Why is there a hold on your card?
A pre-authorization hold is money a merchant asks your bank to set aside before the final amount is known. It looks like a charge, reduces what you can spend, and then disappears — but while it lasts it causes real confusion. This site explains, in plain English, how holds work in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom: how long they last, why they happen, and what to do when one will not go away.
What is a pre-authorization?
A pre-authorization is a temporary hold that checks whether your card works and reserves spending room. It is not necessarily a completed charge. The merchant asks your card issuer to set aside an estimated amount. Later, the merchant either captures the final charge — the real amount you owe — or releases the hold so the money becomes available again.
You will run into pre-authorizations anywhere the final total is not known at the start: hotels reserving for incidentals, rental-car companies taking a deposit, gas stations authorizing before you pump, restaurants allowing for a tip, and cruise ships running an onboard account. The hold protects the merchant; understanding it protects you.
A note on the name: the domain uses the British spelling “preauthorise.” In the U.S. you will usually see “preauthorize” or “pre-authorization”; in Canada, both spellings appear, and a “pre-authorized debit” is a different thing entirely (explained in the Canada guide).
Authorized → held → released: the lifecycle of a hold
Authorized
The merchant asks the issuer to reserve an estimated amount. Your issuer checks the card and earmarks that amount.
Held
The amount appears as pending and reduces your available credit (credit card) or available cash (debit card). Nothing has been paid to the merchant yet.
Released — or captured
If the merchant releases the hold, the pending entry disappears and your availability returns. If the merchant captures it instead, the final amount posts as a completed charge.
What a hold looks like on your statement
INN & SUITES — Oct 4 · Card ending 1042PENDING HOLD $250.00
The hold reduces what is available to spend. It is not part of your posted balance unless the merchant completes the charge. Labels vary by bank and card issuer — some say “pending,” some say “authorization,” some show nothing until the charge posts. See how long holds last for what happens next.
Start with your country guide
The rules, the vocabulary, and your options when something goes wrong differ by country. Pick yours:
U.S. card hold guide
How pre-authorization holds work on U.S. credit and debit cards: hotels, rental cars, gas stations, release timing, and what to do about a hold that will not clear.
Read the U.S. guide
Canada card hold guide
Card holds and pre-authorized debits (PADs) in Canada — two different things with similar names — plus how to cancel a PAD, claim reimbursement, and escalate a bank complaint.
Read the Canada guideUK card hold guide
UK authorisation holds in pounds, plus the protections that sit behind them: Section 75, chargeback, recurring card payments, and how to complain to the Financial Ombudsman.
Read the UK guideBrowse by situation
Hotel holds
Why hotels reserve the room total plus an incidentals buffer — and how to avoid a check-in surprise.
Hotel card holds →Rental-car deposits
Why the deposit is bigger than the rental price, and what to confirm before you pick up the keys.
Car rental card holds →Gas-station holds
Why pay-at-the-pump authorizes a preset amount before you fill up, and how to reduce the uncertainty.
Gas station card holds →Debit card holds
On debit, a hold freezes your own cash. What that means for bills, buffers, and everyday spending.
Debit card holds →Restaurant holds
Why the pending amount can be higher than your bill until the tip-adjusted total is captured.
Restaurant card holds →Cruise holds
How onboard accounts create rolling holds as your spending accumulates during the trip.
Cruise card holds →Choosing a card that handles holds well
A good travel setup leaves room for temporary holds without squeezing everyday spending. The categories worth comparing are travel credit cards (a separate credit line for bookings and holds), hotel-focused cards (if incidental holds are a regular part of your travel), and cards with no foreign transaction fee (for spending abroad). Card recommendations are coming soon. For now, this site offers independent checklists only: no providers are ranked, and there are no application or affiliate links here. Always compare current terms on the issuer's official site before applying.
Also on this site
- Medical prior authorization — a completely different meaning of “prior auth”: a health plan's approval before it covers care. Not a card hold.
- FAQ — why you see both a hold and a charge, whether you can dispute a pending hold, debit-hold risks, and more.
- Glossary — authorization, capture, settlement, reversal, and the other words merchants and issuers use.