OnceARunner

To answer the original question, yes I believe they are reasonable.

JackE

Another way to look at the hold is it's a reduction of credit line.

CloudCoder

Thanks for the replies. It seems most people feel that the hold is not an issue.

I've had a "hold" put on my card by Hyatt, practically every week of the year, for several years. During all of that time, my total charges for "incidentals" are: zero. You'd think there would be a "no incidentals" option in the profile or something. Even if it requires 300 nights of "hold for no reason" in order to qualify for the new option, I still qualify.

Since we aren't getting welcome amenities back, and we aren't getting great promotions back, and we aren't getting the Closed Club bonus back, and since we aren't getting Award Nights Are Good For One Year back ... and since Hyatt isn't listening to us ... well, the next time someone at Hyatt wants to know my opinion, I'm gonna tell them that we need a "no Credit Card Hold" option for the top tier.

antonius66

Sigh...some people are unbelievable. Whatever. Sure, I stayed there on my degenerate free nights if that makes you feel better. Truth is, I actually paid full cash for my 2nd week long stay at that property, but that is not the point. Charging 50 euro PER night (that is why it is several hundred as I said) is absurd. That covers the cost of damages? Suuuure it does. I get it, everyone here is some first world high roller who thinks you should just accept whatever they block or charge because it justifies you being in that hotel...otherwise you don't belong!

I think if someone pays the room rate they are quoted, that entitles them to be in that hotel...1 star or 5. I wish I knew a what point Flyertalk became such a haven for elitist entitled *******s. I find it pitiful how many people need to feel like the size of their bank account or what you spend on a hotel makes you better than someone else. I have news for you...you know what paying 700 a night to stay at the PH Vienna makes you? It isn't cool, or special or better than anyone...it makes you stupid, regardless of what you have in the bank. That is just wasteful and silly. Even the richest people save money.

Telling someone your room is 2000 for 5 days and then blocking another 15% of the bill is not right to me. People have different circumstances...some only use their bank cards, some keep higher amounts on their cards, some don't travel with a bunch of cards...all of which could be adversely affected by an unnecessary "hold" that, despite what some apologists here say, often stays on your card for a good while until after your trip ends.

The point here is that there is no real legitimate reason for it. It is NOT for security or to cover the room like someone absurdly said, and you can charge my incidentals at checkout. If I am going to scam you and not pay, blocking 50 euro a day is not going to stop me from charging $3000 in booze and room service and spa services. No logic to the argument.

If you want to charge me the moment I make an incidental charge and if it does not go through, then stop me from any other charges...THAT makes sense. If you are worried I will skip out, charge my card for the room charge at check in. Certainly a few hundred bucks does not protect you if I skip out on a multi thousand dollar room. And again...it IS the principal. The hold does not impact me in the slightest as I never ever keep a balance on any card, but it still seems anachronistic and unnecessary to me.

CloudCoder

I started this thread because one hotel recently did NOT put a credit hold on my card. It was the first time I've ever stayed in a Hyatt property without a credit card hold. I wish more hotels did business that way.

Does anyone know of any other Hyatts which do not take a credit card hold?

BTW, it's pretty laughable to claim that if someone questions a charge, it automatically means that they're destitute.

I pay every cent of all bills that I owe ... and not one penny of bills that I do NOT owe. I have never owed Hyatt for "incidentals". I resent them automatically and immediately taking the money (without asking), then giving it back several days after checkout.

It's exactly the same as this scenario: I automatically charge Hyat a $5000 deposit whenever I check in, just in case they have a crappy mattress which gives me a backache and sends me to the doctor. I'll return the deposit, a few days after checkout, if indeed their bed is okay. If Hyatt is willing to do that, then I'm willing to put up with their bogus charges for non-existing "incidentals". What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

xray

Holds were annoying especially when I had limited credit limits as a student. However, they are a necessity of doing business. I don't find the amounts unreasonable. Credit cards are for convenience. It's much better than having to cart cash around.

What I find even more annoying is prepaid deposits for hotels. They have my credit card number. They can charge me if I no-show etc. No need to take my actual money in advance.

