The length of an "authorization hold" on a card typically depends on the merchant. An authorization hold is a temporary lock on funds after a transaction is approved but before the merchant finalizes the payment.
Standard Authorization Hold Durations:
General Purchases: 1-7 days
Hotels and Car Rentals: Up to 30 days (common for travel-related holds)
Gas Stations & Pay-at-the-Pump: Usually a few hours to a few days
Restaurants: Up to 24 hours. If you start a tab or pay for a meal before adding a tip, the pre-authorization hold may be for a slightly higher amount than the bill to account for an anticipated tip. This may be up to 20-25% of your actual tab.
How It Works:
Transaction Initiation: When a cardholder makes a purchase, the merchant requests authorization.
Hold Placement: The issuer approves and places a hold on the transaction amount.
Payment Settlement: The merchant finalizes the transaction, releases the hold, and charges the card.
To keep in mind:
If the transaction isn’t completed, the authorization hold typically expires, and the funds are released back to the cardholder.
Pre-authorization holds cannot be disputed as they are currently pending and not posted transactions.
It's normal for both the hold and the actual charge to appear on your account at the same time temporarily. The hold will release on its own — this does not mean you've been charged twice.
If you see an unexpected hold, check whether a recent purchase matches the merchant before assuming unauthorized activity.
Important Note: If these authorization holds are longer than the established times above, please let us know as soon as possible, and we can look into manually releasing those transactions back into your account.