mahasamatman

Did you even read the OP? This was the day before, not months before.

Not until they convert it.

If your credit can't handle a preauthorization, you should probably reconsider using a credit card.

M.dA.R.

MSPeconomist

EdofFX

I tend to agree with Kacee's view. Unfortunately, some people do call the pre-authorization as a deposit. It is really not a deposit, until you don't show up and they have to convert it into an actual charge.

Many hotels (not all) do a pre-authorization of an amount equal to the first night's charge, usually a day or a few days before the expected arrival. This pre-authorization differs from an actual charge in many ways. Firstly, the foreign amount is not converted into USD (yet), you don't earn any reward points from that "pending charge". If you carry balances on your credit card, they don't start accruing interest on a pending charge. At least with AMEX, I was told that you cannot dispute it until it is actually "posted".

If you show up at the hotel with a different credit card, you can charge the whole bill to a different card when you check out. The pre-authorization will stay on as "pending" for a few more days, then it will disappear. And if you do settle the final bill with an amount larger than the pre-authorization amount with the same credit card, they won't bill you only the difference. The hotel will make a separate charge for the whole amount, and the pre-authorization will again disappear in due course. At least, those were my experiences.

I think the real issue is OP's bank locking a card even though he already gave them a travel notice that he will travel there. That bank sounds dumb, unless the name of the hotel is such that they have no idea that is a hotel. With AMEX, most they would do is to send me a text asking me to contact them if I don't recognize the charge. (I know, they use the term "charge" even though it is not)

That is another reason to travel with more than a card from more than one financial institution.

joakgarp

Some people like a bank?
https://www.cimbbank.com.my/en/personal/press-releases/promotions/important-notices/notice-on-cimb-credit-cards-pre-authorisation.html
More info on pre-authorisation at a Hotel

1. What is pre-authorisation at a hotel?

When you check-in to a hotel, the staff at the front desk may request a deposit to cover any incidental charges during your stay. If you choose to use a credit card for this purpose, the hotel cashier will perform a transaction using your card called a pre-authorisation. When your issuing bank approves the pre-authorisation, this has the effect of reserving the amount of the deposit requested by the hotel on your card.

Collierkr

kaizen7

When I book prepaid rates, some hotel charge (actually charge, not preauthorisation) a day after my reservation made, some hotel wait until few days/week, and some just charge few days before my arrival.

On those flex member rate however, some hotel do preauthorise when cancellation period expired, and some only charge when I personally checked in

Quite easy to distinguish between those 2 type of transaction on my card (not sure other bank)
Normal charge, I will get apps notification for the amount and then on banks app, the charge will show as pending charge and will become normal charge after 1 or 2 days.
Preauthorisation, it will shown as pending charges for days to come until the bank decide to charge the amount and then I will get the notification as usual and the amount become no longer pending.

Since the hotel usually hold those preauth charges only for couple of days, (flex booking cancellation limit usually close to the check in date) I never have any issue with credit limit.

Room deposit preauthorisation, same as room charge preauthorisation .... shown as pending charges .. but then after I checked out from the property, it will be disappear after 1-2 days
So far, I never have any issue with those pending charges.

If I somehow will do long stays and worry that the pending charges might maxed out my main card, usually I will use my back up card for room deposit and so far no hotel refuse that.

EdofFX

Yes, some people would include some banks some where in this world. Notice that the situation you quoted is when you are already at the hotel front desk. OP was talking about a pre-authorization a day before arrival. In any event, they both served as security deposit that if you don't pay, your credit card company will, up to the amount of pre-authorization. If you want to call that a deposit, you are welcomed to. I am not a banking lawyer, I just want to share my experience about the practicality of that pre-authorization. For most people, it has no meaning unless you don't show.

The hotel that receives the pre-authorization has nothing that can be deposited into their bank account yet.

stant

in practical terms it doesn matter, not from the customer's perspective if his plans change (as they certainly may with a flexible rate) and needs to access his own money and or line of credit.

TerryK

Flexible rates still has cancellation deadlines, usually 24 hours prior. OP's issue started at 18:00 the day before check in when most flexible rates can no longer be cancelled.

Hipplewm

At the time of no more cancellation without fees it is very typical for the Hotel to make a pre auth.

If you show up, it goes away as you are there and they process your bill normally

If you fail to show, they will charge your card roughly around 3-4 am the next day as a no show

If you show up at 7am cause ~reasons~ it generally causes the hotel much pain (I still don't know why they can't figure it out but Cest La Vie)

M.dA.R.

stant

i once booked at a ski resort for a few days and arraigned with the property for lift tickets and equipment rental in advance. Their policy was to charge something like 2-3 times the amount due at checkin as the preauthorization amount, a sum that was far higher than the cost of my actual stay because of the life tickets and equipment rental for my son and I. At the time I only had 1 debit card on me, thinking I'd have no problems because I had plenty in the account, but the amount of the pre-authorization was literally about $100 less than the daily limit on the card. And that preauthorization was counted against my daily limit on each and every day until it dropped off. So here I am, 2000 miles from home, at a resort town, and only able to spend 80 bux a day because of that charge. And the properties business office was closed for the long weekend so there was no one to do anything about the problem for a few days. Lucky for me the front desk was able to not only front me some cash but bill some activities around town to my room for me.

CPRich

If I wanted to enter a poker game and had to show everyone I had $500 in my pocket, did I just deposit $500? No. I verified that I had $500 available so I could pay what I owe, up to $500.

If someone does a pre-auth but then for some reason things change and the money is never actually charged, the money never is in the position of the property.

When I make a deposit, they own the deposit money.

controller1

However, what you have described is a pitfall of using a Debit Card instead of a Credit Card. Banks have more limits on Debit Card use.