Released: August 25, 2006

Credit card holds can bedevil vacationers

Source: By Julie Tripp, Portland Oregonian

Bob and Sue Van Brocklin and their three teenagers were having a swell time last month on their road trip through Montana’s Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies - until they hit that souvenir shop in Banff.

That’s when the credit card curtain slammed down, leaving the Portland, Ore., family in the dark about why their paid-up, never-late credit card was denied at the shop’s cash register. The Van Brocklins were nearing the end of their 12-day sojourn and had spent a lot of money. But they didn’t think they were anywhere near exceeding their ample credit limit.

When Sue Van Brocklin called the 800 number on her card from Banff, Alberta, Capital One informed her she did indeed appear to be over her limit - by $1,000.

The Van Brocklins had just entered a little-known credit-card Twilight Zone - cue the spooky music - called the credit-card hold, a virtual reality created by hotel and bank computers. Such misadventure can bedevil the best-laid summer vacation plans.

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