Room Charges

[disneygirl76]

Hi All! :wave:

Just three days and we are off to the GF for 8 nights! Woo Hoo!

Just a quick question...tried to search but I'm not very good at that and I came up with nothing. :veryconfu

How much can you charge to the room? How is the value determined? Any restrictions?

Thanks!

:wave:

 

[luvlifeinfl]

I believe it is based on the resort, so if you are staying at the GF it should be over 1500.00, becasue I know when we stayed at SSR & BW that was our limit.

 

[foreverbelle]

have no clue, but i just wanted to say to enjoy your trip.....so jealous you are staying at the GF! what a dream!

 

[disneygirl76]

have no clue, but i just wanted to say to enjoy your trip.....so jealous you are staying at the GF! what a dream!

Thanks! We are so excited!!

I believe it is based on the resort, so if you are staying at the GF it should be over 1500.00, becasue I know when we stayed at SSR & BW that was our limit.

Just to confirm how this works (we usually use Travelers Checks but are not doing that this time)... we give them a card - they will allow us to charge $1500. If we get to that amount, they charge the card and we start the process over. If we don't charge that amount, then we can pay with another form (check/cash/etc) before we check out.

Is this correct? Can anyone confirm the GF limit? Any restrictions?

Thanks!

 

[PoohBear119]

I'm not sure about the limit, but I know you can pay off your balance half-way through your trip and then continue to charge. That's what my hubby and I do... Enjoy your trip!

 

[reptar77]

You can charge as much as you want. When your charges reach 1500.00 they charge the card you left on account. If the card is declined they will suspend your charging privileges. If your card is approved they will let you continue charging until the next 1500.00 is reached and then the process starts again. You will get an itemized sheet the morning of your check out. We always double check it with our receipts there can be some discrepancies. This doesn't happen alot but is does happen.

 

[Monty]

Based on resort class:

Values: $500
Moderates: $1,000
Deluxe: $1,500

These are the charge limits, but as you reach them, they bill your card and start over. If you're staying at a Value and have already charged $480, then try to charge $40, it'll reject because you're over the limit. They can call your resort, process the $480 to your credit card and voila! You have a full $500 credit available to purchase the $40 you were trying to charge....

EDIT: Or at least that's how it was explained to me.

 

[luvlifeinfl]

Thanks! We are so excited!!



we give them a card - they will allow us to charge $1500. If we get to that amount, they charge the card and we start the process over. If we don't charge that amount, then we can pay with another form (check/cash/etc) before we check out.


When you check in you give them your CC and they scan it and will say this is your charging limit.

One yr I asked the question what if we exceed that they said they would have to get approval from the card co. but I think that limit is set after you pay for DDP & park tickets. I can say that a 7 day on those 2 things is more than the 1500.00 limit set for us, and I can say we never spent over that in the parks.

This yr we know what is going to cost for DP & tickets so we are saving the cash now so when we arrive we will not have to put it on credit.

One other thing call the resort, I am sure they can tell you want the set limit is.

 

[disneygirl76]

You can charge as much as you want. When your charges reach 1500.00 they charge the card you left on account. If the card is declined they will suspend your charging privileges. If your card is approved they will let you continue charging until the next 1500.00 is reached and then the process starts again. You will get an itemized sheet the morning of your check out. We always double check it with our receipts there can be some discrepancies. This doesn't happen alot but is does happen.

Excellent! Thanks for the tip!! Good tip to double check. On our last trip - we had a lot of issues with the dining plan and getting charged wrong. Only our cc was getting charged or we were paying in cash. I would assume that it would be a lot easier to get a charge reversed on the key to the kingdom card then on your own cc.

 

[WDWNooby]

I had no idea there was a limit...what happens if you are paying for two rooms? Do both rooms have a limit or is it one limit for two rooms?

 

[CleveRocks]

I had no idea there was a limit...what happens if you are paying for two rooms? Do both rooms have a limit or is it one limit for two rooms?

The limit is per room, or rather per reservation. You reserved two rooms, but I'm certain they are two separate reservations with two separate reservation numbers ... therefore, two separate room charge accounts, each with their own limit, NOT a combined limit.

 

[CleveRocks]

Not that any of you asked, but here is a HEAP of info about room charging at WDW (I've posted it in the past, and I got smart enough to save it:ROFLOL:

A room charge can be set up with cash, travelers checks, Disney Dollars, a debit card (with VISA/MC logo), or a credit card.

