Charging on your room key

[tinkerbell615]

So, please someone answer some questions for me on using your resort key as a charge at the parks. We are leaving in (4) days and were thinking about using this feature as we have never done so before and it seemed like it would be so easy. Once again, this is all new to me so I am trying to understand everything. DH and I were going to leave disney dollars or cash on our card so that we could charge. But... I have been reading some horror stories with doing this and I am having second thoughts. I have read on other places that sometimes you will find charges that are not yours on your card. Also, do you get a receipt showing that you have left ... so much cash on your card? Can someone re-assure us that this is a good thing to do?

[SBETigg]

I love charging to my room with the room key. It's easy and you can get a printout from the front desk every day if you want. The great thing is that they document every single purchase with where and when so that it makes it simple to budget and serves as a handy record to journal the trip later. It would be very hard for someone to make a mistake and put someone else's charges on your room and not have it caught and fixed immediately, I would think. We've never had a problem with it. And you can pay down the balance daily with cash, check, or credit card if you're worried about the charges building up on you.

[snifflesmcg]

I have used this in the past and have loved it. They ask you to lay down a credit card(debit card) to be able to use the room charge feature. You don't have to use this credit card, you can pay with cash (or I'm sure Disney Dollars but have never used them). What's even better is, you can have your purchases sent to your room (free of charge). That way you don't have to carry them around with you all day.

[Pocahontas]

I always use this feature on every trip and have never had any problems with it. I do read over the printout of all our charges just to make sure everything is correct, and have never had a wrong charge on it.

[LandFan]

We use this feature all the time too and absolutely love it. We have never had a wrong charge either. They will tell you your limit on the card when they hook it up. When you hit your limit (say $500) you just call or go to the front desk and ask them to charge your card and it reopens another $500 of credit for use on your key to the world. We found this to be really handy and almost everyone takes it (except maybe the smallest vendors but even they probably do now that they might offer snacks on the DDP and would need to run the cards for that).

It's good stuff :thumbsup:

[browneyedgirl12]

As other posters have said this a great thing to use. You can pay down the balance daily. We have used it before and like it a lot because its better than carrying cash around in the parks and if you lose it all you have to do is go back to where you check in and they'll deactivate your card and give you a new one. So you really can't go wrong with using the charge to the room feature. :thumbsup:

[MsMin]

We use it and I let my kids (older) charge to the room too. We don't sign our name on the back but do write across the strip ASK FOR ID so that if you do drop it no one can pick it up and charge with it. Disney is great about asking for the ID too. Never had a problem with strange charges. I have had to stop and remember what some of them where but they were ours :thumbsup:

[Belle619]

I actually prefer it to using a credit card or cash. As other's have said, there is a $500 limit on it - so if it were lost - that is much better than loosing a credit card with a $5,000 limit.

[Bruegge]

The way I've read it is you have a $500, $1000 or $1500 dollar "limit" if you will... depending on if you stay at a value, moderate or deluxe resort.

When I was in the Poly in 2002 the concierge said they "charge" your card when you hit $1500 then your reset for another $1500. If you hit $1500 again your card is charged or if you check out before then.

Now I believe you can set up a "stop" when you hit the limit. You then MUST call or stop at the front desk to "reset" you new limit.

Also, you can set a limit of $432.87if that's all you want to put on the card.. very flexible.

Last note, Keep your hotel reciept for "purchase detail" your credit card "statement"reciept will just show a charge of $1500.00 to the Poly.

Its a good idea because if you lose your credit card with a $10000 limit your vacation can be over ...or painful at least .. If you lose a room key card your liability is greatly reduced and you still don't have to go thru he hassle of canceling and having a new credit card re-issued

finally, I know of no "horror stories" with room key unauthorized charges. Mistakes can happen I'm sure, but be advised a family of 5 can have (if you want) the same charging ability as you..... lets just say some kids aren't as fiscally responsible as others..

Scott

[LibertyTreeGal]

I love this feature, it was one of the big perks of staying onsite. I loved being able to leave all of my credit cards behind and just carry my key card. To me, that is much safer.

[tinkerbell615]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. I am really looking forward to using this feature as all of you have put my mind at ease.

Can you tell me... if we want to pay with cash or Disney Dollars and not a credit card.. how does that work? Do you leave the cash up front or pay each day?

Hope I am not driving all of you crazy but as I stated, this is all new to me and with leaving in a few days I would love to know how everything works.

[TheMartellFamily]

What we do is so we can see what the purchases are we go up and ask for a print out every few days. Sometimes we will pay for what we have charged with cash and so always know and are in check with what is going on. We like doing this as for we do not have to carry cash it is just the card, it is just one less thing to worry about when in the parks. Also we do not put credit privlegdges on our kids cards. We are very protective of the statements and accounts and feel this is a very good benefit. We like using this option and never had a problem.

[vamaggie]

If I remember correctly, the last time we went (04) we used the charge to the room feature and then when we went to check out (we did not hit our limit during our stay) we paid part of it off with our Disney Visa rewards points. I would think that you could pay down each day with either cash or Disney Dollars if you wanted.

[BugeyedMuggy]

We use this feature every time we go. Only 1 time did they double charge us for dinner but when we brought it to their attention it was resolved instantly. We now get a print out of our charges every nite & save all receipts we charge. It is very easy to do on a daily basis. Do it while relaxing by the pool or waiting for the one who always runs late :)

[hokies4life]

I remember when my father used to go with us he wanted to put cash on the card at the beginning to go against anything we would charge. At that time (like 5 years ago) they wouldn't do that for us. They asked for a credit card so that we could use it for charging but once we were notified that we reached the limit he went down and paid it off with cash.