MarkOK

A. Yes, Flyer Talk has a lot of elitist people on it. I am not a diamond/Globalists, likely never will, and the bellyaching about the 'benefits' these people lost in the transition is just self-righteous baloney to me (at my lower levels of spending, I am getting better awarded with WoH). I am not a high roller or have a big bank account, but a reduction in credit limit due to a hold is really just not an issue as the -only- thing a hold does is reduce your expendable credit. If you are traveling without a sizeable enough credit limit to where a Hyatt hold is putting you in trouble, then you aren't traveling with a high enough credit limit and that is generally rectifiable by simply asking for a higher credit limit (or traveling with an extra card with credit to spend). I can think of 1 case where this particular problem is realistic (I am a professor, and if I am traveling with students, they may not a good credit limit and may have to float a hotel bill while traveling on university business until they get their reimbursement -- I always will float this for them to make it happen). But really, for any regular traveler of any income level, I think a hold of even a couple grand shouldn't be an issue. I will accept the possibility that I am out of touch with lower income issues, but my gut here is that you are placing undue pride or value in the size of your credit limit.

B. If you run 3K in expenses and skip out, the hotel will try to charge your card for the 3K. The hold guarantees to them that first the card works, and second, the card has at least XX amount to charge.

seat38a

Would you rather sit at the front desk and wait as someone went into your room and verified that you didn't consume anything in the minibar checked that you didn't steal anything like the bathrobes? Or even better how about a luggage search before leaving. Maybe even better, run a Credit Check on you before they let you in the room? If you don't have a Credit Card, Hertz will run one on you before letting you walk away with their cars.

Kacee

It absolutely is. The initial hold is to cover the room and some small amount of incidentals. As soon as the guest starts charging anything substantial to the room, most properties will take a further authorization to cover what's been charged. So they are now covered for the full amount of what is owed. And if that second authorization bounces, they know they have a problem before the guest has left.

sfozrhfco

It is also highly dependent on the hotel itself. At a Hyatt Place or whatever there is not much anybody is going to buy and if somebody skips town and the credit card declines from the water they charged to the room, it is no big deal. If a group in a cabana by the pool at a nice hotel racks up $1,000s of dollars in drink/food charges in a matter of hours, the hotel needs to have some guarantee that the person has the credit available to pay the bill at check out.

I have seen many instances at nicer hotels when a person is checking in and the credit card declines. It was definitely a bigger problem during the financial crisis when people's credit limits were slashed--often without much notice. Better to know that the person has limited credit or an issue with the card ahead of time and get it sorted out before the person starts running up a big bill and then leaves the country/state/city.

seawolf

Been travelling for work for 20+ years and in some years every week for months at a time. I've never viewed this as a problem.

Apply for a charge card with no preset spending limit. Problem solved.

SCEflyer

+ 1

OP states that he/she has recorded 3.5 million miles on AA. Surely he/she knows how the systems for CC holds work. There must be something related to this concern that has not been disclosed.

Obviously, the most practical solution is for the OP to request a higher limit from his/her cc issuer, so there would be no need to be concerned about this purported problem in the future..

For the record I have been a WOH Globalist or GP Diamond since at least '09, and this problem of the OP has never been a concern for me.

CloudCoder

As has been stated repeatedly, it's not about money or credit limit. Instead, it's the principal.

Why don't the airlines use credit holds, just in case you bring too many checked bags, or you want to change your ticket, or you order bunch of booze on the flight?

Hyatt's credit holds were never a concern for me either, until this past Wednesday night. That's the one and only time that I've ever stayed at a Hyatt property which does NOT do credit holds. It was an extremely nice feeling: nice enough to make me wonder if other Hyatt properties should follow suit.

SethLevy

^^^ Fully agree - Any frequent traveller is used to hotel credit card holds, hotels have been doing them for ages. The post focuses on Hyatt and suggest that other hotels do not take holds. I have never stayed at a hotel in the last 30 years that has not taken some type of holds.
2 pages of posts about why hotels secure holds, which seems obvious to most people.

The only people who would care about a hold are those with money issues or low credit limits. I don't have a solution for those with little money - except maybe leave a cash deposit, but for others, request a credit card increase or get another card. High credit card limits are not hard to get these days.

pWei

More than reasonable. Wake me up if the hold is more than a couple grand. Besides, one can use one card at check-in, and another at check-out to actually pay for charges.