in, which probably wouldn't work with a debit/check card.

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by lark
It's pretty convenient. One thing that's great about it is that you get an itemized bill at the end, so you have a decent record of where and how you spent money, which makes budgeting nice and takes away a little of that post vacation shock as the bills start coming in. Note, though, that the card may stop working after you check out, so if you're headed back into the parks after you check out, make sure to have some other form of payment.

This most recent time that I went, they pre-authorized my card for the whole limit at the time of check in, which probably wouldn't work with a debit/check card.

I've NEVER had them preauthorize the entire charging limit, nor have I heard of them doing that for anyone else. They only charge $1.00 to make sure the card is good.

 

[lark]

Originally posted by summerrluvv
I've NEVER had them preauthorize the entire charging limit, nor have I heard of them doing that for anyone else.

Well, I'm delighted to be the first. Just happened. Check in was 10/8.

For what it's worth, I was checked in at the concierge desk, not at the main check in, because the line was very long and so they pulled people out of the main line and sent them over to concierge to make it go quicker. Maybe that had something to do with it. It went pretty slowly; she seemed to not do it very often.

 

[ducklite]

Sorry, but none of the concierge desks are located anywhere remotely near the main check in area at any WDW resort I've stayed in, which is all but CR. In fact every single one is located in either a seperate building or a seperate key access only floor.

Anne

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by Chicago526
Yup, for me, this is the ONLY way to pay! Just have enough cash on hand for little purchases like snack carts, most carts don't take the room keys since they aren't hooked up to the computer system. Also make sure to have small bills on hand for tips to bellhops and such. Otherwise, CHARGE IT TO THE ROOM!

You can charge to your room at and Disney restaurant or shop in WDW. If you didn't know, you can also have packages from purchases in the parks delivered to your resort, so you aren't lugging your shoping bags all over Fantasyland.

For me, it great! We are charging everything to the room, then paying the bill when we get home from the money we've put in savings for the trip. And since it will be charged to my Milage Plus Visa, I'll get LOTS of miles to boot!

Even the snack carts now take room charges, thanks to cellular technology.

The way it works is the resort runs your card through and places a hold on $1. (It's not charged, it's simply a hold) This is to make sure that your card is valid.

Your charging limit will then depend on your level of accomodation. If you're staying at a value resort, you get a line of credit for up to $500. If you're staying at a moderate, you get a line of credit for up to $1000. If you're staying at a deluxe, you get a line of credit for up to $1500. Those are the maximums. If you don't like them, you can ask for a lower limit.

If you charge up to your limit, and attempt to make a purchase, your purchase will decline. You will then have to go back to your resort front desk and request that they place the charges through to your credit card. Your credit line is then completely open for whatever you set it for.

Another frequently asked question is whether or not you can put two different cards on your room to charge to. The answer is no. Unless you have two seperate rooms, everything must be on the same card. However - whenever the front desk puts your charges to your card (either at check out, or upon request), you'll get an itemized bill. Next to each charge is the number of the card that was used to make the purchase.

 

[lark]

Originally posted by ducklite
Sorry, but none of the concierge desks are located anywhere remotely near the main check in area at any WDW resort I've stayed in, which is all but CR. In fact every single one is located in either a seperate building or a seperate key access only floor.

Anne

This is interesting. Are you people saying I'm lying? How strange. I almost feel like posting my online american express bill to show the $1500 authorization.

I wasn't talking about the special concierge area of the resort where you need a special room key and get snacks and other concierge service. I was talking about the concierge desk in the main lobby where you can ask questions, get resort maps, make PSs and ask other questions. At the GF, which is where we were staying, it is near the registration area, on the other side of the front door.

We arrived at just before 3:00 on 10/8. The line was very long at registration. When we got near the front of the line, we were approached by a guy who said he was some kind of assistant manager or some such title. He was wearing a suit. His name was "D.J." He made some small talk and then asked what we were waiting for. We said we were there to check in. He said, "to make the line go more quickly for other guests, I'd be happy to escort you over to the concierge desk, where Mary will be happy to check you in." (Names included since it seems I've been accused of being untruthful.) He then did exactly that, where Mary did in fact check us in and did in fact run our credit card. When we were done, DJ brought another group out of the main line to check in at the concierge desk.

I'm sorry if this is different from the rest of your experiences, but this is, in fact, what happened to us.

 

[snwarf]

Originally posted by lark
This is interesting. Are you people saying I'm lying? How strange. I almost feel like posting my online american express bill to show the $1500 authorization.

For what it is worth, Lark, I knew what you meant!

 

[ducklite]

Not a concierge desk, rather what WDW refers to as "Guest Services". If they referred to it as "concierge", they shouldn't have IMHO. WDW differentiates the two, and should be consistent with their terminology.

At any rate, I didn't think you were lying about the $1500, I did think you were quite mistaken about where you were indicating you were chekcing in, as far as "normal" WDW terminology goes.

Anne