Which term is used for an authorization on a purchase scheduled far in the future, such as travel?

Which term is used for an authorization on a purchase scheduled far in the future, such as travel?

• A. Overcapture.
• B. Multicapture.
• C. Incremental authorization.
• D. Extended authorization.

Answer: (D)

An authorization is a temporary hold on funds by the card issuer to guarantee payment for a future charge. For travel and other far-in-the-future bookings, the merchant needs to reserve funds well in advance, and an extended authorization keeps that hold active for a longer period so the final charge can be captured closer to, or at, the service date while allowing for final amount adjustments. This makes it the best fit for scheduling far-ahead purchases like hotel stays or car rentals, where the final total may change and you don’t want to re-run a new authorization yet. Incremental authorization, by contrast, is about increasing the amount on an existing hold if the final charge ends up higher than originally planned, rather than simply extending the permissible window. Overcapture and multicapture refer to capturing more than was authorized or performing multiple captures, respectively, which aren’t the concept used for distant future bookings.

An authorization is a temporary hold on funds by the card issuer to guarantee payment for a future charge. For travel and other far-in-the-future bookings, the merchant needs to reserve funds well in advance, and an extended authorization keeps that hold active for a longer period so the final charge can be captured closer to, or at, the service date while allowing for final amount adjustments. This makes it the best fit for scheduling far-ahead purchases like hotel stays or car rentals, where the final total may change and you don’t want to re-run a new authorization yet. Incremental authorization, by contrast, is about increasing the amount on an existing hold if the final charge ends up higher than originally planned, rather than simply extending the permissible window. Overcapture and multicapture refer to capturing more than was authorized or performing multiple captures, respectively, which aren’t the concept used for distant future bookings.