 TITLE: Why Is My Credit Card Being Declined? CONTENT: 3\\. You Have a Large Pending Transaction\n----------------------------------------\nCompanies such as rental car providers and hotels may put a hold on your card to ensure you have enough available credit to pay your final bill. While the hold is in place, your card issuer might decline other purchases until it's cleared. Merchants will tell you when they're placing a hold for things like incidentals or security deposits, so you can ask them how long it typically takes to release the hold.\nIf you have an idea of the hold window, you can use alternate payment methods during that time to avoid embarrassing or stressful situations. Or, if you need access to the credit line sooner, you can call the credit card issuer or the merchant to request that they lift the hold. There's no guarantee that they'll do it, but it's worth a try.\nYour best bet is to build transaction holds into your budget. If you know you'll be renting a car or checking into a hotel for a week, you can set aside some extra savings in your checking account or make sure another card has plenty of credit so you're not worried about getting declined. END