Annoyed with Holds...

[MrPete]

I'm so done with this issue.

 

Might have to visit Missouri this afternoon. :rolleyes:

[CanadianMommyof2]

I worked in a hotel for several years and you wouldn't believe the amount of people who are not aware of funds being held on their credit cards.

[madge57]

firefly 333 why are you always a grump?? Everytime someone post something YOU don't like you complain!! Again if you don't like what they have posted then DON'T READ IT!!!!! Geesh get a life!!!! Oh yeah again nobody reads my post like you said before!!!!!!!!:p

[vacruizer]

I currently work for a major financial company, where I deal with this on a daily basis.

 

Based on the service establishment ( Carnival in this case ) banks are required to hold the authorization amount for a specified number of days, unless the exact charge from that SE comes through on the account. (at which time it will drop when the charge posts)

 

Since Carnival does not know how much EXACTLY you will spend, they take auth's in round even numbers.... $100, $150, $500 etc.! So when your S&S total comes in at say $1251.45 and they have authorized a total of $1500, through various authorizations.. well when the $1251.45 posts it does not match the authorizations. Therefor the hold(s) stays in place until the legal amount of time passes and the BANK drops them.

 

Now, the SE can choose to contact the bank's merchant services and have the hold removed, however for Carnival to do that for 50,000+ passengers a week would be impossible. While these holds are on your account, your bank cannot charge interest or over the limit fees, report the hold amount to any CB, or charge any other fee associated with anything other than your actual posted balance.

 

In the future, no matter who you cruise with, use a cash deposit to avoid the holds as this is pretty much standard. Until then, don't worry, they will drop off!

 

Thanks for putting this into much better words than I could. :) It's no ones fault the hold isn't released - it's just a quirk of the way the charges happen. Neither Carnival nor the bank are sitting around individually releasing holds. It's just a matter of how long each bank's system is set to keep the hold when no matching charge comes through.

[VABeach]

So I got off the Valor on Sunday, Nov. 16. On Monday, Nov. 17 all my charges for my onboard account were charged to my credit card. But Carnival is STILL holding charges on my account. I called my credit card company to verify what the "pending charges" were that are on my account and it is indeed Carnival. I call Carnival, and the lady on the phone claims they don't place 'holds' for more than 24 hours. Clearly, the Carnival lady has no idea what she's talking about, as I haven't used my credit card since for even 1% of what's pending on my account AND I called my credit card company and they've also confirmed that it's Carnival who still has these holds on my card.

 

It doesn't really affect me, in that I have plenty of room on my card (I don't carry over balances and my credit limit is high enough where I have PLENTY of room), but if you're someone who maybe carries over balances or doesn't have a few thousand dollars in wiggle room on your credit card, having these holds on your account for over a week may impact you.

 

I know there was a thread about this last week, and some people were claiming there were no holds and it was okay to use debit cards and it's not a big deal, but I'd just like to give a heads up to anyone considering using a debit card. I'd be a lot more annoyed if this was a hold on an account I use to pay bills on and I couldn't access the money, at least this is a no balance credit card that really won't impact me.

 

If they've already charged my account for the complete total of my onboard expenses, I don't know why they haven't released the the 'holds' on my account.

 

 

I actually APPRECIATE the heads-up. Thank you.

 

My BF doesn't use/have credit cards and will be using his debit card for our upcoming cruise. We are heading down to Florida a few days early before the cruise to stay on a golf resort. We are doing shore excursions on almost every island. We will be getting off the ship and heading up to see his family for a week and catching a hockey game while we are up there. And we are also going out of town for the holiday next week. All total - 3 weeks. Money could be a little tight, so THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW!!

 

We are just regular people with regular jobs who didn't really put a lot of money aside for this. I guess you can say that we are enjoying our retirement money now.~~~ ;)

[zqvol]

Wow...I am glad I do not have an opportunity to have a real discussion with you.....is the last word that important ??? I'm so done with this issue. Happy Cruising !

 

Gosh, get called out for providing inaccurate information and then take your ball and go home.

 

I suspect that you need to start shopping for other credit card issuers because your limits are likely to be reduced unless your credit rating is over 900 and your debt to income ratio is less than 25%, including housing costs. Bansk cannot afford to go out on the limb for anyone in this economy, and like it or not all of us are just files in a computer that makes the decisions.

