Please allow me to clarify.
From my Online Banking:
https://docs.google.com/uc?export=do...JhOGY1NTVkZDcz
(unfortunately it requires rotation and I can't rotate it.)
I understand that hotel will put an authorization hold against my funds. I understand it's often for more than the cost of the room and tax.
Bank of America doesn't charge holds against my Available Balance. Bank of America's online banking says (
https://onlineeast1.bankofamerica.co...tionPopUp.html)
Authorized transactions are Debit Card purchases made without entering a PIN at specific types of businesses. The amount of the transaction is not deducted from your Available Balance until the final purchase amount is received from the merchant, because the initial amount of the transaction is often higher than the final transaction.
Certain businesses will submit higher authorization amounts as a normal course of business. These businesses are often travel related (such as airlines, hotels, car rentals) as well as some catalog businesses.
And you can see the two authorization holds that were on my account still and notice how they are under "Amounts not included in available balance". And yes, I can still spend the money that was authorized by the hold. So, it stays in my account until the transaction is settled.
And when I say they never put authorization holds, I don't mean regular transactions where the amount is final, I mean for most travel "holds" where they intend to settle later. They do remove the money from my available balance immediately for common everyday purchases. When I go to restaurants and businesses set up to accept tips, the initial amount goes through normally and is removed from my available balance but still says "Amount may change. Waiting for final amount from merchant.
If you trace farther down/sideways on that document to where my balance goes negative, you will see the two cleared /charges/ from the Marriott. What should have been a hold for room and incidentals was put through as an actual charge. Thus, there was $260 for the room and $75 dollars for incidentals removed from my account. The charges appeared as authorized amounts and I was expecting one to drop off and the other to clear for the actual amount spent as it normally does. But they didn't, they posted for the full amounts.
Since the screenshot yesterday, they've refunded the $75, reversed one night of the room (as I had used an EEO certificate in the first place which I had to re-present at checkout). BUT, another $5.38 debit has been removed from my account from that same hotel, one hold has dropped off, and there is yet another authorization still pending (the big $200+ one).