Actually it was a JW Marriott, as noted in the first sentence of the OP. It disturbed me too that a Marriott would be declined and now after rereading the original post it occurs to me that something else was probably happening here. The OP actually said that it was declined because of credit, so it was not suspected fraud or unknown (excuse at POS when it is because of fraud). With a $900 credit limit, and possibly other charges or holds already on the card, it is very conceivable that the hold the hotel automatically puts through for the stay exceeded the OP's available credit on the Visa card. The hotel may put through a standard $1000 inquiry to the CC which of course would be declined in the case of the OP.

FWIW, my card has never been declined unless fraudulent charges had already occurred on the card. Chase has been 100% right in every case my card was declined. If my card was used fraudulently, I wouldn't want them to do anything less. For those of you who don't like this proactive approach, then I would advise you get another CC provider. No Marriott or UA points for you. FWIW, all of the fraud occurred on my UA Chase Visa since my Marriott Visa is only used for Marriotts, air fare, car rental, and dining. All my other purchases including those on the internet are done on my UA Visa. Rampant fraud is the SOP because of the internet IMO; as this happened to me once last year and twice so far this year. I know with some CC company you can set up pseudo card numbers for purchases on the internet; a great idea IMO. I spoke with Chase about his, but it is not something they offer at the current time. It is so commonplace now that when my UA Visa is declined, I already know what happened and the call to them is just to confirm and arrange for overnight delivery of a new card.

Regarding those of us who tarvel frequently overseas. No I do not call them for overseas destinations I frequent often EU, NA, CA. However, I will be traveling to SWP and Asia in Nov and Dec for the first time, and I will call UA Visa for that. There is no need to call Marriott Visa for preciously mentioned reasons.