topic Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault) in Credit Cards

Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:41:22 GMT

So, last week I wrote about wanting to charge up to 83% of my credit line (by staying at the Waldorf=Astoria and buying a Lenovo computer). I got great advice here (cuz you all are great :-) ), cleared it with American Exrpress and by all accounts everything was fine. Well, not exactly....

Turns out that when you buy a computer from an online company they place a hold for the balance against your card, and won't post the charge to your account until they ship the computer. They told me the ship date was July 22; my statement cut date is July 23. So, I thought no biggie...cutting it close with a $1500 charge against a 3k limit, but it should work.

The Waldorf was a great stay at a price of $400 for one night. But, oh man was it good. That was on July 10th, and by the 12th the charge posted to my Amex and was paid.

The bad news.....

The Waldorf is still holding $500 against my Amex, and Lenovo now won't ship the computer until August 23!!! Translation: My account cuts next week and there's 2k worth of charges that I can't even pay. Called the Waldorf and maybe the $500 hold will be off by next week, but the Lenovo simply won't clear until August 23. Does that mean that Amex is going to report to CBAs that I used $1500 and have that outstanding, even though I have not yet been charged and can't pay until it is charged--that would bring my credit utility to 50% :-(

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:52:35 GMT

ChemGuy wrote:
Does that mean that Amex is going to report to CBAs that I used $1500 and have that outstanding, even though I have not yet been charged and can't pay until it is charged--that would bring my credit utility to 50% :-(

I don't beleive so - your "available credit" is reduced by the hold but it shouldn't appear as balance.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Creditaddict — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:52:36 GMT

holds and charges are completely different. A hold isn't actually billed there for will not be on your account to be reported to credit.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:24:55 GMT

Aren't merchants prohibited from holding a charge for that long. At least in the case of Visa and Mastercard, their rules say that holds can only last a few days max.

I'd be surprised if Amex did not also have a similar policy in place.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:00:08 GMT

jpreloaded wrote:
Aren't merchants prohibited from holding a charge for that long. At least in the case of Visa and Mastercard, their rules say that holds can only last a few days max.

I'd be surprised if Amex did not also have a similar policy in place.

No, I'm not sure if there is a limit on the length of time a preauthorization can be in place, but if there is one I know it's more than a few days. I was told by a rep at MasterCard (yes MasterCard, not the bank that issued my card) that some merchants are slow to clear preauthorizations and some of them stay for up to 30 days as a matter of policy.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:13:04 GMT

I've got a hold for $75 on my Discover card from when I purchased gas on 7/12. Now here's the funny part, at least to me, the $58.19 I actually spent on gas has already posted, and I've paid it off, the payment has even posted. But there's still a $75 hold on my account!

To me, once the charge is posted the hold should be removed. Seems like that only makes sense in my little world.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:16:32 GMT

woopah wrote:

To me, once the charge is posted the hold should be removed. Seems like that only makes sense in my little world.

No, you're right. It should be. It's just not the way it always works, unfortunately.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:32:37 GMT

And a Discover rep recently told me that it can take up to 15 days. I was calling b/c of a hold from my hotel in LV. The total bill amount posted on 7/9, but the hold from 7/5 stayed on until 7/13.

I was terrified when it said I had 8.00 in avail credit. EGADS!

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:43:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To me, once the charge is posted the hold should be removed. Seems like that only makes sense in my little world.

No, you're right. It should be. It's just not the way it always works, unfortunately.

Yeah, that's how I got screwed into cash advancing off of my Amex at a Dover casino. Like an idiot they authorized my debit card for $500 on the $98 room charge, tying up my gambling money.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:45:38 GMT

When a local gas station did this to me, I called them and raised holy hell. The hold was gone the next day. Worth a try, anyway.

For those who question the value of high CL's, here's a good reason to have them.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:50:03 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
When a local gas station did this to me, I called them and raised holy hell. The hold was gone the next day. Worth a try, anyway.

For those who question the value of high CL's, here's a good reason to have them.

You're absolutely right about that. My Discover has a $6800 CL, so the $75 hold, while annoying, isn't making the card unusable.

For the poster who found out about debit cards and hold, that's why I never use debit cards on hotels, even when I have the money in the account.

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:06:53 GMT

Thank for the clarity! Yeah, I'm thinking I should be fine as I don't actually need much credit in the coming days. I realize that everything except tying your shoes wrong on a Tuesday sends a red flag to Amex, so that's my chief concern. Plus 50% credit tied up over 2 billing cycles is just obscene! Good to know this won't count as utility until is hits the account. :-)

Re: Oh, how I got suckered (not entirely Amex's fault)

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:08:08 GMT

Interesting- I have a 6.8K Cl with Discover

@Anonymous wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
When a local gas station did this to me, I called them and raised holy hell. The hold was gone the next day. Worth a try, anyway.

For those who question the value of high CL's, here's a good reason to have them.

You're absolutely right about that. My Discover has a $6800 CL, so the $75 hold, while annoying, isn't making the card unusable.

For the poster who found out about debit cards and hold, that's why I never use debit cards on hotels, even when I have the money in the account.