Why was I charged more than my purchase for gas, hotels, or car rentals?

Gas stations, hotels and car rental agencies frequently pre-authorize a transaction, which means they place a hold on your card until they know the final amount owed. Here are some common situations when an authorization hold will apply if you use your Fold Card.

  • Using a Fold Card to pay for gas at the pump: You choose to pay for gas at the pump using your Fold card. Let’s say you fill your gas tank with $35.00 worth of gas. However, a temporary authorization hold of up to $100 or more may be placed on your Fold Card. Typically within three days, the transaction will settle for only the actual amount of the gas purchased. That means the additional funds that were being held will be released back to the card, thus making those funds ($65.00 or more, depending on the amount of the hold) available to you. Note: you can avoid the authorization hold by paying with a Fold card at the cashier inside the gas station instead of paying at the pump.
  • Using a Fold Card to pay for a car rental: You can use a Fold Card at car rental agencies that accept prepaid cards. However, they usually require a deposit of 15 percent more than the cost of renting the car. The rental agency will put an extra hold on the account for that amount of money and the hold could last for a couple of weeks. We suggest that you call the car rental agency to inquire about how much they require for a standard deposit if paying with a prepaid card and how long a typical authorization hold on a prepaid card will last.
  • Using a Fold Card to pay for a hotel room: You can use a Fold Card at select hotels that accept prepaid cards to make a room reservation. However, you should expect the hotel to place a hold on your card. The hold will typically cover the hotel room rate plus an additional 15 percent, and the funds will be held until the hotel settles the transaction. A typical hotel authorization hold could be released the day of checkout, or the hold could take up to several weeks to be settled and released. We suggest that you call the hotel to inquire how much a typical authorization hold is for hotel rooms if paying with a prepaid card, and how long a typical authorization hold on a prepaid card will last.

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