New Credit Card Authorization Holds

[bluezy]

I completely agree! In the "real world" I would not be at the same resort, charging hundreds to thousands over a week long stay including multiple meals a day and merchandise. Disney is unique since everything is within the "bubble" and pretty much allows charging.

I wonder if Disney will "officially" announce this change, or let guests know upon arrival or when filling out online check-i.

I know plenty of people who have cards with small credit limits whether they are new to credit or opt to lower credit limits. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens!

The Disney Food Blog is reporting that Disney Destinations has said that guests will learn of the policy when they do online check-in. Those guests who have already done online check-in for upcoming trips will receive a letter this month. I'm guessing everyone else will find out when they arrive at the front desk.

 

[lcc2]

Gift cards are used in several ways by folks traveling in WDW. A lot of people will buy them as part of their vacation savings plan, others get them as gifts, and still others use them so they do not need to carry as much cash or use their credit or debit card on vacation.

Some people buy gift cards specifically for dining and will load their cards in lieu of a dining plan, with this money allocated towards their meals, much like a prepaid all inclusive trip.

GIft cards fill a need that many people have in terms of vacation spending and can be a safe method of traveling with "cash" sort of like people who used to buy travelers checks.

I think that while this may seem like a good way for Disney to stop folks from skipping out on bolls they cannot pay, I also wonde what impact it will have on discretionary impulse spending that they worked so hard to increase via the ease of Magic Bands. WHile that ease did not work on me, I bet you a buck that the Magic Band impulses charging is behind the need to now place holds on guest credit cards.

I saved up enough money on a gift card specifically for dining with the hopes of paying off magic band charges with it. I had planned on stopping by the front desk maybe 2 or 3 times total (including check out). With this new policy, I’d have to stop everyday. I guess I’m just going to tote around a few gift cards with different amounts. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the full amount on one gift card.

I understand why companies do the holds. I just personally don’t want to worry about credit card charges during my Disney stay. I don’t know, it seems like too much math (for me) has to be done to keep up with charges and hold amounts. Mistakes can happen. The gift card thing felt stress free.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Seems fair to me. Just an additional hundred on what I’m spending. No big deal.

Exactly. Me either. The only concern is they implement it correctly. We simply have to wait to see & advise those going soon to keep a close eye on their accounts if they don’t have large cc limits/bank balances (if on debit card).

 

[yellowfish78]

"Payment is processed on balance due after the guest checks out."
To me, this means you can still front load cash and gift cards. You'll still have the pending charges on file, but you can pay it off.

This question (about cash and GC's) was asked on the agent page - it just hasn't been answered yet.

 

[Farro]

People are really taking this announcement to the nth degree here and generating scenarios that are just inaccurate, not going to happen. Typical around here though. As is finding someone post that every possible bad thing has happened to them. Sorry folks, I don't believe half of what folks post. Because 1 person simply can't have that much bad luck. Not at one location. People exaggerate things, especially online.
Disney isn't doing this to screw guests out of money. They aren't going to charge you and not refund you. Heck, an authorization isn't a charge for gosh sakes. It won't cause you to have extra interest. Preauthorizations are just that. When the final charge goes through, that's what "counts". The rest doesn't. It's basically a ghost. It's what almost 100% of other hotels do. And as bad as Disney's computer IT is, this is not going to be an issue that some are making it out to be.
Heck, maybe wait to see exactly what is going on before you go off the handle. It wouldn't be the first time bloggers, Dis included, post something and don't have all the facts and in doing so, cause folks to get riled up over nothing. Impossible for some posters to use the wait and see facts for yourself, I guess.


You can and you can still do it at the resort just like you always have.

Don't tell people their information they are sharing is inaccurate when people are just discussing what may or may not happen. No one is saying that they won't be refunded their holds, just that the holds may take over a week to fall off. That is not inaccurate.

I for one certainly didn't need you to educate me on what a hold is, but thanks. We also don't need to be told if we are "riled up", "impossible for us to wait and see" and I'm pretty sure no one is worried if you believe them or not.

And further the preauthorizations still count towards someone's available balance, so just because they are a "ghost", if someone has a large sum in holds, that is money they can't touch until those holds fall off. As stated numerous times, if you are prepared for it, it's not a big deal. If you aren't prepared for it, it can be a big deal.

And it's being discussed because it's a big change from how things used to be at Disney.

Again, I can't think of another location where people charge the amount to their hotel room that they do at Disney.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I think the way I'm going to handle this will be to just charge my dining, I'm travelling solo so it won't cost much, and all purchases will be made by cash or credit card at the time of purchase. I have to get out and show my AP and ID anyways for the discounts so what is 1 more card. The only thing I'm wondering about is my room only reservation, I plan on paying the balance with cash when I get there, will that still be allowed or will they put the authorization through anyways.

