New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[tink2]

I'm reading all this as it SHOULD only be $100 over the amount you owe throughout the trip~ not several different $100 charges that would add up to several hundred dollars. They take the initial $100 out at check in~ making your balance at the resort -$100. Then when they charge your card after a few nights at whatever point they charge cards~ they will charge the amount you owe (which again should be minus $100 that was initially taken out) and then take out the $100 again~ meaning your account should never be more than $100 over the amount you spent. Right?

Let's face it~ my family of four will go over the initial $100 at Crystal Palace on arrival night~ lol

I know that clearly nobody knows what will actually happen~ but this is how I read that it SHOULD go. We've always used a debit card for our charges~ so I could be changing that for our upcoming trip in June based on reports here from guest experiences.

 

[lcc2]

I’m just not even going to deal with charging back to the room. My trip starts right after they implement this new change. I will use all the GC’s I saved up. Disney will have my CC info on file for the parking fee at checkout and that’s it. So many changes within the last year or so.

 

[Farro]

I'm reading all this as it SHOULD only be $100 over the amount you owe throughout the trip~ not several different $100 charges that would add up to several hundred dollars. They take the initial $100 out at check in~ making your balance at the resort -$100. Then when they charge your card after a few nights at whatever point they charge cards~ they will charge the amount you owe (which again should be minus $100 that was initially taken out) and then take out the $100 again~ meaning your account should never be more than $100 over the amount you spent. Right?

Let's face it~ my family of four will go over the initial $100 at Crystal Palace on arrival night~ lol

I know that clearly nobody knows what will actually happen~ but this is how I read that it SHOULD go. We've always used a debit card for our charges~ so I could be changing that for our upcoming trip in June based on reports here from guest experiences.

I guess it could go that way, but if they only authorize $100, what's to stop people from charging a ton of money in room charges that they don't have on their card if Disney doesn't put the charge through for 5 nights? Kind of defeats their purpose of trying to stop people from skipping out on the bill.

 

[Ralphmiller007]

I'm reading all this as it SHOULD only be $100 over the amount you owe throughout the trip~ not several different $100 charges that would add up to several hundred dollars. They take the initial $100 out at check in~ making your balance at the resort -$100. Then when they charge your card after a few nights at whatever point they charge cards~ they will charge the amount you owe (which again should be minus $100 that was initially taken out) and then take out the $100 again~ meaning your account should never be more than $100 over the amount you spent. Right?

Let's face it~ my family of four will go over the initial $100 at Crystal Palace on arrival night~ lol

I know that clearly nobody knows what will actually happen~ but this is how I read that it SHOULD go. We've always used a debit card for our charges~ so I could be changing that for our upcoming trip in June based on reports here from guest experiences.

Like everyone else here, I have no idea how this is actually going to work, haha. I will say that we spent the weekend in a Kimpton Hotel in DC. They authorized 150 dollars/night at check in for incidentals. "Resort fees" were then charged separately upon checkout from that original auth (not subtracted from the amount authorized) and then the original 300 dollar hold was refunded shortly after checkout to my credit card. If these incidental holds are all also separate, I can definitely see it tying up available credit like many on here have speculated. For some it might not be an issue, but I can see why it could cause problems for debit or lower available credit cards. We're staying at AKL, I'm wondering how the "cashless" part is going to go in combination with this rule change. I'm crossing my fingers for a front desk "preload" gift card situation

 

[evlaina]

I have a split stay - 1 night room only at Pop, rest of the trip a package at Beach Club. My in laws are going the same days as us, but staying at Pop with a package for the entire stay. I got the new policy email regarding my Pop trip, but as of this morning my in laws still have not received an email. I also haven’t gotten any email about it regarding my BC stay.

Are they sending the emails to room-only guests? Or did any package guests receive it, too?

 

[jbethel77]

I have a split stay - 1 night room only at Pop, rest of the trip a package at Beach Club. My in laws are going the same days as us, but staying at Pop with a package for the entire stay. I got the new policy email regarding my Pop trip, but as of this morning my in laws still have not received an email. I also haven’t gotten any email about it regarding my BC stay.

Are they sending the emails to room-only guests? Or did any package guests receive it, too?

Not sure about packages, but both of my rooms are booked with our DVC points. I got the email also, but only for our first resort. Technically it’s a room only, but it has a zero balance. Curious about packages also..

 

[PolyRob]

I have a split stay with two room only reservations. So far I only received notification for my first half at BC.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

We have a package booked at POP and received the email.

