Using Room Key for Purchases

[BarbaraK]

Hi:
We're thinking about using our room key as a charge card for the first time. This brings to mind several question one being do the room cards have a spending limit? Do you have to pay for your expendures when you check out or will the resort bill you when we get home? If we do pay when we check out will a credit card be acceptable?
If you have used your room key as a charge card did you have any problems?
Any information you can give me, pro or con, will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Barbara

 

[milmore104]

You have to leave a credit card imprint at check in. Depending on your resort level you will have a limit (value-$500, Mod-$1000, Deluxe-$1500). However if you reach your limit they will just charge it to your card and start over. If you wish to pay for your room charges by check or cash you must do so the night before. Automatically they will charge your room charges to your cc the morning of check out.
We live by this every trip. No need to carry lots of money w/ you. We have had some small problems w/ it but nothing you don't have w/ a regular cc. sometime it didn't read the strip right and they'd have to swipe it again. Nothing else big.

 

[Mariposa]

Has anyone had issues with using a check card for this?

 

[tar heel]

You have to leave a credit or debit card authorization (or cash or Travelers Checks) at checkin to use your room card for charges.

Limit -- yes. Amount depends on the level of your resort. When you reach the limit, they will charge your credit card and start you over at 0, but your room key MIGHT get declined around that time -- hasn't happened to me but has happened to other DISers. The only time we've stayed at a value ($500 limit), I went to the desk and asked for the card to be charged and the limit restarted when I knew we were getting close.

Your credit card will be charged when you reach your authorized limit. If you don't reach it before checkout, it will be charged in the wee hours of the day you check out if you have express checkout. A bill listing every thing will be on your door. If you made any charges late your last evening, they may not be on this bill but will show up within a day or two of checkout.

I've had charges wrong twice, but both times they were mistakes made by the resort having to do with adding a day to my reservation while we were there.

We like the convenience of using the room charge and also the fact that we don't get charged for a few days -- can get you into the next billing cycle sometimes. As you probably know, the room charges for your entire stay and any tickets purchased will be charged at check-in.

 

[Westcoast Gus]

I found it to be quite convenient. I'd use it at the parks during the day, then pay it off with cash at the resort each night so I didn't have to carry cash in the parks. I used a check card, Mariposa, and it was no problem.

 

[QuickGold]

I used it for the first time on my trip this past February because I cancelled buying tix from Disney, so had a surplus on my account and it is quite useful.

 

[Demon Llama]

Can you use your room key for snacks too? Or just for purchasing at like, gift shops?

 

[brooke1]

I love using my room key, but there have been just a few places that did not take the card, like by RnR it was just a little stand that just sold drinks....but i would say 98% take the room key.

Thanks
Brooke

 

[sbelyo]

My last two trips I've relied entirely on the room key and never had a problem. The amounts listed above for each resort class are correct. They may block some money when the CC or Debit Card is presented at check-in so it may be subtracted from your available balance.

 

[BarbaraK]

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm going to use my room key for purchases this trip.

Barbara

 

[Katems]

Isn't it just the same as using your credit card? You need your credit card in order to obtain charging priviledges, so you have to bring it on your trip ANYway, so why not just use your credit card for everything? Is there something I'm missing about the room key charge that makes it so great? Thanks!

 

[Disney_1derland]

Isn't it just the same as using your credit card? You need your credit card in order to obtain charging priviledges, so you have to bring it on your trip ANYway, so why not just use your credit card for everything? Is there something I'm missing about the room key charge that makes it so great? Thanks!

What I like is that I can leave the c/c in my room safe with other valuables and not worry about losing it or misplacing it. It really is handy.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Isn't it just the same as using your credit card? You need your credit card in order to obtain charging priviledges, so you have to bring it on your trip ANYway, so why not just use your credit card for everything? Is there something I'm missing about the room key charge that makes it so great? Thanks!

Like the previous poster said - it's a heckuva lot more difficult if you drop your CREDIT CARD in the park than if you drop your Key to the World.

If you drop your key to the world, you go to your resort front desk, they cancel the old one, and issue a new one. Takes about 5 minutes.

If you lose that credit card, you'll need backup, and about a week's worth of time to get a new card in the mail.

Not to mention, you can verify your room bill to make sure everything has gone through properly before they charge your card. I like having ONE charge on the actual CC statement, but that's just my own personal preference.

Also, I'm not certain that all of the carts around the parks that will take a room key will take a card. But I'm not sure about that. I'm just guessing.

 

[BottledRed]

Can you have a lower limit card put on your room account? I was going to have a lower limit card put on because I've budgeted $400 for our 4 day stay. We're staying at a Mod - CSR.

 

[BrerMama]

Here's what we did: Checked in, gave them our debit card. They put a $1 hold on it to verify it is a valid card (we were worried about having a large hold on our card, but this was what they did). Then every 2-3 days, my dh would go over and have our charges printed up, then he'd pay it off with traveller's checks. We just felt this was the best solution for our family. We could have put our vacation budget into our checking account and just let the charges from the room key go to the debit card, but I prefer to keep vacation money separate.

 

[rifamtrav]

I'm thinking about using the room key for charging this time around because we have the dining plan and I've read of several problems with extra charges/over charges that were corrected at resort front desks - I'm thinking that if its all on the room key charge, they will be able to see the itemization easier if there is a problem. Anyone have that type of experience? Am I right, was it relatively simple to fix problems when its itemized on the room charge?

 

[adisneylife4me]

We used our key (actually our pass, because we stayed at FW) for most of our purchases. What I liked is that we put cash down (up to $1500) instead of using our credit cards. We also used the safe deposit box at the campground to keep extra cash. The money that was left on our account (yes there was a little ) was given back to us as cash when we checked out. We loved this option because we didn't need to carry cash, and we didn't charge away on our credit cards. It really kept us within our budget!

 

[SnackyStacky]

Yes, you absolutely can request a lower limit. If they don't ask you, ask them!

 

[brandip22]

I've been debating how we will handle this. We have credit cards, but are trying not to charge on them. I plan to take one, just in case. I think I will go the route of having traveler's cheques. I'll leave them my cc, but pay off our charges every few days, too. I think that will help me stay within our budget, too. Great to read what you all did- thanks!

 

[ladyv]

Does anyone know if you can see your charges on your TV? Or do you have to ask the front desk if you'd like an updated copy each day? I've stayed in hotels where 1 channel on the TV shows your room charges - convienent for reconcilling your reciepts at the end of the day.