[VABeach]

unless your credit rating is over 900 and your debt to income ratio is less than 25%, including housing costs.

 

You must be talking about me!! Live cheap, cruise often.~ ;)

[MadManOfBethesda]

I suspect that you need to start shopping for other credit card issuers because your limits are likely to be reduced unless your credit rating is over 900 and your debt to income ratio is less than 25%, including housing costs.

 

The maximum FICO score is only 850.

[mr jailerman]

No, the last word isn't important... but the right one is ;):)

Thanks Lucy..:) It's nice to see that some people read before they write.. Have a great night..;)

[aspen36]

Hi Bert64,

 

I just wanted to say thank you for the info! I don't use a CC. I have one for emergency's only. A cruise is not an emergency. I try to pay cash for as much as I can, so I use my debit card for vacations. It would be very hard on me if they put a $1500.00 hold on my debit card. I think I will put a cash deposit down for the first on my January cruise. Thanks again for the info it was very helpful for me!:D

[Noire]

No, the last word isn't important... but the right one is ;):)

 

I love it! Hilarious!

[Noire]

Some people are so black and white. Sheesh. I was one of the people on the previous thread who stated that I use my debit card. I said that I was a frequent traveler who used my debit card for everything, including car rentals and hotels. I also said that I have never had a hold and I spoke with my bank about this and they told me why. Notice all of the I's in what I said? That's because it pertains to MY situation. I don't recall anyone in the thread saying that Carnival NEVER places a hold on anyones account. People were speaking about their specific experiences.

 

Secondly, if the hold didn't matter, you wouldn't be on the board complaining and being rude towards others.

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

LMAO, you really need to read someones posting history before you call them a Carnival cheerleader.

 

NO - all you need to do is look at their post count. People don't post 10,000 times because they don't like Carnival.

 

DJD

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Seriously, you go and read everyone's posting history? Wow, I wish I had that kind of time...

 

I find it kind of creepy when people come on and say "I have reviewed your posting history". :eek: Kind of like cyber-stalking.

 

DJD

[arby70]

I do believe the OP started this thread because he wanted to let people know that holds may be held on either a credit card OR debit card. I think he was just warning people about using debit cards or low fund credit cards. Most of the time a hold on a credit card is no big deal, but it could be a very big deal if a hold is on your debit card. I think some of the responses have blown things out of proportion here.:cool:

[pearose]

I used my debit card on my Destiny cruise in October. Having worked in the finance industry for many years, I did expect Carnival to place a hold on my bank account for purchases and was prepared for that. What I found odd was that rather than placing a hold for, say, $1000 to cover anticipated expenses, the ran every sail and sign transaction through individually, so that I had one for tips, a seperate one for the excursion I purchased, my first nights drink tab, and so on and so on. A review of my bank account upon returning home had all these seperate holds pending on my account as well as the final bill being processed. The holds cleared about three days later.

 

I understand that Carnival is supposed to place a hold on your account, whether it be debit or credit. (this is posted under FAQ on Carnival's website as follows):

 

Important Note: A hold will be placed on the credit card or checking account debit card at the beginning of the cruise as a deposit for an onboard purchases. This will reduce the amount of available credit on the credit card or restrict the availability of cash in the checking account. The hold will be released and actual charges will be billed at the end of the cruise.

The following dollar amounts, per guest, are used as a deposit when the Sail & Sign Account is opened:

2-4 day cruises: $100 deposit pp

5-8 day cruises: $200 deposit pp

9 + day cruises: $350 deposit pp

 

Was there an initial deposit charged to your account as stated above as well as the individual charges? Or just individual charges pending, then the actual charges going through and the hold dropping off 3 days later?

 

This sounds like a problem with Carnival and them being inconsistent in how they handle the charges. If they post it a certain way on their website, this is how they should handle it in EVERY occasion IMO. Because that is what people will be depending on and plan for.

 

I personally plan to use my debit card, but it is a totally separate account from my regular checking, so that the only funds that will be tied up (no matter how long it takes the hold to come off) will be my vacation money, which is not counted on for paying bills etc. I plan to have twice the amount on the card that I know I will spend, so I'm not really concerned about it.

