PRE-AUTHORISATION on credit card,

booshna

i have recentley booked reserved a hotel room using my credit card but pay the fee for the room on arrival.

i have had a e-mail also saying i would need a pre-authorisation of £250 on my credit card to cover any damage if their is any.

problem is i only have about £100 credit left on my credit card.

is their any way around this,

thank you

torikate

We've just got back from London and they did the same. It was a pre authorisation so it didn't actually take any money unless we damaged something. I'm not sure how this works on a credit card but on a debit card it was fine as it didn't actually take anything, it just meant i agreed for them to take it IF we did!Hope this helps.
Tori xXx

stephane_2

a pre-authorisation is a regular rule within the hotel industry, when a guest is planning to stay a few nights and may want to had food & beverage to his room bill it is a precaution for the hotel to ensure that the client has enough money to pay. If you were going to be spending more than £250 then they would ask for your card again. On departure you don't have to pay with that particular card but with any card.

CannyJock

No way around it I'm aware of.

If your card doesn't have £250 available for them to "reserve" then your card will be declined. Pre-authorisation reduces the available credit on the card - or pretty sure it always has with mine for hotels / hire cars etc.

Pay £150 off of the card and phone them/book the room in a few days time if they need the money now.

Normally they'd take a swipe of your card on arrival so you've got till then to pay the money.

EDIT: So you'll need the cost of the room + £250 available credit on your card on arrival.

bert&ernie

If the pre-auth is for more than your available credit then the issuer is likely to decline it.

All authorisations reduce the account's available credit i.e. the amount is reserved pending the actual transaction. When you pay with the card, this usually automatically releases the pre-authorisation. However, if you don't pay with the card, it may take a few days - perhaps up to a week - for the pre-auth to be purged from the issuers system. Put simply - the pre-auth amount remains reserved and you cant spend it.

The same principle applies to debit cards too. Difference is its usually your money that is being reserved, unless you're overdrawn of course.

IWantToBeFree_2

In my experience, they decline if it will take you over your limit, happened to me a few weeks back.