Magic Band and linking a credit card

Nona

New Member
Original Poster
I am new to this whole MB thing (it's been 18 years since I went to WDW). How do I link up a specific credit card to my MB? I used one card for booking things, but I want to use a different card for my expenses when down there. Help! I feel like I am just missing something simple lol
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I am new to this whole MB thing (it's been 18 years since I went to WDW). How do I link up a specific credit card to my MB? I used one card for booking things, but I want to use a different card for my expenses when down there. Help! I feel like I am just missing something simple lol
Welcome.
You can put a new credit card on your account when you check in on My Disney Experience. Don't want to use mobile check in? Tell the CM when you check in at your resort that you want to put a different credit card on your account.
Have fun!
 

RememberWhen

Well-Known Member
FWIW, the credit card won’t be linked to your band. It will be linked to your account. Your magic band will also be linked to your account. You must be staying onsite to use your band for charging.
 

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Another FYI, your charges to whatever card you have on file for charging using your magic band will be settled every evening.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
I am new to this whole MB thing (it's been 18 years since I went to WDW). How do I link up a specific credit card to my MB? I used one card for booking things, but I want to use a different card for my expenses when down there. Help! I feel like I am just missing something simple lol
Charging to your room isn't significantly different compared to 18 years ago. But instead of your Key to the World card being swiped and you signing a slip of paper, you now tap the MagicBand and enter a PIN.

The room charges are settled against whatever card you give during check-in (either new online check-in or when you arrive at the front desk).
 

DisAl

Well-Known Member
There are couple of things you should be aware of unless they have changed the process since last March.
You may need to watch your card limits. Each charge goes to your card as a pending charge when you make it. THEN, at about 2:00 a.m. they will consolidate the charges for the day and the consolidated charge will show up on your card as a pending charge. So if you make $200 charges during the day they will be consolidated into a single charge, and when you get up the next morning your card will have $400 in pending charges.
Also, I have alerts turned on for my card, so I was getting an alert at 2:00 a.m. every morning when they posted the consolidated charge. I finally turned if off after a couple of days.
 

Nona

New Member
Original Poster
There are couple of things you should be aware of unless they have changed the process since last March.
You may need to watch your card limits. Each charge goes to your card as a pending charge when you make it. THEN, at about 2:00 a.m. they will consolidate the charges for the day and the consolidated charge will show up on your card as a pending charge. So if you make $200 charges during the day they will be consolidated into a single charge, and when you get up the next morning your card will have $400 in pending charges.
Also, I have alerts turned on for my card, so I was getting an alert at 2:00 a.m. every morning when they posted the consolidated charge. I finally turned if off after a couple of days.
why would it double the pending? why wouldn't it remove the individual when it consolidates to one? I am not worried about going over my balance but my daughter has lower limits.
 

DisAl

Well-Known Member
why would it double the pending? why wouldn't it remove the individual when it consolidates to one? I am not worried about going over my balance but my daughter has lower limits.
Because that is the way their system works if you use your magic band to charge back to your room account.
Only the bean counters at Disney can explain why they do this at all rather than just leaving the original individual charges on your card.
Every individual charge goes straight to your card as pending. Then at 2:00 a.m. they process all charges for the day to a single consolidated charge to your room account and THAT goes on your card as pending too. If you then pull up your card online you will see BOTH the individual charges for the day AND the consolidated daily charge as pending charges. After some period of time, usually a couple of days, the individual pending charges go away and the consolidated pending charge actually goes to your card. But for some period of time both sets of charges are pending and they count towards your credit limit.
STUPID PROCESS? Yes, but that is how they do it unless they have changed since our last trip.
One particular day on that trip I had $473 of individual charges pending, plus the $473 consolidated charge pending, plus the $100 hold they put on your card, for a total of $1,046 pending on my card for a couple of days until the individual pending charges went away. You can imagine my concern and confusion when at 2:00 a.m. the card usage alert on my phone went off showing the $473 charge and I knew I had not made a $473 purchase in the middle of the night!
Keep in mind though that this only happens if you are charging to your room account with your magic band. If your daughter is making charges directly to her card it will be the same as using it anywhere else.
 
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