 

My problem is Carnival handling it different, in any way, from what their website states.

[vacruizer]

I understand that Carnival is supposed to place a hold on your account, whether it be debit or credit. (this is posted under FAQ on Carnival's website as follows):

 

Important Note: A hold will be placed on the credit card or checking account debit card at the beginning of the cruise as a deposit for an onboard purchases. This will reduce the amount of available credit on the credit card or restrict the availability of cash in the checking account. The hold will be released and actual charges will be billed at the end of the cruise.

The following dollar amounts, per guest, are used as a deposit when the Sail & Sign Account is opened:

2-4 day cruises: $100 deposit pp

5-8 day cruises: $200 deposit pp

9 + day cruises: $350 deposit pp

 

Was there an initial deposit charged to your account as stated above as well as the individual charges? Or just individual charges pending, then the actual charges going through and the hold dropping off 3 days later?

 

This sounds like a problem with Carnival and them being inconsistent in how they handle the charges. If they post it a certain way on their website, this is how they should handle it in EVERY occasion IMO. Because that is what people will be depending on and plan for.

 

I personally plan to use my debit card, but it is a totally separate account from my regular checking, so that the only funds that will be tied up (no matter how long it takes the hold to come off) will be my vacation money, which is not counted on for paying bills etc. I plan to have twice the amount on the card that I know I will spend, so I'm not really concerned about it.

 

My problem is Carnival handling it different, in any way, from what their website states.

 

In my case I've been able to see just one big hold each time after we get home. I've always spent more than the hold amount onboard and the hold amount each time was equal to what we spent onboard. It appears that they up that hold once you go over the posted amounts with your onboard account.

 

If we spent $531 onboard for example, that charge would post a day or so after we got back. But there would be another hold for that exact amount that took about 5 business days to drop off in my case.

 

I think the date of the hold is not the same as the date of the actual posted charge and that's why it doesn't drop off the same day like most do.

[pearose]

In my case I've been able to see just one big hold each time after we get home. I've always spent more than the hold amount onboard and the hold amount each time was equal to what we spent onboard. It appears that they up that hold once you go over the posted amounts with your onboard account.

 

If we spent $531 onboard for example, that charge would post a day or so after we got back. But there would be another hold for that exact amount that took about 5 business days to drop off in my case.

 

I think the date of the hold is not the same as the date of the actual posted charge and that's why it doesn't drop off the same day like most do.

 

That makes sense, and if that is what they do, then that is basically what I've planned for. I will have more than twice what I plan to spend on board in the account, so I should be fine.

 

Thanks for the info!

[mcnabb3801]

We plan on using our cc for S&S..will they put an auth on our card for the deposit + auth for our S&S charges + our actual S&S charges?

 

 

Stacey

[smjanni]

I understand that Carnival is supposed to place a hold on your account, whether it be debit or credit. (this is posted under FAQ on Carnival's website as follows):

 

Important Note: A hold will be placed on the credit card or checking account debit card at the beginning of the cruise as a deposit for an onboard purchases. This will reduce the amount of available credit on the credit card or restrict the availability of cash in the checking account. The hold will be released and actual charges will be billed at the end of the cruise.

The following dollar amounts, per guest, are used as a deposit when the Sail & Sign Account is opened:

2-4 day cruises: $100 deposit pp

5-8 day cruises: $200 deposit pp

9 + day cruises: $350 deposit pp

 

Was there an initial deposit charged to your account as stated above as well as the individual charges? Or just individual charges pending, then the actual charges going through and the hold dropping off 3 days later?

 

This sounds like a problem with Carnival and them being inconsistent in how they handle the charges. If they post it a certain way on their website, this is how they should handle it in EVERY occasion IMO. Because that is what people will be depending on and plan for.

 

I personally plan to use my debit card, but it is a totally separate account from my regular checking, so that the only funds that will be tied up (no matter how long it takes the hold to come off) will be my vacation money, which is not counted on for paying bills etc. I plan to have twice the amount on the card that I know I will spend, so I'm not really concerned about it.

 

My problem is Carnival handling it different, in any way, from what their website states.

