New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[AngiTN]

We check out tomorrow and had no problems. We used our Disney Visa and charged everything to the room. I paid it off with gift cards every night or two.

Did you happen to have the dinning plan, or no?
I'm wondering how much of a difference this is making, in regards to the holds specifically since someone charging all meals to their room is likely to have a bigger $ value ran than someone just charging tips and incidentals

 

[AngiTN]

It’s true that holds are an industry-wide occurrence, the odd difference is the way Disney is adding the additional hold charges.

I’ve stayed in all kinds of hotels. I’ve had holds from $25 to a few hundred dollars. Most hotels don’t have charge to your room privileges outside of room service and parking (save things like casinos and other large resorts). So basically it’s just the once and done hold. That is completely normal, and something I’ve experienced when traveling all of my adult life.

The way that Disney is compounding $100 hold charges when you go over the $100 threshold on a given day (but not necessarily cumulative) is what is making it difficult to some.

We go in August, we have plenty of available credit so I’m not concerned with the holds personally, but I understand the concern.

I think other hotels would likely do it the same way Disney does IF anyone staying there ever charged things back to their room in the same way they do when at Disney. That just rarely happens at any other hotel stay. I know it doesn't anywhere else we vacation. So sure, the hotel will run a card for some figure over the room charge, just in case of damage or room service or something but it's rare that you'll also have meals for an entire day and merch purchases charged back too. But if you stayed at Holiday Inn and had another $500 charged back to that room I do think they'd probably do something to process that to be sure your card was still good. It's just very unlikely to ever happen that way "in the real world".

I'll sound like a broken record but if Disney would simply up that $100 to even $250 they'd cut the amount of holds down significantly. I'd prefer they upped it to $500

 

[lanejudy]

Yeah I think those without issues are on the minority unfortunately

Nah, I don’t necessarily believe that. People don’t typically post about non-events. They come online to post about problems. Maybe by specifically asking for good reports some will do so. If I wasn’t familiar with this topic and had a trip with no issues, I would never think to come post that all went well for me.

I agree a lot of people have encountered difficulties, but I don’t think we can accurately determine if that is a majority or not.

I’m curious if those who have experienced an issue such as fraud alerts due to the holds - if they would also have fouls similar problems with multiple charges at a vacation destination? Charge dinner. Charge souvenir. Charge snack. Another souvenir. Character breakfast. Etc. If my card is flagged for those holds, I expect it would be flagged for due to the multiple charges as well.

 

[AngiTN]

Follow Facebook and I think you may see it differently
I'll rephrase then,
Those without the dining plan and problems are in the minority.
I do think that those with the dining plan charge so much less to their room they may well encounter a lot less problems.

 

[lanejudy]

Fair point - i’m not on FB so I don’t know what is posted there. And you are so right that spending habits have impact as well as which bank/card people use. That combination varies widely.

I still suspect people who've had fraud issues due to holds might find the same if the credit card is used at each point-of-sale.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We check out tomorrow and had no problems. We used our Disney Visa and charged everything to the room. I paid it off with gift cards every night or two.

How long was your stay? I'm trying to find a report from someone who paid with gift cards and had a stay more than 5 days, as I'm wondering how it went paying off prior to the 5th day where they charge the card
.

Fair point - i’m not on FB so I don’t know what is posted there. And you are so right that spending habits have impact as well as which bank/card people use. That combination varies widely.

I still suspect people who've had fraud issues due to holds might find the same if the credit card is used at each point-of-sale.

Some might, yes, but multiple charges at different POS is less likely to trigger a fraud alert than multiple holds (but not charges) at the same POS. The bank sees the latter as someone could be testing the card before committing the fraud.

I had a fraud alert last month when we went to get new phones and switch carriers, and the sale didn't go through until I called the bank. The CSR from the bank explained to me that the fraud alert was the result of multiple holds on my card from the process. If it was actually charges, it wouldn't have set off the alert. (Two phones, so a hold for each phone, and a hold for the service plan).

 

[gwynne]

Fair point - i’m not on FB so I don’t know what is posted there. And you are so right that spending habits have impact as well as which bank/card people use. That combination varies widely.

I still suspect people who've had fraud issues due to holds might find the same if the credit card is used at each point-of-sale.

Also not a FBer, but here's my 2 cents...
The problem is the frequent $100.00 "holds". When that specific even amount repeats over and over, it can certainly start to look like someone is testing the card for fraud.

If I have a CC charge of say, $88.54 from a Disney restaurant, that looks much more like a valid charge.

 

[gwynne]

I think other hotels would likely do it the same way Disney does IF anyone staying there ever charged things back to their room in the same way they do when at Disney. That just rarely happens at any other hotel stay. I know it doesn't anywhere else we vacation. So sure, the hotel will run a card for some figure over the room charge, just in case of damage or room service or something but it's rare that you'll also have meals for an entire day and merch purchases charged back too. But if you stayed at Holiday Inn and had another $500 charged back to that room I do think they'd probably do something to process that to be sure your card was still good. It's just very unlikely to ever happen that way "in the real world".

