Eli5 why do shops, hotels and so on reserve a larger amount than needed on credit cards.

Question

For example, I’m staying in a hotel, I pay for my room with MasterCard. The total comes to 250 dollar. I check my credit card statement 2 days later and there is 250 dollar off the account and an other 250 reserved.

In: 2

Answer 1

Incidentals

It’s used in case you try and ditch, especially if you caused damage. Think about it like a security deposit.