The Walt Disney World Resort Hotels will start implementing a new credit card policy starting February 27 for guests who wish to put a credit card on file during their stay.
New credit card policy coming to Disney World Hotels
Under the new policy the hotels will place “incremental authorization holds on the card for estimated incidental expenses, in addition to any balance due on the reservation.”
According to Disney Destinations, the authorization hold on the card will be for any balance due on the reservation plus $100 for estimated incidental expenses. If guest spending exceeds the initial $100 hold, additional incremental holds will be placed automatically. The authorization holds will not exceed the current balance plus $100.
Touch to Pay at a Counter Service Location
Disney World Resort Hotel guests do have the option of not having a credit card on file, but they will be unable to charge to their room or MagicBand.
Guests will be advised of this change in policy – which Disney says “better aligns with hotel industry practices” – during online check-in through My Disney Experience or at the front desk of their Walt Disney World Resort Hotel. Guests who have already completed their online check-in will receive a letter this month about this change.
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What do you think about this new credit card policy at Disney World Resort Hotels? Let us know with a comment.
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$100 chump change for Disneyland.
Lena, I’m not sure about ‘prepaying’ with a gift card. What I know is that you can go to the front desk to tell them you will be paying off any balances with gift cards, and if you do that every evening (before midnight, I believe), you won’t be carrying a balance. However, the front desk will still maintain a hold of $100 (or more if, like you say, you’ll charge beyond that during the day). But if you’re paying off nightly, your hold will only be as large as the costliest day of your trip. If you’re able to get gift cards at a discount, that would still help you save a little money on your charges. And even if you don’t, buying gift cards ahead of time is a good way to spread out the costs over time. I hope this helps! (And if you want to confirm about prepaying, try calling the resort directly to see what they say!)
I don’t understand this. I only have a CC on my account so I can do online check in. I am DVC so I never have a balance do to pay for my hotel… so will they not charge me? Or do they charge you $100 jut in case? I don’t charge anything to the hotel and never will. I don’t really get the wording.
LB, they’ll put a $100 hold on the card on file IF you choose to put a card on file during your stay. It sounds like you wouldn’t need one on file since you don’t charge anything. So I would suggest going to the front desk and asking them to remove it from your account right at the start of your trip so you don’t have to worry about it. (Or perhaps you can remove it after you do online check-in, if it’s not needed for anything additional.) Hope this helps!
I don’t understand why they need to do this. They have the credit card on file to charge anything that is charged to the room, so why add a $100 just because?
Because they werent taking holds to make sure you have the actual funds (and for those credit card idiots out there A HOLD IS NOT A CHARGE!) Ti oay off what you charged to your room account… people’s CCs used to decline at express checkout all the time for absurd amounts.
Had to deal with that everyday as a Resort FSA.
Many hotels do this even when there is nothing to spend at their hotel. Just plan for an extra $100 for your trip.
I’m surprised they weren’t doing this already. I live in the UK and every hotel I’ve stayed at in other countries has done this.
I got back from my 6 day vacation to Disney world on April 1st. The day I arrived while on the magical express bus to the pop century hotel I checked my debit card statement online and noticed a charge for wdw resort front desk. They took 269 dollars out of my account before I even checked in. Then I noticed in the my Disney experience app under charges there was a 169 dollar charge for memory maker. I had already paid for my vacation in full, memory maker included, months and months ago. Essentially I got charged 169 dollars for memory maker 3 times! Too make a very long story short I am still waiting for my 269 dollars, which includes the 100 dollar holding fee, to be deposited back into my card. It’s been going on 6 days since the last day of my trip and I still haven’t received a dime.
We’re DVC members and used points to stay at Vero Beach and Bay Lake Tower for 2 weeks. We had no problem with a $100 hold but noticed they were adding an additional $100+ every day! This wasn’t huge spending either; less than $50 in the parks. When we reached $600 I complained to the front desk who were very helpful, but told me this was the new policy, not $100 plus spending.
3 weeks later, and I’m still waiting for some of the holds to be released. If I hadn’t noticed they were taking a daily hold then we would have had our spending money frozen until we got back to the UK.
Imagine someone in the UK has saved up for years to take their kids to WDW and used a currency card with a cash balance to pay for everything. When their card is empty, they will have to tell the kids that Disney has taken all their money.
I’m staying at AOA on May 4th for 6 nights. My trip is paid in FULL. I’m confused about these charges? I do not have a credit card, only my debit. I’m very frugal with my money and a single mom taking my three boys. I have a set budget and can’t afford these charges. I don’t want to use my MB for charges and did not do online check in. I like to physically handle my money. So is disney charging 100 dollars each day I stay for incidentals? If so then the money I saved is now gone. Also I had to use my debit card to reserve our dining reservations does that now count as my “card on file” and Disney will charge it daily?
Nichole, you’ll want to talk with a cast member at the front desk and explain that you don’t want to have any card on file. They should be able to do that for you. I am pretty sure the card you use for ADRs is not held on file for your hotel, but you may want to contact Disney directly to be 100% sure. Have a wonderful trip with your sons!
If nothing is charged to the room, is the $100 refunded to the credit card?
Lyndsay, yes. Nothing it technically charged to the card; it’s held in case something is charged. So as long as you don’t charge anything, you’re good!