credit card preauthorization hold

[Hlitner]

Interesting posts from Donald, which has increased my own knowledge about the procedures used by some mass market lines.  But, I want to take the thread back to the original topic of preauthorization holds.  What does this mean to the cruiser?

 

A preauthorization hold, which often shows up on your account as "pending" does not impact the amount you must pay on your account.  What it does do is count against your "credit limit" which is the authorized maximum balance + pends you can carry on your account.  For folks that have a high credit limit on their card, a preauthorization hold is a big nothing.  It is also not generally an issue if you use a card like AMEX that does not have a specific limit (although AMEX does have limits in their system that, if exceeded, will trigger a review). 

 

For folks with a lower credit limit, these pre-authorization holds can be a big problem.  If the hold takes you over the card limit, it is very possible that any other charges will be denied until the pending (hold) amount is removed or satisfied.  

 

So, the question is what are folks to do, who only have cards with low limits?  Before your cruise, call your credit card company (there is a toll-free number on the card), explain the situation, and request that your limit be increased.  The credit card companies want your business, and their normal tendency is to grant you a higher credit limit, although that increase might be temporary.  The credit card companies are usually very helpful (it is to their own benefit) but you need to ask, rather than wait until you have a real problem.

 

For cruisers (especially younger cruisers) who are frustrated by low credit limits, keep in mind that it is using that credit card (and paying it off) that will get your limit increased on a permanent basis.  Instead of dealing with cash, on a cruise, you might want to put aside that cash, use your card, and later use the cash to quickly pay the entire credit card balance.  This is how you gradually improve your limits, and also increase your overall credit score.  Lack of use (of your card) will not increase your limits or credit rating and may, actually, lower your credit score.  Most folks with the highest credit ratings do regularly use credit cards, but almost always pay the entire balance when it is due.  

 

Hank

[clo]

On 6/27/2024 at 7:10 AM, Hlitner said:

Most folks with the highest credit ratings do regularly use credit cards, but almost always pay the entire balance when it is due. 

We put absolutely everything we can on one card (lots of travel points) and pay off each month. Those cards have HIGH interest rates you lose the benefit if you can't pay it off. I choke when I see the "minimum payment."

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, clo said:

We put absolutely everything we can on one card (lots of travel points) and pay off each month. Those cards have HIGH interest rates you lose the benefit if you can't pay it off. I choke when I see the "minimum payment."

Yes, get the bill, check slips against the charges, and then go online and schedule a payment for the amount due on the bill for the last payment date.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, get the bill, check slips against the charges, and then go online and schedule a payment for the amount due on the bill for the last payment date.

You actually get a bill? Like a piece of paper? Ours is totally done online. When we get the online bill we look at it for sure but the payment is automatic unless there's a problem that we didn't know about. Easy to do know matter where in the world we are.

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, clo said:

We put absolutely everything we can on one card (lots of travel points) and pay off each month. Those cards have HIGH interest rates you lose the benefit if you can't pay it off. I choke when I see the "minimum payment."

We have 3 chase cards.  Every so often we combine the points into the oldest account.  Why? Loss and theft.  We can follow my safety routine - one for my wallet, one for his and one for the home utilities and such.  The fourth card (not chase) is used only for the cruise line hold but never actually used to pay the bill.

Edited Friday at 10:49 PM by Mary229

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, clo said:

You actually get a bill? Like a piece of paper? Ours is totally done online. When we get the online bill we look at it for sure but the payment is automatic unless there's a problem that we didn't know about. Easy to do know matter where in the world we are.

Yes, old fashioned, still like the feel of paper. They do try to suggest doing it your way. Since I schedule the payment, I have a window of a few weeks to do it.

 

I actually found on my last bill a grocery store had made a small charge when they should have given me a credit. I found that by realizing that I had not received an e-mail saying I was getting a credit as I normally would. I checked online and saw the charge. I called the cc company and they took care of the small charge when I said it did not happen. I had to go to the store to get the credit (which was small, and they gave me cash instead,)

Edited Saturday at 11:17 AM by ontheweb
added second paragraph

[sanger727]

On 6/27/2024 at 8:20 AM, Donald said:

This is the winning answer.

I agree completely that pax who fail to give a legitimate means of payment should not be allowed to make charge purchases.

But the mass market cruise lines see it differently.

 

 

How often would somebody not have a working cc on day 1 but would have one on day 6?  There's no reason to extend charging privileges to someone without a payment method.  If they can't even pay gratuities, why allow them to have free drinks and spa treatments for a week?