 

[Searc]

Well here is an even different reply from Disney when I sent a question about applying a gift card to your room to pay for charges:

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort! We are so excited to hear that you are planning a visit to come see us here at Walt Disney World®! The new policy regarding the credit card did not go into affect yet. It will be depending on when you are coming for your trip. When the new policy go into affect your credit will get charge as you make your purchase automatically. You can choose to use your gift to make your make purchase instead of having your card on file for charge.

As usual a different story from everyone. Anxious to see how it actually works once it goes into place and we hear peoples experiences.

The person who wrote that reply should be immediately removed from written communication for WDW.

 

[Searc]

I have a room only reservation in March and have not received an email about the changes.

 

[PolyRob]

New thought about the notification. Could online check-in be a factor? I completed online check-in and my DME reservation on my first room only. I have not done it yet on the second because its just departure DME.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

New thought about the notification. Could online check-in be a factor? I completed online check-in and my DME reservation on my first room only. I have not done it yet on the second because its just departure DME.

I bet you are right.

 

[creativeamanda]

My email ended up in a junk folder. I have a package reservation at Coronado Springs and did do online checkin.

 

[PolyRob]

I bet you are right.

I re-read my email and thought "if you would like to change or remove any payment card or method of payment on file call..." was about more than just a deposit CC. It had to be tied to what I recently inputted.

 

[evlaina]

New thought about the notification. Could online check-in be a factor? I completed online check-in and my DME reservation on my first room only. I have not done it yet on the second because its just departure DME.

I bet you're right, too - I have done check in on both of my stays but my in laws haven't yet.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I'm reading all this as it SHOULD only be $100 over the amount you owe throughout the trip~ not several different $100 charges that would add up to several hundred dollars. They take the initial $100 out at check in~ making your balance at the resort -$100. Then when they charge your card after a few nights at whatever point they charge cards~ they will charge the amount you owe (which again should be minus $100 that was initially taken out) and then take out the $100 again~ meaning your account should never be more than $100 over the amount you spent. Right?

Let's face it~ my family of four will go over the initial $100 at Crystal Palace on arrival night~ lol

I know that clearly nobody knows what will actually happen~ but this is how I read that it SHOULD go. We've always used a debit card for our charges~ so I could be changing that for our upcoming trip in June based on reports here from guest experiences.

This is not how it will work.

The initial $100 is a hold, not a charge. They will take out additional holds to cover the amount you billed to your room. Then, every 5th day and check out, bill your card for the entire balance. This charge or charges will most likely be completely independent from the holds they had been taking. A few days later, the holds will disappear from your account.

If you have a high enough available balance,and don’t check your account until a week or so after getting home,you will only see the final charge or charges, and there will be no trace of the incremental holds.

I would strongly advise not using a debit card for room charges, and only use a credit card.

 

[angelmav]

This is not how it will work.

The initial $100 is a hold, not a charge. They will take out additional holds to cover the amount you billed to your room. Then, every 5th day and check out, bill your card for the entire balance. This charge or charges will most likely be completely independent from the holds they had been taking. A few days later, the holds will disappear from your account.

If you have a high enough available balance,and don’t check your account until a week or so after getting home,you will only see the final charge or charges, and there will be no trace of the incremental holds.

I would strongly advise not using a debit card for room charges, and only use a credit card.

Exactly this. They even state the part about additional holds once that first 100 is exceeded. This is why they reference charging privileges being removed immediately if something doesn't go through.

I can already see how this will play out. Guest Y has X amount for the trip, staying 6 days. Holds accrue. Guest thinks they are ok because they haven't spent more than they have in the bank or in available credit. Day 5, Charge hits. Now the guest is broke until the holds fall off, thinking they are being charged twice.

WDW should really offer a pre-loading option to allow for MB charging. If you don't spend it, they can refund, but the new way is going to set up a bunch of guests for failure.