 

[dansdad]

The only thing I'm wondering about is my room only reservation, I plan on paying the balance with cash when I get there, will that still be allowed or will they put the authorization through anyways.

If you do Online Check In, which requires a CC on file, the CC on file will be charged some time after 6AM on Check In Day. If you don't do Online Check In and don't have a CC on file, then you will be able to pay cash when you arrive.

 

[KNovacovschi]

If you do Online Check In, which requires a CC on file, the CC on file will be charged some time after 6AM on Check In Day. If you don't do Online Check In and don't have a CC on file, then you will be able to pay cash when you arrive.

Ok thank you. I'm used to doing packages and having to pay off the balance 30 days before.

 

[Nancyg56]

Imagine, if you will, you own a business and give people the opportunity to charge things all week and when time to pay, they don’t have it. Hmmmm

I know. I do think that this issue is an unintended consequence that encouraging guests to use their MB's as a means of purchases. I do not tend to make purchases I cannot pay for, and seldom go over my discretionary spending budget while vacationing in WDW, however it would be very easy to lose track and overspend your account. I think this may be more problematic for those who use debit cards and who may have auto transfers that they might have forgotten would take place.

People are really taking this announcement to the nth degree here and generating scenarios that are just inaccurate, not going to happen. Typical around here though. As is finding someone post that every possible bad thing has happened to them. Sorry folks, I don't believe half of what folks post. Because 1 person simply can't have that much bad luck. Not at one location. People exaggerate things, especially online.
Disney isn't doing this to screw guests out of money. They aren't going to charge you and not refund you. Heck, an authorization isn't a charge for gosh sakes. It won't cause you to have extra interest. Preauthorizations are just that. When the final charge goes through, that's what "counts". The rest doesn't. It's basically a ghost. It's what almost 100% of other hotels do. And as bad as Disney's computer IT is, this is not going to be an issue that some are making it out to be.
Heck, maybe wait to see exactly what is going on before you go off the handle. It wouldn't be the first time bloggers, Dis included, post something and don't have all the facts and in doing so, cause folks to get riled up over nothing. Impossible for some posters to use the wait and see facts for yourself, I guess.


You can and you can still do it at the resort just like you always have.

It may be a ghost, however it is a problem if that ghost does not leave the house as quickly as you wish it would. I think that one thing some of us forget is that we are all at different stages in life and our accounts are just not all on the same page. It really is not fair to determine that when folks are looking at how this may be implemented they also should refrain from skepticism that everything will just be a smooth transaction.

Years ago I was making a final payment on my account and it was on the final day. I wanted to place a portion on one card and a portion on another. You cannot do this online on the final day, however I did not know this. YIKES! The transaction was made in full. OH NO!!!!! I called Disney. Too late. I called my card company and they said it had to be released by Disney, that I could not tell them is was a mistake. The rep made notes because the transaction took me over my limit, and I have never ever in my life gone over. It took a long time to fix it, and I finally needed t get guest services involved. Now at this point in my life, while this action was no harm no foul, and the anxiety was my own, I can only imagine if this mistake occurred years ago when I had no cushion to speak of, and if I had used a debit card that was basically shut off for me until the issue was corrected.

Now I know that I am not a fan of problems, so I am going to avoid the who thing by paying as I go, and no more charging back to the room so I make one payment several times in the course of the trip.

 

[Captain Kittens]

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 would love to know the numbers but I am sure it definitely happens from time to time. Enough times, I'm guessing, for them to implement a policy like this.

 

[maxiesmom]

Because some buy them over the course of a year, or more. Add $50 each time you go to the Grocery store for example. $50 a week saved towards your trip vs. paying it all out at once. Simply a manner of budgeting/saving, that's it.

And Meijer (my grocery store of choice) runs a deal where for every $50 you buy in gift cards you get $5 off of your next shopping trip.

So I will continue to take advantage of that, and just use the gift cards to pay off as I go, instead of charging back to the room and then applying the gift cards. Not as easy for me as flapping my wrist down, but no biggie. Given that my last 2 stays have been at the Swan and Dolphin I'm kind of used to not charging with my magicband anyway.

 

[angelmav]

I would love to know the numbers but I am sure it definitely happens from time to time. Enough times, I'm guessing, for them to implement a policy like this.

I really don't think people have a problem with them actually putting through the charges as they accumulate. A smarter approach would have been a daily limit that was processed at the close of business each day. Then they could shut off charging if a situation arose.

It is the multitude of potential holds that is creating the worry. They can take awhile to go away.