I'll sound like a broken record but if Disney would simply up that $100 to even $250 they'd cut the amount of holds down significantly. I'd prefer they upped it to $500

100% this. I also would prefer they upped the holds to $500.00. That would go a long way to fixing the problem with potential fraud alerts.

 

[Patches Lee]

Fair point - i’m not on FB so I don’t know what is posted there. And you are so right that spending habits have impact as well as which bank/card people use. That combination varies widely.

I still suspect people who've had fraud issues due to holds might find the same if the credit card is used at each point-of-sale.

I can specifically say my credit union issued credit card (not debit) will flag fraud at 5 uses a day no matter the amount, they also have no ability to put a travel notice on the account to keep things from being flagged from out of state (it's been flagged for fraud when I crossed state line 50 miles away, but 200 miles in state: no fraud alert?). That's just part of that specific credit unions writing. Discover CC on the other hand takes 3-4 business days to clear holds that are later cancelled, but writing says they have up to 10 business days. Think the only solution really is to contact the individual issuers and find out their policies.

 

[lanejudy]

The problem is the frequent $100.00 "holds". When that specific even amount repeats over and over, it can certainly start to look like someone is testing the card for fraud.

Other than the initial $100 hold, I don't believe it is specific even amounts. Reports have been that subsequent holds are the equivalent of the larger charges -- for example breakfast was $134.86, that's the amount of the next hold. Dinner came to $278.43, that's the next hold.

Some might, yes, but multiple charges at different POS is less likely to trigger a fraud alert than multiple holds (but not charges) at the same POS. The bank sees the latter as someone could be testing the card before committing the fraud.

I agree that multiple holds from one vendor look like fraud. But I disagree that multiple charges from various vendors in the same tourist area known for credit card fraud would not be considered suspicious either. Heck, I've had my card frozen right here in town when I used a different gas station than usual. I think it really can vary by financial institution, though.

 

[Tess]

While this doesn't deal with the "holds" per se, for those paying with gift cards, you may be interested. When we returned home and viewed our folio, we found that BC was charging our credit card each time we hit the $500 mark. This limit used to be $1500 (I believe) at deluxe resorts. Now, that may have been lowered at some point (and I wasn't paying attention because it was not a concern) when the "hold" policy was instituted, but we were surprised that the limit was so low before charging to the card. It was not big deal to us, but if you were paying with gift cards, you may want to keep an eye on that limit.

BTW, just to stay on topic, we had absolutely no problem with the "holds". No fraud alerts or other issues.

 

[Shellbells]

We got back last week. We stayed the first night at pop and the 100 was placed on hold. We then moved to POP and the first hold was released and the 2nd was placed. The next night we moved to music for 4 nights. The 2nd hold was released and the 3rd was placed. We made a lot of small purchases with the magic band and when we went over the 100 another hold was placed.
We used a major bank debit (not a credit union) and we had no problems or flags from the bank.
As far as I can tell, it all went the way it was supposed to.

 

[bluezy]

It’s true that holds are an industry-wide occurrence, the odd difference is the way Disney is adding the additional hold charges.

I’ve stayed in all kinds of hotels. I’ve had holds from $25 to a few hundred dollars. Most hotels don’t have charge to your room privileges outside of room service and parking (save things like casinos and other large resorts). So basically it’s just the once and done hold. That is completely normal, and something I’ve experienced when traveling all of my adult life.

The way that Disney is compounding $100 hold charges when you go over the $100 threshold on a given day (but not necessarily cumulative) is what is making it difficult to some.

We go in August, we have plenty of available credit so I’m not concerned with the holds personally, but I understand the concern.

I agree -- it's so rare to charge things back to the room at non-Disney hotels that it's hard to know if the fraud alerts/frozen cards would happen at other hotels. Disney is a unique beast in that it's "normal" for people to charge everything to the room and accumulate hundreds if not thousands of dollars in room charges. I've never even really paid attention to or noticed the holds at other hotels when we've traveled, but once Disney started doing this and people were having issues, I started paying attention. And I specifically paid close attention on our trip last week just out of curiosity and to be able to make some comparisons. I wish I would have had the opportunity to charge something to the room that exceeded the dollar amount hold that the hotel had put on my card just to see how it was handled. But I didn't need $55 worth of chips and soda from the convenience center at the front desk.

I think other hotels would likely do it the same way Disney does IF anyone staying there ever charged things back to their room in the same way they do when at Disney. That just rarely happens at any other hotel stay. I know it doesn't anywhere else we vacation. So sure, the hotel will run a card for some figure over the room charge, just in case of damage or room service or something but it's rare that you'll also have meals for an entire day and merch purchases charged back too. But if you stayed at Holiday Inn and had another $500 charged back to that room I do think they'd probably do something to process that to be sure your card was still good. It's just very unlikely to ever happen that way "in the real world".