 

[Anthony1971]

A hold is an authorization and the hold does not turn into a charge until 1) the merchant selects the amount to charge 2) the batch is closed
a charge will NOT be separate from a hold. Once Disney charges you all holds will be removed and a charge will occur and the cycle starts over if they charge you more than once during your stay.
when you make a purchase in any store the purchase in fact is an authorization an authorization can be become a charge for up to 30 days but this is dependent on your card some are less. For the authorization to become a charge 2 things must occur 1)the sale must go through as a charge or in the case with Disney and most internet orders the sale must be selected to charge once the item is sent out 2) the batch must be closed -- batches are closed by most at a designated tome at night like 10PM with the newer systems in some stores only the batches close every 5 minutes. for those who ask why-- an authorization is good UP to X amount of days and a bank can pull that authorization anywhere from 1 second to X amount of days after it is issued so when the batch is closed that sale will come back as denied and you loose the money.
For a credit card an authorization will not effect or show up as part of your limit and will drop off as even showing after a few days as above the authorization is actually good for up to 30 days in most cases. An Authorization hold is good a specific number of days in this case it should be 5 or when you check out and than drop off however once again once a charge is made the hold is removed. With an authorization hold your credit limit will be reduced by the amount of the hold. For debit cards yes a hold will be put on the money in your bank account. How long the hold will last will once released by the vendor will vary by bank so call you bank and ask.... as here potentially you will have up to an extra 99.99 held if Disney follows what I read as they will only place another hold for 100 once you go over what they have a hold on. Or you will have a 100 hold if you charge nothing to your room. For both all holds will have to be released once you check out for a credit card it turns into an authorization will has no effect on your spending limit and as above is in fact still good for up to 30 days the same happens with any online order that is never completed in full or at all... but the authorization will drop off your pending after a few days. Some limited credit cards and debit cards the hold will stay for X amount of days as specified by your bank.
While some may not like the new policy it is nothing new and it has been done to your credit or debit card in the past if you placed an online order....
P.S. a hold does not activate an exchange rate as it is not a charge and refund it is a hold with intent to charge and exchange rate only happens when you make a charge.

 

[Farro]

A hold is an authorization and the hold does not turn into a charge until 1) the merchant selects the amount to charge 2) the batch is closed
a charge will NOT be separate from a hold. Once Disney charges you all holds will be removed and a charge will occur and the cycle starts over if they charge you more than once during your stay.
when you make a purchase in any store the purchase in fact is an authorization an authorization can be become a charge for up to 30 days but this is dependent on your card some are less. For the authorization to become a charge 2 things must occur 1)the sale must go through as a charge or in the case with Disney and most internet orders the sale must be selected to charge once the item is sent out 2) the batch must be closed -- batches are closed by most at a designated tome at night like 10PM with the newer systems in some stores only the batches close every 5 minutes. for those who ask why-- an authorization is good UP to X amount of days and a bank can pull that authorization anywhere from 1 second to X amount of days after it is issued so when the batch is closed that sale will come back as denied and you loose the money.
For a credit card an authorization will not effect or show up as part of your limit and will drop off as even showing after a few days as above the authorization is actually good for up to 30 days in most cases. An Authorization hold is good a specific number of days in this case it should be 5 or when you check out and than drop off however once again once a charge is made the hold is removed. With an authorization hold your credit limit will be reduced by the amount of the hold. For debit cards yes a hold will be put on the money in your bank account. How long the hold will last will once released by the vendor will vary by bank so call you bank and ask.... as here potentially you will have up to an extra 99.99 held if Disney follows what I read as they will only place another hold for 100 once you go over what they have a hold on. Or you will have a 100 hold if you charge nothing to your room. For both all holds will have to be released once you check out for a credit card it turns into an authorization will has no effect on your spending limit and as above is in fact still good for up to 30 days the same happens with any online order that is never completed in full or at all... but the authorization will drop off your pending after a few days. Some limited credit cards and debit cards the hold will stay for X amount of days as specified by your bank.
While some may not like the new policy it is nothing new and it has been done to your credit or debit card in the past if you placed an online order....
P.S. a hold does not activate an exchange rate as it is not a charge and refund it is a hold with intent to charge and exchange rate only happens when you make a charge.

That's good to know that a hold does not affect the available balance on credit cards, just debit/credit/bank cards (such as your checking account). My holds I've experienced in past (not Disney) have been with my debit card and took forever to fall off and did affect available balance. I never paid much attention to credit card holds, so can't attest.

But don't say it's nothing new for Disney resorts, it is new. Thus the new policy and entire thread about it.

 

[Ralphmiller007]

That's good to know that a hold does not affect the available balance on credit cards, just debit/credit/bank cards (such as your checking account). My holds I've experienced in past (not Disney) have been with my debit card and took forever to fall off and did affect available balance. I never paid much attention to credit card holds, so can't attest.

But don't say it's nothing new for Disney resorts, it is new. Thus the new policy and entire thread about it.

The hold for our hotel this past weekend 100% affected the available credit on our credit card, FWIW. It was not a debit card.