Pre-Authorization of Hotel Charges

With regard to "...worth a few minutes...to see how your bank actually handles foreign transactions...", that is very good advice and will work well if you are dealing with local banks and people who know you and who still care about customer service. Unfortunately many of the larger banks (USAA is an exception) don't care about the customers (who are just a number) anymore and are content to just go through the motions and actually do as little as possible. Oh, for the good old days when being a customer really meant something.

Many hotels pre-authorize when you book, and often the amount is significantly more than your bill at check out. It's all adjusted when you depart, but always check your statement. When you book a hotel overseas it's the same as being there to your CC company. So, good advice to notify them of upcoming foreign charges so they are not rejected. And, has been stated here many times, use a card with no foreign transaction fee. Capital One is one such card.

We have had that happen in the US for some reservations. Often there is a one dollar charge sent through to make sure the credit card number is valid. Most of the time it is reversed later. And we have encountered the same in Europe. The hotel is only being careful and you will appreciate that should you card number ever be compromised. Unfortunately that practice can also trigger a fraud alert. We keep one credit card that is used exclusive for reservations and the bank is alerted.

More and more hotels and b&bs are pre-authorizing credit cards. Some also charge the first night's stay (even though the "free cancellation" period is still in effect). Something is going on out there, I assume it may be a lot of multiple-booking and last-minute cancellations. It's difficult for me because (a) I make reservations early, and don't like having credit tied up for months, and (b) I make a lot of reservations (20-25 per trip) and that much "hold" on credit really adds up.

This doesn't happen with places I have booked for previous trips, though.

I've heard of people being caught the same way for train tickets, or intra-European flights.
Booking a flight Paris - Berlin direct with a European airline, or a rail ticket Venice - Rome direct with the rail company will flag up as a transaction in the relevant European country.
And, if you do this just after paying with the same card in your local supermarket the computer is liable to panic and conclude it is fraud because you can't be in two continents at the same time. They should have a "white list" with the likes of airlines on it, but they don't. And your local bank is unlikely to have heard of Trenitalia.

Even with prior notification of potential charges and notification of travel dates Chase does not like those $1 pre-authorization. I feel similar pain with multiple calls. Visa Card Verification with the Vatican Tickets really through me. We travelled in May with no problems and then come prior to fall travel it is call after call. Merchants, card issuers and me are all on alert for fraud. Following a past travel to Italy we did have a fraud charge come through 9-12 months after the travel dates. This past year a card number was sold to a fraudster (is that a word?) in Las Vegas, they were about to have a field day, I caught it! I have placed security notification on all cards and raised security at the banks. One of our early retirement families had their savings accessed and it went to $0. It was replaced by the bank. Caller ID saves me from telephone fraud. I answered one call to tell him to stop calling and the words that man used at me! Fraud emails are sent to the abuse or security department of the named bank.

stwolf, "fraudster" makes them sound cuddly and harmless; I prefer "thief".

My Capital One Visa no longer requires foreign travel notification.
https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/faq/

Do I need to contact Capital One before using my card out of the
country?

No. You do not need set a travel alert of any type before using your
card outside of the United States. Because Capital One cards now use
EMV chip technology, you can make secure transactions abroad without
notifying us in advance.

Mine too! Capital One security appears no different than Chase but they post you do not have to call! That's it, those thieves.

With regard to "...worth a few minutes...to see how your bank actually
handles foreign transactions...", that is very good advice and will
work well if you are dealing with local banks and people who know you
and who still care about customer service. Unfortunately many of the
larger banks (USAA is an exception) don't care about the customers
(who are just a number) anymore and are content to just go through the
motions and actually do as little as possible. Oh, for the good old
days when being a customer really meant something.

TC, that's why I love my small-town local bank. They all know me, my parents, my brother... I went to school with the president's brother, one of the vice-presidents took a computer class from me, another v-p took a Pilates class with me.

One thing I did learn in this mess, the person who handles credit card accounts told me that most "pre-authorization" charges are reversed within three business days. A fraud alert was triggered not just because it was a European transaction, but because the hotel kept trying - four times! They first sent a charge for all three nights, then for just the first night, the first night again, then all three.