I'll sound like a broken record but if Disney would simply up that $100 to even $250 they'd cut the amount of holds down significantly. I'd prefer they upped it to $500

100% this. I also would prefer they upped the holds to $500.00. That would go a long way to fixing the problem with potential fraud alerts.

I completely agree. Or at least allow guests to request a higher amount if they choose to. We don't get the dining plan and we travel with 4 or 5 teen/adult children. It's normal for us to exceed $300/day in room charges at Disney. I'd prefer they put a $2500 hold (or at least $1,000) on my card right off the bat. I really have no desire to buy $1500 in gift cards and go to the front desk to pay down my balance every night to avoid a fraud alert on my credit card. I shouldn't have to work that hard to spend money at Disney.

While this doesn't deal with the "holds" per se, for those paying with gift cards, you may be interested. When we returned home and viewed our folio, we found that BC was charging our credit card each time we hit the $500 mark. This limit used to be $1500 (I believe) at deluxe resorts. Now, that may have been lowered at some point (and I wasn't paying attention because it was not a concern) when the "hold" policy was instituted, but we were surprised that the limit was so low before charging to the card. It was not big deal to us, but if you were paying with gift cards, you may want to keep an eye on that limit.

BTW, just to stay on topic, we had absolutely no problem with the "holds". No fraud alerts or other issues.

I'm glad you didn't have any problems. This gives me hope (again, not that things won't change 10 times between now and when we go to Disney again). Do you mind sharing what type of card you used? I've heard/read a few other people indicating that their cards were charged at $500 since this policy went in to place. Prior to this hold policy going in to affect, I think the limit at the Deluxe resorts was actually $2,000. I know it was $1500 at AoA the last 2 times we were there.

 

[Tess]

I'm glad you didn't have any problems. This gives me hope (again, not that things won't change 10 times between now and when we go to Disney again). Do you mind sharing what type of card you used? I've heard/read a few other people indicating that their cards were charged at $500 since this policy went in to place. Prior to this hold policy going in to affect, I think the limit at the Deluxe resorts was actually $2,000. I know it was $1500 at AoA the last 2 times we were there.

Don't mind at all--DVISA.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I'm sitting in the airport in Orlando, waiting for our flight home. We stayed at Pop Century for 9 nights with no dining plan and 7 people. We charged everything to the room and I paid with gift cards every day or two. The charges were set to run through to the credit card on Thursday night after midnight (so early morning on Friday) after we had checked in on Sunday. We never had more than $1000 in accumulated charges to the room. We were using a Disney Visa (Chase) and had no problems. I had notified them of our travel plans.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I'm sitting in the airport in Orlando, waiting for our flight home. We stayed at Pop Century for 9 nights with no dining plan and 7 people. We charged everything to the room and I paid with gift cards every day or two. The charges were set to run through to the credit card on Thursday night after midnight (so early morning on Friday) after we had checked in on Sunday. We never had more than $1000 in accumulated charges to the room. We were using a Disney Visa (Chase) and had no problems. I had notified them of our travel plans.

This is great info, as we're checking in on a Sunday also.

Great news for me that they are running the card after midnight on Thursday (i.e. at the end of the 5th day) as Wed is we'll be at MK for emh until 2 am! (July 3rd) and July 4th (Thurs) is a sleep in day and easy to get to guest services.

Oh, and we're staying for 9 nights also!

Did they charge your card on Monday after midnight also (early Tuesday)?

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

Just back and had ZERO issues with Credit Card holds.

It was only authorized at check in for the 100 and promptly closed out at charged amount.

This was using a BoA Debit Card.

 

[cvo]

Disney Visa, 10 days at SSR and GF end of March into April. No dining plan, we spent between 250-350 daily. I looked at my Chase app periodically and noticed all kinds of holds appearing and clearing. Not one declined transaction though.

 

[Iowamomof4]

This is great info, as we're checking in on a Sunday also.

Great news for me that they are running the card after midnight on Thursday (i.e. at the end of the 5th day) as Wed is we'll be at MK for emh until 2 am! (July 3rd) and July 4th (Thurs) is a sleep in day and easy to get to guest services.

Oh, and we're staying for 9 nights also!

Did they charge your card on Monday after midnight also (early Tuesday)?

I didn't have any charges on the account at that time (got everything paid for before midnight) so I don't know how they would have handled it.

 

[Farro]

Just back and had ZERO issues with Credit Card holds.

It was only authorized at check in for the 100 and promptly closed out at charged amount.

This was using a BoA Debit Card.

Did you use your Magic Band for charges and go over the initial $100? Or did you stay under $100 in charges, which is why you only saw one hold?