Certain types of transactions where the full amount is not known at the time of payment come with a preauthorization hold – which means that until the transaction clears, the merchant will hold additional funds to make sure you have enough funds to cover the transaction.
The funds subject to the hold will not be available until the transaction has fully completed or after the hold time expires (typically 7 days but could be up to 30 days with rental car agencies).
These merchants/types of transactions include:
Paying for gas at the pump
Travel reservations (hotels, motels, etc.)
Restaurants
Rental car agencies
Cruise lines
& other similar merchants
When this happens, your available balance may look lower than you were expecting, and it you may wonder if you were overcharged. If the transaction was one of the above or something similar, wait until the transaction clears as it is likely that the merchant has placed a “preauthorization hold” on your account for more than the purchase amount until the transaction has closed out. If after the transaction has cleared, you still feel the amount is more than you were expecting, contact the merchant directly or contact customer service.