I had referenced a $1500 hold mistake a hotel made. I caught it at checkout, and asked what the heck the deal was, were people stealing copper wire from the walls in the room? I showed the desk manager my 'pending charge' because it was done on a debit card, and he didn't at first believe me. That was money that was not available to me. They refunded the room charge, which came back about 24 hours later, but after 5 days, I still couldn't touch that $1500, and was getting worried. I had to contact my bank, and get that hotel manager on a three way conversation before they would release it. The two I had overseas I was able to fix much quicker, one my bank simply returned them as a courtesy because they were the exact same amounts. The second one in Germany though, took much longer, and that also involved getting the manager on duty to email my bank. In both those cases, I had charged meals back to the room, and that created multiple holds, which included the full balance each time.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

I would love to know the numbers but I am sure it definitely happens from time to time. Enough times, I'm guessing, for them to implement a policy like this.

I work at a financial institution and let me tell you, it happens waaaay more often than you think.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

Wait. I have a legitimate question that I am confused about. People keep commenting that they will just pay with their gift cards and not use their magic bands for charging. When I have GCs or Rewards points I always go down the first day and have those loaded to my account. Nothing touches my credit card until those funds are used. How would this policy change anything about this? They should not have to run an authorization until the credit is used.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

Wait. I have a legitimate question that I am confused about. People keep commenting that they will just pay with their gift cards and not use their magic bands for charging. When I have GCs or Rewards points I always go down the first day and have those loaded to my account. Nothing touches my credit card until those funds are used. How would this policy change anything about this? They should not have to run an authorization until the credit is used.

I have never had them let me apply a credit to my account when I have asked. We had to go down and pay after we charged something to the room. We always use our gift cards and rewards also to pay our room charges.

 

[PolyRob]

I have never had them let me apply a credit to my account when I have asked. We had to go down and pay after we charged something to the room. We always use our gift cards and rewards also to pay our room charges.

Same! I have never been able to apply an entire gift card to my guest folio and just have it debit as I tap my band. I guess YMMV

 

[tex1989]

I am really confused because I thought if you had a package deal that you had to have it paid off 30 days before your trip so when you showed up any hold would only be for what you would put on your card. I thought the holds were 500/1000/1500 based on the resort you were at. But even given that i have not ever seen holds on my card. I have never had an issue with that and any phantom holds. Since that time we got AP's and do room only reservations and pay one night to hold the reservation when it is made. Then the day we show up I know my card will get hit with the balance. No problem, I want those charges cause it is a reward card with a high limit. Then I purchase things however I want to, MB, cash, CC and don't worry about it. I check my CC online during the week and have never seen a hold. My account shows pending charges and in all my trips I have never seen a pending hold from Disney. What am I missing? This has never been an issue and never happened to me.

 

[angelmav]

I am really confused because I thought if you had a package deal that you had to have it paid off 30 days before your trip so when you showed up any hold would only be for what you would put on your card. I thought the holds were 500/1000/1500 based on the resort you were at. But even given that i have not ever seen holds on my card. I have never had an issue with that and any phantom holds. Since that time we got AP's and do room only reservations and pay one night to hold the reservation when it is made. Then the day we show up I know my card will get hit with the balance. No problem, I want those charges cause it is a reward card with a high limit. Then I purchase things however I want to, MB, cash, CC and don't worry about it. I check my CC online during the week and have never seen a hold. My account shows pending charges and in all my trips I have never seen a pending hold from Disney. What am I missing? This has never been an issue and never happened to me.

That's what the change is. That was never a hold, that was your charging limit (before it was raised) based on the hotel level you were staying at. WDW was basically giving you a line of credit up to that amount to be settled on checkout with the rest of your bill. Unless you hit the amount, at which time they charged it and started the process over. They never did a separate hold though. Plus, the level of the hold, every $100 then it resets is what has people worried that they will get numerous holds in a trip. If you sneeze you just spent $100 at WDW. This is new, which is why it is all speculation.

 

[KELLY]

Really a non issue for us. I usually use my Disney visa which has a insane credit limit. I get why there doing this and always thought it was odd they didn't do holds. We will use our GC before we start using our MB we normally do this anyway. I hate having to go down to the lobby and have them rum my GC's anyway.

 

[kiford]

Did you actually see the holds or did you just assume?

Or maybe it's because you are Canadian.

I believe yes, your card is different in Canada and this is why you had to enter a Pin, for them to even complete the charge later. US based cards do not have to use the Pin

I can't recall about previous visits. I may have just assumed that there was a hold placed on the card as this is very much standard at every hotel I've ever stayed at, at least in Canada (I know that I've been specifically told that they are putting a $50-$250 hold on my card - depending on the hotel and length of stay - for incidentals and that it would be released after I check out). I was pretty sure that they said last month at the BC that they were putting a hold on the card but I'm now doubting that and perhaps I just interpreted it to mean a hold because: (a) I'm used to that; and (b) they asked for DH's card and had him enter the PIN # on the device. Maybe (b) was just because they need the PIN to actually do the charge and it wasn't a hold. Every hold I've ever placed on my credit card has been released within a day and we had no issues about credit limit so felt no need to check either the hold or the release. They did, however, charge us for the balance first, that I know.