Pre-authorization Amount On Credit Card

[serendipity1499]

Most of the other Cruise Lines we've been on have put a Daily "Pre-Authorization (Hold) Amount" on our Credit Card for the duration of the trip..HAL places a $60.00 per day, per person pre-authorization amount when we board...

 

When we Phone or Fax our Itinerary to the Credit Card Company, we usually advise them that, in addition to our Purchases, the Cruise Line will put a Pre-Authorization Amount of $XXXX on our account..

 

Realize this is only a hold until the final bill is paid..

 

I've done a search on this board & can't find an answer to this..:confused:

 

Does any one know what the daily, Pre-Authorized amount is on Oceania per person?

 

Thanks..:) Betty

[LHT28]

I've done a search on this board & can't find an answer to this..:confused:

 

Does any one know what the daily, Pre-Authorized amount is on Oceania per person?

 

Thanks..:) Betty

 

I never noticed a hold on my card we did a B2B and did not see any charges to my card till the last day .

 

Maybe it was there but not visible on my CC account.

I usually pay it off before we cruise so my limit was not affected maybe.

[WindrunnerII]

In all my cruises on O, I've never seen them put a daily pre-authorization on my CC. In fact, there have been several times where I did not register my card until several (3-5 days) into the cruise due to boarding very late on embarkation day.

 

It's probably a factor of the clientele they attract, but they seem to be very laid back (in a good way) when it comes to financial matters.

[Jancruz]

oceania does not authorize a per day amount..

Jan

*****

[serendipity1499]

Thank you all for your replies..Have a good day..:) Betty

[babysteps]

Hello all.

 

Just got off the phone with O, as of today O does put a hold of $500 per card on credit (or charge or debit etc) cards registered for onboard purchases (the Oceania World Card account).

 

You need only register one card per cabin.

 

Apologies for posting on an old thread, but it seemed like the most germaine place from my search results :)

[Rprbp24]

Interesting....I had this same question and I called O as well as my travel agent last week. I was advised a $100 Pre-authorization is the current requirement. That is not per day,or per person, but total.

 

However, now that I see $500 I will call again to clarify. I understand O's average clientel is not concerned , however, we only use one debit card and have no credit cards, so it would be nice to know this ahead of time, so that we can plan accordingly! Stay tuned!:)

[babysteps]

I was on hold for a while...rep was quite nice, even came back mid-hold to make apologize for the wait. Even so, the initial response was 'we don't charge your card' but when I persisted (hold, not charge...) eventually I got the $500 answer.

 

That's a flat $500, not per-day.

 

There is a note in the blue book that you can secure the Oceania World Card account with travelers checks or cash, but that this requires a cash deposit...which makes sense.

 

One time we had a car rental desk person swear that the hold was "just a penny" - it was actually the amount of our expected rental *plus* $500.

 

Somehow it seems that debit holds often take longer to clear - in our experience most hotels put the charge through before the hold is cleared, about half don't clear the hold for a few days after departure. Then they try to blame the bank for any delay. Usually the first call gets a "the hold clear is submitted automatically" answer but after checking with our bank that hasn't always happened...

 

Recently an accommodating hotel clerk put our single night stay room charges through when we checked in (no hold submitted) - she explained that there are a few details that her colleagues didn't always get perfect with debit holds...

[RetiredFL]

On our last Oceania cruise we had weird holds on our credit card so I asked.

I was told the hold was the balance on your shipboard account plus $1.00. When we had a credit on our shipboard account there was no hold.

So that is another version. Maybe someone will get the official version or maybe it varies by ship and their personnel.

[ORV]

On our cruise in May they didn't ask us for a card until 3 or 4 days into the cruise.

[LHT28]

How do you know there are holds on your CC?

 

I have never had a problem so never questioned it

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

If you will post the question again, I will send it to "the boss"we will definitely get the correct answer from him..sometimes res gives out incorrect information as there are things they dont know about what happens on the ship! They do there best..

Jancruz1

[RetiredFL]

How do you know there are holds on your CC?

 

I have never had a problem so never questioned it

 

Lyn

We go on line and check our credit card transactions every day. We have been compromised before so we like to make sure there are no suspicious charges. It only takes a minute, even on Oceania's computers but we usually do it at a port internet cafe.

[babysteps]

If you will post the question again, I will send it to "the boss"we will definitely get the correct answer from him..sometimes res gives out incorrect information as there are things they dont know about what happens on the ship! They do there best..

Jancruz1

Thanks!!

 

New thread here

[LHT28]

We go on line and check our credit card transactions every day. We have been compromised before so we like to make sure there are no suspicious charges. It only takes a minute, even on Oceania's computers but we usually do it at a port internet cafe.

Thanks

I very seldom use a CC in port & using a internet cafe would seem to be less secure than the ship

 

I do check my CC online once a week at home as we did get a breach but it was locally where someone got our card info

 

Good idea to check when away though

 

Lyn

[Hawaiidan]

For one thing you are getting ripped off paying to use your money , loosing interest or dividends that you could be earning with the same money.

 

. Second you earn no points, benifits or miles for your expences... and waste the leverage you could thus potentialy use in the future.. Let your money work for you... not the bank.

 

Third you are limited to the cash you have in your account and may need to do costly transfers across non-secure lines.

 

Fourth, it improves your credit score.

 

I set up a simple system, of one credit card just for entertainment/travel that is not tied to my regular domestic use credit card. We have a a bank and brokerage account that supports the travel card and an auto-pay 100% each month. Because of our credit we have a mid 5 figures of available credit every month

 

This is similiar to what you do with your debit card . The big exception is that the funds to pay are in high yield yet liquid accounts. Debit cards draw on, non interest accounts, or minimal.

 

We commonly get a 30 to 60 day "float" from the date of charge to the date of actual payment. For example a charge on August 2 will not be billed to us untill October 1 And with the miles we accrue we can fly first and business class anywhere at any time or up grade at no charge

 

Think about it... make the money work harder, not you