There is no daily limit. There is a limit for the room charge in general. If you hit that limit, you can simply set up another room charge. Some resorts automatically set up another room charge, some require that you request it (can be done by phone, doesn't have to be done in-person). HOWEVER, if you DIDN'T use plastic to back up the room charge, then you would NEED to physically go to the front desk and give them more currency to set up another room charge.

The UPPER limit is dictated by your level of resort: $500 for Value resorts, $1,000 for Moderate resorts and $1,500 for Deluxe resorts. These are UPPER limits ... you can set up a lower limit if you like.

As I said, there is no such thing as a daily limit. Your balance just keeps adding up ... it is not reset every day.

If you use plastic to back up a room charge, your card will NOT be charged immediately, and there will be NO HOLD placed on the account. In other words, if you have $3,000 of available credit on your Mastercard, and you sign up for a $1,000 room charge, you STILL have $3,000 available credit on your credit card; no hold was placed on your card. If you are using a debit card and have $3,000 in your checking account, after you set up a $500 room charge account you will STILL have $3,000 available in your checking account.

If you use plastic, they will swipe the card, but again, they do not place a hold and they do not pre-charge the amount. What they do is get authorization for a charge of zero dollars and zero cents. By "pinging" the account in this manner, they make sure that it is a valid card on an existing account.

If you use plastic, your card will not be charged UNTIL one of the following occurs: you reach the room charge limit; or it's about 3:00 a.m. or so on your check-out day. If you use plastic, you will retain room charging privileges through 11:59 p.m. on your check-out day, meaning you can still use your room charge after you check-out of your resort. If you used currency to back up your room charge, you will receive an immediate refund at check-out of any amount leftover in the room charge account.

If you use plastic but you want to pay off the balance using a different form of payment (including a different card), then you MUST go to the front desk by no later than before you go to sleep on your last night at the resort. If you wait until check-out time it'll be too late ... it depends on the resort, but they typically charge your card in the middle of the night just before check-out.

Room charge can be used ALMOST everywhere. The snack carts in the parks do accept them (as well as credit/debit cards). The only consistent place I know of in the parks that you can't use it is roving vendors who sell stuff in front of and behind the parades. Every venue at all of the Disney owned-and-operated resorts accepts room charge; the only exception would be if there happens to be a third-party vendor permitted to operate somewhere. At Downtown Disney, some places take it and some don't.

Not all cards have to have room charging privileges. You can choose to not allow your kids room charging privileges, for example.

At any time, you can go to your resort's front desk and get an up-to-the-minute printout of your room charge activity. It will include the date, time, exact location, and total amount of the purchase (if you buy 4 souvenirs at a shop, it will tell the total purchase amount but will not list how many items or a description of the items). It will also include the card number (if you and your spouse each have room charge set up on your card, one card will be #1 and one will be #2).

One very little-known fact is that you can set up two (or more) separate room charges within the same room. EVen a lot of CMs aren't aware of this. If you wish to do this, you have to tell the CM you want to set up a "share." You must use the word "share." If they say it can't be done, ask them to check the front desk manual and/or ask a lead for guidance. I once had a CM tell me I couldn't set up a room charge for less than my Moderate resort's $1,000 upper limit; I told her I was sure I could, and asked her to check wth a lead, and then two minutes later I had my $800 limit set up.

If you choose, you can periodically pay down your room charge balance at the front desk. For example, let's say you set it up with your VISA card but for some reason you don't want a large charge on your VISA card. Let's say you have a $1,500 limit on your room charge, and then a few days into your week's vacation you go to the front desk and pay off what you've spent so far, let's say it's $400, by giving them travelers checks. If you do this, you again have $1,500 available on the room charge. Nothing has been charged to the credit card, because you haven't yet reached the limit and it is not yet your check-out day.

Did I miss anything???

 

[CleveRocks]

One other thing call the resort, I am sure they can tell you want the set limit is.

One of Disney's best kept secrets is that you CAN'T call a resort directly. They publish individual resort "direct" numbers, but the call goes to a call center with the un-Disney name of Main Switchboard. They CMs who answer these calls are trained to be gate-keepers ... they are trained to NOT let a call through to an actual resort unless the CM is totally unable to answer the question. If they think they need to connect to the resort, they'll put you on hold and call the resort themselves; it's then up to the CM at the resort to decide if he/she wants to take the call or have the Main Switchboard CM just handle it.