In my case, there was no initial hold placed on my debit account. I only saw all those small transactions being posted individually. However, it is perhaps possible that there was a hold placed on the first day of the cruise but by the time I reviewed my account that one may have dropped off.

[Crusin6]

This is why I used the Chase Credit Card for the s&s charges on our recent Med. cruise. Charged in dollars of course! And the Capital One card for the land expenses as Capital One doesn't charge a conversion fee for E to $.

 

I would NEVER travel without at least 2 credit cards (and never rely on a debit card) as the consumer must be aware and in control of their situations.

 

BTW,

DH and I use the same credit card accounts, just 2 cards on the same account, which is fine unless you need to close it out due to theft or loss and then neither card is useful. So the the cards we brought were in different account names and kept in different locations, just it case.

 

 

This is really no big deal and anyone that says they only use one card should really consider the safety and convenience of a secound Visa or MC.

[Mikew0805]

Well lets just say that that statement was a blank one and not totally true... many banks ARE possibly reducing the lines of credit, but many are NOT ! My banks have not touched mine at all....and if they do, they would lose a valuable customer for certain. I am not going to be penalized for paying my debts off every month to them and am probably one of their better risks !

 

Tell that to all of our 800+ FICO customers that have NEVER been late, never over their limit, and payoff each month... yet we are reducing their limits, raising their interest.. it's not pretty, but it is happening!

[firefly333]

Tell that to all of our 800+ FICO customers that have NEVER been late, never over their limit, and payoff each month... yet we are reducing their limits, raising their interest.. it's not pretty, but it is happening!

 

I called up my credit card company and asked for higher limits because I was going out of the country and needed to spend more than my limit. They had no problem doubling my credit limit. Simple one phone call. Didnt even need a supervisor's ok.

 

I also pay off each month, so raising my interest wouldnt affect me unless I happened to forget to pay. I got better things to worry about than the interest rate on a card I pay off every month.

[figs]

Just some notes about some of the comments in here:

 

1.) Carnival does not ALWAYS place "even amount holds" of $100, $500, etc, dollars on the account. All of my holds were individual, for each of the transactions on the S&S card.

 

2.) My bank's standard was to wait 5 business days to drop holds....if they have not been told by the business to drop them. From my experience in this situation, both my bank and Carnival told me it was basically Carnival's fault for not telling the bank to release the holds like they should. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but even the Carnival rep seemed to think so. The bank couldn't drop them until I got Carnival to fax over a release. So "call your bank, it's their fault" is not the solution in all cases.

 

3.) Before you criticize too much, sometimes people just don't know about this issue. I've had a check card for about a decade, give or take. I've used it for probably 85% of my purchases during these past ~10 years. I've never had a hold outlast the actual charges being put through, other than this one single experience with Carnival. I understand what you guys are saying, and in the future, I'll use my credit card, but be aware that some people (like me!) had never even HEARD of such a thing happening. *shrug* I'm used to holds on my account....until the real charge goes through. Just sayin'. :)

[jonesbk]

Wow, interesting reading. Wish I had found out all of the details regarding these holds before our first cruise back in July. My CC which is tied to my bank account was actually DENIED several times within a week after returning from our cruise due to pending holds.

 

Speaking from MY experience only, this is what happened:

 

I tied my CC to my S&S account, yes the CC that draws from my bank account. All throughout the cruise, every S&S charge placed a hold on my account for that exact amount, thus reducing my AVAILABLE cash in my account, not the ACTUAL cash. At the end of the cruise, all of the S&S transactions were rolled into one nice lump charge and that money was whisked out of my account. However, the holds did not all drop off for 3-5 days, thus effectively reducing my AVAILABLE cash by approximately DOUBLE the amount I spent on S&S. I say approximately because it was a 4 day cruise and the charges started dropping off on the 5th day, the day after we returned from the cruise.

 

I hope I made sense :rolleyes: I tried to explain what happened to me as best I could. Basically, I learned that if you are going to use a CC for your S&S, do not use one tied to your regular everyday checking account, unless you know you have at least 2 times the amount you are going to spend while on the cruise, + whatever you will need to live on/spend for up to 5 days after you return from the cruise.......