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I just booked two hotel accommodations and gave my card number and the expiration date to the web site I used. Then I realized that I am required to pay the entire reservation amount if I want to cancel. Can they charge my credit card without having the CVV or the PIN number if I don't check in at the hotel?

Is there a way to cancel the reservation without losing all my money?

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    So you finished your booking and afterwards you wanted to cancel and they said you should pay the whole money to cancle? 1) Read the cancellation policies at tell us what is standing there 2) check if they already charged your card, 3) Regarding your question: I assume with your name and your card number they can at least "find" you and than it is about 1, the cancellation policies – Gnusper Dec 2 '16 at 12:51
  • @Gnusper, even if they "find" him they can't do anything if OP hasn't authorized the hotel/reservation site to charge him/her. I don't know of any online authorization method that doesn't use the CVV. As OP stated he/she didn't give the site his/her card's CVV, he/she can't be charged a penny, even though cancellation policies might say the opposite. Of course, the site/hotel could go legal, but they have no real point in doing so. – Estey Dec 2 '16 at 13:02
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    @estey apparently it is possible to charge you without CVV security.stackexchange.com/questions/21168/… – Gnusper Dec 2 '16 at 13:09
  • @Gnusper thanks a lot for sharing! That being said, I guess it all boils down to the cancellation policy, as the OP said they gave the site their card number. If a big amount of money is involved there's also the possibility (if the card hasn't been charged yet) to cancel the card: it's a hassle but some will say "better safe than sorry". – Estey Dec 2 '16 at 13:17
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    @Estey you definitely can charge without the CVV code - Amazon does it in many locations for example (I have verified this recently, was able to add a totally new card to my Amazon.co.uk account by just giving the card number, expiry date and billing address - no CVV code in sight, see security.stackexchange.com/questions/21168/…). – Moo Dec 2 '16 at 13:19
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Can they charge my credit card without having the CVV or the PIN number if I don't check in at the hotel?

Yes, they certainly can. For example, Amazon doesn't ask for your CVV code to charge for purchases and other companies are allowed to do so as well.

Is there a way to cancel the reservation without losing all my money?

  1. If you want to be an... impolite person, simply cancel the card which you've used to make a booking. The charge will most likely fail to go through when you cancel and the hotel wouldn't have much recourse.

  2. If you want to be a decent person, call the hotel and politely ask them to cancel your reservation without penalty. Assuming the date is far enough into the future, it's possible that the manager will agree.

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  • For #1 it will not work if the card is preauthorized or charged, which is typical my experience. But even if it is not, it is still worth calling the hotel and letting them know, so they wouldn't stick with an empty room. Especially if he might stay in the same hotel in future. – George Y. Jan 19 '17 at 17:52

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