Room Key Question

[CountryDuck]

Can you charge anything that you purchase at WDW with your room key and then pay with your credit card at checkout?

This sound like a wonderful idea since you would be able to see all your charges before you leave WDW.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

When you check in at a WDW resort, you have the option of supplying a credit card for them to link to your room card. They do a pre-authorization (usually for $1500, though you can specify a different amount). Then, whomever you have designated as having charging priviledges can use them (if you have kids, for instance, you could have their room keys made without charging ability).

Most all vendors in the parks (shops and counterservice restaurants, at least) accept the room card and credit cards, but there are a few that deal only with cash or Disney dollars. Some of the latter that come to mind are a few carts in Epcot WS.

This is very convenient and allows us to only worry about carrying one card.

 

[CountryDuck]

Once they do a pre-auth amount, do you know if every time you charge something using your room card it is held until you check out or do they charge to credit card each time you use your room card?

I guess what I am asking is when you get your credit card statement would it show what your total was for your stay or would it be broke down for you. Room, different places you purchase gifts and eat etc.

 

[Kermit]

You'll just have one big batch charge on your credit card, not one for each time you use the card. However, you don't really check out if you give them a credit card. They do the batch charge very early in the morning that you're leaving, and they slide a list of all the charges under your door. If you wanted to pay the charges with cash instead of the credit card, you would have to do it the night before you checked out.

The preset amount at which they charge your card depends on where you're staying. I think that it's $500 for values, $1000 for moderates, and $1500 for deluxes. What that means is that if you reach the "limit" for your resort at some time during your vacation, they'll do one big batch charge right then, but you'll still be able to continue using the room key as a charge card because they'll just start you over at zero again. I guess they do it to make sure they don't get stiffed for too much money if your card doesn't have enough credit left.

Does that clear things up?

 

[CountryDuck]

Thanks for info Kermit!

 

[Carrieberry]

By the way, they don't authorize your card for more than $1 so there won't be any type of hold on your card either. They only authorize it for the $1 so they can verify it is a working card and not a stolen card or a closed account. They give you a preset limit depending on the resort (deluxe, mod or value) but they don't authorize that amount on your card at all. This has been discussed many times lately on these boards, with CMs that work the check in desks confirming the $1 authorization charge only. We have online banking and have always checked after check in with the laptop and have always seen the $1 charge and not a penny more charged until the morning of checkout.

 

[Shannon G]

I would also recommend asking for a print out of charges periodically as you go thourhg your stay - like every couple of days or so, as well as the night before you check out. That way you can resolve any problems before they charge your card. This was suggested to us by the staff at the resort desk during our 1999 stay at ASMo. It was a good idea we did, too, because on our first night, we had dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse, and two dinners ended up being charged to our room - the amounts weren't the same, so it looked like they had mistakenly charged another customer's dinner to our room, as well as our dinner. If you check you statement of room charges, any problems like this can be brought to the attention of the front desk as soon as possible, and easily resolved.

 

[Nuchi15697]

Can you give a cash deposit instead of a credit card?

 

[Carrieberry]

Yes you can leave cash or travelers checks as a deposit or "credit" towards your room. They will give you back whatever you don't spend. From reading what a CM wrote on another post regarding this issue, they will give it back to you however you paid. So if you leave cash you will get cash back. They will also give you cash back if you leave travelers checks since they cannot give you travelers checks back. The only benefit you will not have will be express check out. You will have to go to the desk to check out. You can also leave a credit card on check in for express checkout, and charging, but go down to the desk the night before check out and settle your bill with cash, then they will not charge your card a penny but you will still be able to do express check out. This is what we plan on doing next month. We will leave a check card with the Visa logo on it for express check out and charging privliges, but we will go pay up the night before check out with travelers checks/cash, therefore when we leave the next morning, we do not have to check out, but there will also be no balance to charge to the room.

 

[mco-missy]

We did exactly what the above post said. We gave them the credit card and then went down the night before and paid cash. Well, unfortunately, when the credit card bill came we found that Disney had charged it to our credit card. So, if you pay cash make sure you save your receipt in case this happens to you. The next time we went we just left it on the credit card to make things easier.