I think this is a VERY convenient feature and since there is a much lower limit on it than normal credit cards it is much less of a hassle if it gets lost. (which we have dealt with a few times and they just cancel that card and issue you a new one...not sure if that would still work with the new MYW tickets and dining plan though)

[tinkerbell615]

I just want to make sure I understand... If I give my credit card number at check in to use for my room charge, I can still go and pay with cash, disney dollars etc... I do not want to use my cc for this feature. I want to pay with cash or Disney Dollars. So, they do not charge your credit card immediately?

Thanks

[garymacd]

We have always done this and have never had a problem with it. Well, the first year we went, we got a call from the front desk saying we were over our limit. We didn't realise that, at that time, our room was charged to our card everyday. Now, rooms are prepaid, so you don't have to worry about that.

We even started allowing our girls to have charge privileges when they got older - like ten or 11. Never had a problem.

You get receipts for everything you charge. Up until this trip we had to carry cash for such things as ice creams and drinks from the carts, but most of them have card readers now.

It always seemed to me to be one less thing to worry about. At the end of your trip, you get an itemised statement that tells you what you purchased. Check it carefully and if there is a problem, call the front desk. You get your statement at your door on the morning you check out. If you wish to change your payment method, go to the front desk.

Have fun.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I just want to make sure I understand... If I give my credit card number at check in to use for my room charge, I can still go and pay with cash, disney dollars etc... I do not want to use my cc for this feature. I want to pay with cash or Disney Dollars. So, they do not charge your credit card immediately?

Thanks

Essentially you can do this however you want. To start the card they want either credit card or cash up front, that way they are ensured of being paid. They are not really giving you credit the way a cc company does. You are authorizing them to add the charges to your bill.

During your stay you can use your room key (if its set up), cash, credit card, Disney dollars, etc. for any given purchase.

So, if you want to pay off the entire bill with cash at checkout time you can. They won't charge your credit card unless you leave your charges on there at checkout time.

We love the room key feature, it makes things so simple. :number1:

[Donald_Quackers]

I have to agree, the charge on room key feature is a nice convenience. Can't wait to use it in December, staying at Coronado this time!:number1:

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We love this feature and have used it every year. DH and I are the only ones with the charging option, the kids are still too young.

We give them our debit card info and then just go down every few days and pay it in cash. They do not charge your card until check out if there is a balance, as another said.

It is a great option to carrying a credit card or large amounts of cash. There are a few stands in Epcot that I know do not use this option, most places do though.

[tinkerbell615]

Thanks. I think I am loving this option. :thumbsup::joy:Leaving tomorrow and can't wait!!

[disneymom2000]

At checkout you can go through everything. The resort personnel are excellent at this. I had them remove stuff from my credit card and pay cash because I didn't know at the time I could have left cash up front on the card. They didn't blink an eye. They even swapped some dining from my credit card to my dining plan when I saw that one meal cost more than another. These people are awesome.

[CleveRocks]

I just want to make sure I understand... If I give my credit card number at check in to use for my room charge, I can still go and pay with cash, disney dollars etc... I do not want to use my cc for this feature. I want to pay with cash or Disney Dollars. So, they do not charge your credit card immediately?

ThanksA room charge can be backed up by credit card, debit card (with VISA/MC logo), travelers checks, cash, or even Disney Dollars.

As stated elsewhere, there is an upper limit depending on your level of resort, but you can set your room charge for any amount up to and including that maximum -- it doesn't need to be set at that maximum.

If you are NOT using plastic, you give them the total amount of cash/travelers checks/Disney Dollars that you want to have the room charge set up for. If you don't reach your limit, you will get any excess funds back at checkout.

If you DO use plastic, they will run your card to make sure it is attached to a valid account, but they will NOT charge your account and they will NOT put a hold on the account. In other words, let's say you give them your debit card to set up a $1,000 room charge. The card is tied to your checking account, and your checking account has a $5,000 balance. If you then call your bank to check your balance a few days later, you'll still have a $5,000 balance in there, because Disney did not take $1,000 from you and didn't place any hold on your account.

Your credit card/bank account won't be charged until you reach your limit or until checkout time, whichever comes first. If you wish to pay by other means, then you must do so before you reach your limit or the night before checkout (to be safe).

AT ANY TIME and as often as you like, you can go to the front desk and request a printout of your room charge activity. It will give the total for each transaction, the date/time/place, as well as the number of the card that was used (cards are numbered 1through as many people as you have on your reservation).

Please post back with any other questions!

[kbr3sco]

I to a 15 yo niece and my 2 under 12 yo kids last december. Problem was ..... I didnt get the money I needed until midweek!!! So using the Room Key Charge was great for me! I was able to buy what I didnt have cash for and not be "charged" until my departure date. It was like an interest free loan for me! I did not have any problems using it or getting charged from things I didnt have. Have a great time!:cloud9:

[Darbylew]

We always use the room key to charge as then
you get one bill at the end of your stay. We have never had a problem with using it. It is
so easy and that means you don't have to take
a lot of cash with you in the parks. There are
some carts that don't take the card so I always
carry some cash with me. I think it is the only
way to go. :thumbsup::mickey:

[sam_1970]

I believe that it would make it easier for you if you just try and see how things are going each and everyday like the charges that they put under yours so that you can be sure that nothing else goes into your account other than the things you spend with.