But it all worked out, and I'm glad to have learned something.

Different card companies use different algorithms to predict fraud and legit customer charges. In my experience, American Express is more likely to assume that if if there's a charge to DBahn or a large airfare purchase, then the card is going to be used for legit foreign travel soon and if I call in about an overseas trip it's 'We already knew about it, but thanks'. Citi, not so much.

I had some problems when I was buying tickets this summer to come home to the States. My (American) card kept getting rejected. When I called my card company, they told me some nonsense about all airline tickets being flagged because they are potentially fraudulent purchases. I thought -- **really??, every time somebody tries to buy something from an airline, you block it?!! It doesn't seem a very efficient business model - nor did I particularly believe them. All I know is -- it was annoying!!!

The one that caught my brother: He had authorized his card for use in the Netherlands and Belgium (the two countries he was visiting on that trip). His attempt to buy tickets for the Anne Frank House was rejected; it turned out that (at least at that time, a few years ago), they processed their transactions through France! Luckily, he was able to get it fixed in time, before all the tickets sold out.

Our Scotiabank VISA and bank account told us we didn't have to contact them either - because every blessed time we do a debit or credit transaction, we get a notification email - so I guess if something isn't right, it's up to us to contact them about it. I think our MC we can just inform them online, but I think with our AMEX we still call and give them our dates.

I set my Capitol One card account to notify me of all transactions. Plus, I get additional email with a link for either (words to the effect) "yes, the transaction is approved" or "no, there seems to be a problem".

I also try to check my credit card/bank accounts daily.

I remember once, I was booking a hotel room and gave them my card information. It just so happened, that particular card would expire just before the date of the booking. The hotel requested I use another card.

Only problem with having to say "yes" or "no" to every transaction -- when we're abroad, we put our phones on vacation hold and just use hotel Wi-Fi, so email is OK but no messages. And certainly not instant response to their questions.
My Chase VISA cards are set up to notify me by email on EVERY foreign charge, EVERY charge over $500 and EVERY phone/online charge -- so I can get back to the bank within about 24 hours if there is a suspicious charge.

But yes, I have learned to put a travel authorization on before I try to make train reservations ... and then take it off again until it's travel time.

Some hotels will run a charge up front to be sure it is a legit card. Often, hotels offer advanced purchase rates that are significantly discounted from the regular rates but are typically non-refundable. These can be a good deal, but be warned that they really are non-refundable. And of course, you need to be sure the transaction will go through.

I remember once, I was booking a hotel room and gave them my card
information. It just so happened, that particular card would expire
just before the date of the booking. The hotel requested I use another
card.

Debra, that happened to us once, as well, at a London hotel. They agreed to hold our reservation for a couple of months until we got new cards. And if I recall, we also had our bank issue the new cards a bit early. It all worked out.

When I called my card company, they told me some nonsense about all airline tickets being flagged because they are potentially fraudulent purchases. I thought -- **really??, every time somebody tries to buy something from an airline, you block it?!!

There are some destinations that do get flagged as high ticket fraud risk by the airlines- typically African countries but also a few more common spots like the US Virgin Islands. The airlines manage this not by refusing to book the tickets proper but by saying that if a ticket is booked directly, you must present the physical card used to buy the ticket at check-in before you're allowed to get your boarding pass for Lagos. (Some Asian carriers also apparently have similar policies for all flights booked directly.)

I have had pre-authorization of many reservations on Booking, several of which I cancelled within their respective deadlines, and the blocked amounts were always lifted up in a couple days at most.

What many online vendors do, however, is to send up a pre-authorization of just € 1 or $ 1, to check whether your credit card is valid indeed. That can be tricky because this exact procedure used by credit card fraudster that buy numbers from hackers to validate a batch of real credit card from fake/burned out ones. I believe to have read something about VISA and Maestro/Mastercard setting up systems so those legit online vendors can check the validity of cards without having to resort to the trickery of € 1 pre-authorizations (they also have a small transaction cost of the vendor, so they are not exactly free).