Leaving a credit card with reception, do you?

[The Eighth Dwarf]

So after my fairfx card thread, I signed up and am waiting for it to arrive.


So was wonding do you leave a card with reception to charge to your room.
Was thinking of doing it this year for the first time and was wondering the pros and cons.

Is it hard to keep track of how much you spent?
Are you more likely to overspend if you are not having to physically hand over cash.
What about paying OOP on the DDP, say for example buying a snack instead of using a credit or tipping in restaurants.

 

[wickesy]

We always have charging privileges on our room keys. As long as you keep all your receipts it is easy enough to keep track of what you are spending but yes it is easier to 'buy' things when you aren't actually handing money over.

 

[Twilight Terror]

There is an automatic limit of $500 for room charges, so you can't go too wild - like buying up half of Art of Disney! Maybe you could see if they can reduce the limit to something more manageable for yourselves? Once you reach the limit, your room key will be rejected Then, the cashier will normally call your resort, you speak to them, authorize a payment to be made to the CC you have on file, then ta-da, your room key is free for charging again. Not that I had to do that at least twice last year or anything...

Also, if you go to Guest Services, they can give you a print out of everything you have charged to the room. So, if you wanted, you could get a daily print-out and keep track of things that way. We normally get one or two a week because we have three of us charging to just one person's account, so need to keep a track of who owes who what!

 

[wifey]

It's very easy to do, we set a reasonable amount say $300 and keep track of what we charge to our room, every few days I pop to guest services and sing the receipt so the hotel can charge it to our credit card you can also use a visa debit card if you want. Remember to contact the CC company and your bank before you go so they know it's you making the transactions and they are not fraudulent ones.

 

[oceanscape]

There is an automatic limit of $500 for room charges, so you can't go too wild

I believe the credit limits are actually $500 for values, $1000 for moderates and $1500 for deluxe/DVC resorts.

 

[The Eighth Dwarf]

I believe the credit limits are actually $500 for values, $1000 for moderates and $1500 for deluxe/DVC resorts.

Does this mean that once we hit say $1000 the ability to charge to the room stops, or we have to call in in to reception, or do they put all the charges through in one go once we hit $1000?

I probably could have made that a bit clearer
but hopefully you all get the gist.

 

[Twilight Terror]

I believe the credit limits are actually $500 for values, $1000 for moderates and $1500 for deluxe/DVC resorts.

We were POR last year, and it was $500.

Does this mean that once we hit say $1000 the ability to charge to the room stops, or we have to call in in to reception, or do they put all the charges through in one go once we hit $1000?

Correct. Once you reach the limit, you can no longer charge to your room. The amount remains there until you give permission, either in person or over the phone, for them to make a payment to your credit card, at which point, your key card balance is returned to zero, and you can carry on spending. Once you get to the end of your holiday, however, they will automatically charge anything remaining to your card.

 

[Elise79]

Yes thats right Once you reach your limit you can get them to charge that to the card & start again

I always tip in cash on the DDP - that way the servers get it straight away and don't have to wait for their pay checks

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Have just got back and room charged at both AKL and Poly. First one was $1200 and the second $850, went to the desk night before checking out and paid on my Fairfx card even though I'd given details of my Nationwide credit card. They give you a print out any time you ask although I always add up what we've spent over the day in case there are any queries. We had been charge $9.95 for internet access at the Poly even though we hadn't used it, it was credited no questions asked.

 

[orangetiggs]

we put cash behind reception so we have charging facilities normally around $300 and then check every few days to make sure what we have spent on it

Never leave our fairfx card as they take a shadow transaction that you will not be able to spend till disney takes it

 

[Ann B]

We have always had charging facilities of $1000 at a time when we stay at port orleans. We go back about half way through the holiday and pay off the first $1000 or so. It is so convenient - one of the perks of staying onsite.

 

[The Eighth Dwarf]

we put cash behind reception so we have charging facilities normally around $300 and then check every few days to make sure what we have spent on it

Never leave our fairfx card as they take a shadow transaction that you will not be able to spend till disney takes it

Could you clarify that for me, who takes a shadow transaction and why, and why does it make a difference?

 

[orangetiggs]

disney charge the card say $500 but the money doesnt come off your card it stays in a pending state so you cant spend it and it will only come off your balance once disney process the payment which could be when you check out. We only leave cash so we know what we have on our fairfx card as the terms and conditions of the card do state that it cannot be used for leaving at hotel receptions


Hope that makes sense

 

[The Eighth Dwarf]

disney charge the card say $500 but the money doesnt come off your card it stays in a pending state so you cant spend it and it will only come off your balance once disney process the payment

Hope that makes sense

AHMmmm , no not really

So, Disney charge the card $500, this is not taken off the balance,
so say my card has $1000 on it, straight away Disney "take" $500 to see if the card is valid.
Am I right so far,
this leaves my balance at $1000 but i can only spend $500 of it, till Disney charge me.
When they do that does that mean my other $500 will go into the same limbo.
Do they do this with all credit cards or just the fairfx card.

This is turning out to be more complicated than i thought it would be.


Thank you all for the replies and Tiggs I apoloigise if I`m coming across a bit thick.

 

[The Eighth Dwarf]

disney charge the card say $500 but the money doesnt come off your card it stays in a pending state so you cant spend it and it will only come off your balance once disney process the payment which could be when you check out. We only leave cash so we know what we have on our fairfx card as the terms and conditions of the card do state that it cannot be used for leaving at hotel receptions


Hope that makes sense

Whoops sorry didn`t see that part, LOL
I didn`t realise it was against fairfx terms and conditions, how much do disney try to take off the card cause the nonly other credit card I have is an emergency one with a really small credit limit,
from reading the other posts i could leave this one but pay off the balance with my fairfx card.

Anyone any idea why this would be against their terms and conditions?
And would the CM at reception know this and have a problem with it or would they just take it?

 

[orangetiggs]

yes thats right, i'm not the best at explaining things!

So if you only spend $300 on your room key then $200 will appear back on your card. disney only charge the card when you reach the limit or check out so for the whole of your stay you might have the $500 in limbo if you dont use it all

This is why we leave cash or travellers cheques so we know how much money is on our card and only use the fair fx to draw from the atm or use in the shops

They do this on every card to make sure its valid

 

[orangetiggs]

not sure I think its just because it leaves a shadow, its the same for car hire companies as well. I noticed it last year when we got ours

I think any company that makes a shadow transaction as you think you have $1000 on the card when infact you dont as all these companies can put through pending amounts and it could leave you with no money

 

[orangetiggs]

reception would prob just take it as its a mastercard so they dont know terms of each card. Its up to you to remember who you have left it with and remember the pending transactions will appear on the account

Also you can advise them of how much you want to leave on the room, my dad used his visa for our wedding trip and only asked them to charge $200 and that way he could keep a better track of it. That way you could say charge $200 to your fairfx card and it would still leave you with $800 to spend

 

[wickesy]

We only leave cash so we know what we have on our fairfx card as the terms and conditions of the card do state that it cannot be used for leaving at hotel receptions

I remember seeing what you are referring to but I think it was only a recommendation that you don't use it anywhere that might leave a shadow transaction. There's definitely nothing in the current terms and conditions that prevent it from being used in a hotel reception or for car hire.

 

[orangetiggs]

yes this was last year when i read them so they may have changed, i think they said it for your benefit so you dont think you have more money than you have on there

Just safe I guess not using it where the take shadows