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If it's not snoopy to ask (and I apologize if it is), when this happens to you does your credit card company also debit your available credit by twice the amount of the actual expenditure? This seems to me to be really over the top and I just can't imagine it's legal.
This kind of thing is why I stopped using my USAA card for gas, they will place a $100 hold on my little car will only takes maybe $50 completely empty, and their hold doesn't drop off when the charge posts so it takes up my avail credit for awhile and that erks me so I don't use it. So much on 2X gas rewards!
@El129 wrote:Thanks, I'm less concerned about the hold falling off soon than about any possible adverse affect on our credit. We never use anything close to the full amount available, and we pay off the entire amount every month. I'm concerned about the appearance. I've printed out the online conversations I've had with the credit card company, as well as the online statements that show the same amount both in pending and in posted transactions. I'm not even sure if this documentation will do me any good, since assistance from the hotel office manager hasn't worked.
I doubt will have any adverse effect at all
I guess this is in the fine print somewhere. I can understand holding an amount over the actual cost of something like a hotel room, where they're considering the possibility that you might incur more costs than just the room and want the potential to cover them. What I don't understand is that it would seem once the amount is posted, and the hotel has been paid, and I have paid the posted amount from my bank account, I'm still shown as owing $508, having another $508 pending, for a total owed of $1,016 - and my available credit as zero. I don't need to use the credit, as we don't use the card very often, but I would like the statement to show the actual status of my account rather than something the credit card company has pulled out of a hat.
You can check with your c/c company but I'm 99% sure that anything pending will not reflect on your statement-- only posted charges will. If it takes you over the limit when your statement cuts you wouldn't be able to charge anything but your statement balabce would only reflect your true balance of posted charges.
Just today, I noticed the same thing with my Amex card.
The charges for the hotel where we stayed for vacation last week has posted to my account, but there's $300 still 'pending'. I figure it takes a few days for the hold to be released after the charges are settled between the merchant and the cc bank.
Since it is not impacting my ability to use my cards, I said that I would just keep an eye out to make sure it doesn't actually post. But, i think the issuing bank should be able to clear the pending charges...especially if they see the payment has already posted.
Good Luck
Thanks for your many helpful and thoughtful replies. As a matter of interest, I was told by the office manager at the hotel in question that, within recent months, they've seen a lot of this kind of thing - where the credit card company doesn't release the hold for an unconscionable amount of time and claims it's being done by the merchant. It forces the merchant to try to act as an advocate for the card holder (victim I think would be the correct word) when the problem is actually not being caused by them. Is anyone else kind of sick of these shenanigans?
@kroberts67 wrote:You can check with your c/c company but I'm 99% sure that anything pending will not reflect on your statement-- only posted charges will. If it takes you over the limit when your statement cuts you wouldn't be able to charge anything but your statement balabce would only reflect your true balance of posted charges.
+1 Definitely will not show as usage because the only thing that shows is current balance when statement cuts. Pending doesn't count toward balance, only on available credit. I don't think it is illegal because they are extending credit just like if a card company chose to reduce your credit limit. I don't worry about it with my USAA card because fortunately now my two cards with them and limits are 5 figures. Not too long ago this would have been a big problem for me. So hang in there, as your credit profile gets older and better this won't be an issue anymore. You will have either other cards with better limits or this current card with a higher limit and if not you could close it.
This is all very normal and one of many reasons not to use debit cards at hotels/gas stations. No, you won't be counted as over your limit, but transactions will likely be declined at this point.
I've had the posted and pending charge happen several times, most with Cap One. Even though it hasn't severely impacted me, I'm still concerned about it and always call. Typically they restore the credit for the pending charge. They always say it depends on the vendor and their timing, but I don't all of that 100 percent. If that were true, that would happen with a different card that you use at the same vendor, but it never does.