Unfortunately, way too often, call center CMs inadvertantly give badly incorrect information to guests on the phone. Unfortunately, they are not trained in all of the tiny little details of everything at WDW.

My strong advice to you is to ask such questions RIGHT HERE, at the wdwmagic.com forums ... you'll get the right answers from lots of people who want to help!:sohappy:

 

[disneygirl76]

Not that any of you asked, but here is a HEAP of info about room charging at WDW (I've posted it in the past, and I got smart enough to save it:ROFLOL:

A room charge can be set up with cash, travelers checks, Disney Dollars, a debit card (with VISA/MC logo), or a credit card.

There is no daily limit. There is a limit for the room charge in general. If you hit that limit, you can simply set up another room charge. Some resorts automatically set up another room charge, some require that you request it (can be done by phone, doesn't have to be done in-person). HOWEVER, if you DIDN'T use plastic to back up the room charge, then you would NEED to physically go to the front desk and give them more currency to set up another room charge.

The UPPER limit is dictated by your level of resort: $500 for Value resorts, $1,000 for Moderate resorts and $1,500 for Deluxe resorts. These are UPPER limits ... you can set up a lower limit if you like.

As I said, there is no such thing as a daily limit. Your balance just keeps adding up ... it is not reset every day.

If you use plastic to back up a room charge, your card will NOT be charged immediately, and there will be NO HOLD placed on the account. In other words, if you have $3,000 of available credit on your Mastercard, and you sign up for a $1,000 room charge, you STILL have $3,000 available credit on your credit card; no hold was placed on your card. If you are using a debit card and have $3,000 in your checking account, after you set up a $500 room charge account you will STILL have $3,000 available in your checking account.

If you use plastic, they will swipe the card, but again, they do not place a hold and they do not pre-charge the amount. What they do is get authorization for a charge of zero dollars and zero cents. By "pinging" the account in this manner, they make sure that it is a valid card on an existing account.

If you use plastic, your card will not be charged UNTIL one of the following occurs: you reach the room charge limit; or it's about 3:00 a.m. or so on your check-out day. If you use plastic, you will retain room charging privileges through 11:59 p.m. on your check-out day, meaning you can still use your room charge after you check-out of your resort. If you used currency to back up your room charge, you will receive an immediate refund at check-out of any amount leftover in the room charge account.

If you use plastic but you want to pay off the balance using a different form of payment (including a different card), then you MUST go to the front desk by no later than before you go to sleep on your last night at the resort. If you wait until check-out time it'll be too late ... it depends on the resort, but they typically charge your card in the middle of the night just before check-out.

Room charge can be used ALMOST everywhere. The snack carts in the parks do accept them (as well as credit/debit cards). The only consistent place I know of in the parks that you can't use it is roving vendors who sell stuff in front of and behind the parades. Every venue at all of the Disney owned-and-operated resorts accepts room charge; the only exception would be if there happens to be a third-party vendor permitted to operate somewhere. At Downtown Disney, some places take it and some don't.

Not all cards have to have room charging privileges. You can choose to not allow your kids room charging privileges, for example.

At any time, you can go to your resort's front desk and get an up-to-the-minute printout of your room charge activity. It will include the date, time, exact location, and total amount of the purchase (if you buy 4 souvenirs at a shop, it will tell the total purchase amount but will not list how many items or a description of the items). It will also include the card number (if you and your spouse each have room charge set up on your card, one card will be #1 and one will be #2).

One very little-known fact is that you can set up two (or more) separate room charges within the same room. EVen a lot of CMs aren't aware of this. If you wish to do this, you have to tell the CM you want to set up a "share." You must use the word "share." If they say it can't be done, ask them to check the front desk manual and/or ask a lead for guidance. I once had a CM tell me I couldn't set up a room charge for less than my Moderate resort's $1,000 upper limit; I told her I was sure I could, and asked her to check wth a lead, and then two minutes later I had my $800 limit set up.

If you choose, you can periodically pay down your room charge balance at the front desk. For example, let's say you set it up with your VISA card but for some reason you don't want a large charge on your VISA card. Let's say you have a $1,500 limit on your room charge, and then a few days into your week's vacation you go to the front desk and pay off what you've spent so far, let's say it's $400, by giving them travelers checks. If you do this, you again have $1,500 available on the room charge. Nothing has been charged to the credit card, because you haven't yet reached the limit and it is not yet your check-out day.

Did I miss anything???

Thank you! This is the master write up of room charges! Really appreciate it!! :wave: