All princess cruisers beware of credit card holds

[quincytoo]

I believe it is common for hotels, car rentals and cruiselines to put a hold on your CC to ensure payment. Ours has always fallen off in less then a week's time.

[mek]

Not a problem with Amex since there isn't a credit limit.

[LARGIN]

 

A friend who husband is a foot doctor got called into the Accountant's Office for a bad credit card (AMEX Platinum). They embarrassed him when he told them they were refused usage. So they used his phone to call AMEX & the person asked to talk to the accountant.

Guess he was blasted for refused credit to them. It turned out that they use a company in Miami to check all credit cards for the peope on the ship. Somehow a millionairre has bad credit? So AMEX told him to get a new company.

 

So their suite got top shelf everything for the 2 week cruise. And a free 2 weeks cruise to use. SO they stayed on the ship for another 2 weeks. Then when they get home they hear about a FLA company nailed for ID theft & it was the company Princess used. We told her it happened to use 7 years ago. They took very good care of us after AMEX got the call.

 

So even cruise lines make mistakes but they did good on this one.

 

Can someone explain please and what has this to do with a credit card hold or foreign fee? :rolleyes::confused:

[skyking]

Just an FYI to all:

 

We boarded the Emerald last week with a 800.00 OBC, we still gave them a credit card at check in as normal. Even with the OBC still there they still put a daily hold of $60.00 per person, per day on our card. We didnt come close to using all the OBC, but the hold was still placed, even thought the funds were coming from the OBC.

[pinksand]

can someone explain please and what has this to do with a credit card hold or foreign fee? :rolleyes::confused:

 

nope! :d

[angelsbaby1]

Just an FYI to all:

 

We boarded the Emerald last week with a 800.00 OBC, we still gave them a credit card at check in as normal. Even with the OBC still there they still put a daily hold of $60.00 per person, per day on our card. We didnt come close to using all the OBC, but the hold was still placed, even thought the funds were coming from the OBC.

 

This is was what I was wondering...if there is still a cc hold if there was already an OBC. I can see that the answer is "yes"! :eek:

 

I don't mind the "hold" if you don't have an OBC to cover any per day purchases/expenses, but I thought that was the reason you give cash/traveler's checks...so they don't need to put a hold on a cc. As I said in a previous post, on Carnival last year, there were no cc charges/holds until we had exceeded the OBC that was on our account (the total charge was only about $34.00)! I even won a little bit at the casino and went to the purser's desk the next day to add an additional $200 of the winnings to my onboard account!

 

Anyway, thanks for the info!

 

Angel :)

[billie5]

As has been pointed out, not all credit cards have foreign transaction fees, It is true that the majority of credit cards do have foreign transaction fees, which vary -- not necessarily 3%. However, there also is an assortment of credit cards which have no such fees, not just Capital One.

 

I used to charge foreign purchases with Capital One, but now have a better choice, not just for foreign usage, but for all my purchases: Schwab. It pays 2% back on all purchases, foreign and domestic, and has no foreign transaction fees as well. While it is true that you will need to open a brokerage account to receive the cash-back, you can do that with no money, using the account only to capture the cash-back. These days I can even pay my real estate taxes, insurance premiums, etc., with my credit card, and that 2% quickly becomes real money!

 

Bill

[pablo222]

Just an FYI to all:

 

We boarded the Emerald last week with a 800.00 OBC, we still gave them a credit card at check in as normal. Even with the OBC still there they still put a daily hold of $60.00 per person, per day on our card. We didnt come close to using all the OBC, but the hold was still placed, even thought the funds were coming from the OBC.

 

My attitude is -- if I have to sweat a $420 hold on my credit-card

-- which will drop off after a few days -- I shouldn't be spending money

on a cruise vacation, I should be at home working on my credit.

 

I like to live within my means. My credit card limits are crazy-high,

it would be fine if the card companies dropped them by $20,000 or so.

[Toto2Kansas]

Can someone explain please and what has this to do with a credit card hold or foreign fee? :rolleyes::confused:

 

Yep :confused:

[drefinnej15]

hmmmm good to know! Thanks for letting us know! :)

[UKBayern]

I believe it is common for hotels, car rentals and cruiselines to put a hold on your CC to ensure payment. Ours has always fallen off in less then a week's time.

 

Yes, it is normal. The hold should be of within a week. Bit inconvenient if it is a debit card (Visa Electron) however.

 

I am wondering though, non-US citizens do not have the kind of limits on their credit cards US citizens have. With a credit card authorisation, a cruise line can max out somebody's card in one go. It is very normal in continental Europe to only have a 1500 or 2000 Euro credit limit on your card. The reason is that banks here only give out credit limits on the basis of average monthly income. It is not unsual for customers in poorer countries to have a max of 300 or 500 Euro credit limit, even though they are quite well off themselves compared to their fellow countrymen. So yes, then a $420 hold on the card can be a real burden.

And Pablo, only in the US you "can work on your credit limit", it does not work like that in Europe. A credit card means something negative here to the banks, making sure you get less mortgage or car loans.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Haven't read all the post before mine, but I don't think "screaming" at the Princess rep is the way to handle anything.

 

We've never noticed a hold on our credit card, but maybe that's because a $1200 hold on our card wouldn't bother us since we never carry a balance on it and have a really high limit. I've never heard anyone else complain of this either.

[-Lew-]

 

Not a problem with Amex since there isn't a credit limit.

No longer true of all American Express cards.

 

Lew

[pablo222]

And Pablo, only in the US you "can work on your credit limit", it does not work like that in Europe. A credit card means something negative here to the banks, making sure you get less mortgage or car loans.

 

Actually, I said something like "be at home working on my credit",

not my "credit limit". ...by which I meant getting a second job

and paying my bills, rather than taking a cruise vacation that I can't

afford.

 

The only problem I have with my credit limit is that it is silly-high.

[maryhill1]

We have been on 4 cruises with Princess and have never had money put on hold on our credit card.

PS - if you are from Maryhill we are a few miles along the road in Bearsden. Have a great holiday - only 25 weeks to our next cruise and we cannot wait!!

 

hi jimpod..

 

I work in the maryhill area & my other half lives there!

I still just along the road - I live in Knightswood/Blairdardie just up from Westerton Station.

 

We dont go until jan 2011 and it seems so far away- can't wait! Although shouldn't complain to much as we are just back from a cruise in Jan & off to seville next week then Hong Kong in Nov - i sure we will really enjoy the trips but they're just not the same as a cruise.

I hope you have brillaint time-- have you been to the Carib. before--- is so what ship?? What ship are you on this time ?

 

Elaine :D

 

It just seems so far away until the next one-- but

[maryhill1]

Hi Cantwaitfornextcruise

 

Thats great -- thanks for the advice!

DM is giving me cash for my birthday next week so I might ask her to put it to this instead ( happily she has a CC to do this with )

 

Thanks Elaine

[robgvic]

Pablo

You can always have that credit limit reduced

[Northender]

I have never seen a hold on our CC yet. But after this cruise, the CC bill should be within a week or so. Maybe it was just good timing on our part.;)

[maryhill1]

Hi

 

Princess will talk to you even if the booking is through a TA,

 

you need to ask clear questions about Princess policy etc and not

 

about your booking,

 

eg ask what happens if.....

 

do not ask I have on my boooking

 

 

ask to credit card holks must be a US thing, never heard of it on a UK booking

yours Shogun

 

Hi Shogun.

 

Literally got a response from Princess in the last few mins.

They have said that it was perfectly acceptable to just pay cash when boarding.:D

 

They state that if you use cash you would be required to "put down" a minimum of $300 per person. instead of registering a CC which is fine for us. :cool:

 

I will probably put $1000 into the OBC when boarding to add to our current balance of $450 and collect what ever is left when disembarking!

Perfect!;)

Thanks for the help!

 

Elaine

[billet]

what is a "hold"???

 

never heard of it but live in canada

 

is this a merican thing??

 

how would i know if it happened to me???

 

why would i care???

 

just curious

 

I have not noticed a hold in a long time but when I was travelling on business weekly the hotels and car companies used to put a hold on the card to ensure funds were available when they presented the bill. Sometimes the holds took a while to clear and it meant that occasionally on the next trip the credit card could not be used since there was no credit balance left. You would care when the card is refused and you have to track down the hold and get it released. I think this is a universal thing not merican.

[ckr31]

no one has the right of holding your money without your permission,anyway you look at it that's wrong.I have cards with no limit ,and i dont want them holding money.

[bhopal21]

I think it is the credit card issuer's money that they have advanced on your behalf.:confused:

 

Mike:)

[j!m]

thnx billet

 

maybe i have had a "hold" and didnt know it

 

have rarely if ever approached the credit limit on our cards

 

but i understand the concerns now

[mcnuss]

You can protest all you want, but this is SOP for most travel-related industries. Many times the "hold" will never even show up on your statement, on-line or otherwise. Some CC companies show them, some do not, but rest asssured, it is happening. No offense, but what did you think happened when they swiped your card when you registered? If you don't want the hold, you have to put down cash.

[Moorish Idol]

Hi Shogun.

 

Literally got a response from Princess in the last few mins.

They have said that it was perfectly acceptable to just pay cash when boarding.:D

 

They state that if you use cash you would be required to "put down" a minimum of $300 per person. instead of registering a CC which is fine for us. :cool:

 

I will probably put $1000 into the OBC when boarding to add to our current balance of $450 and collect what ever is left when disembarking!

Perfect!;)

Thanks for the help!

 

Elaine

 

That's what I started doing on Carnival on my teen's account, deposit cash adequate to cover reasonable spa, internet to boyfriend, daily gratuity and some fun purchasing without risking buying my own ship:)

 

To complete the cruise personalizer, I had to enter a cc for her, which I plan to change to cash deposit at check-in.

 

The question is, w/ Princess, can I also keep her separate from my account, which I always leave covered w/ Amex. ?