Why did my payment fail at checkout?
A payment failure at checkout means your card was not charged and no money left your account. Understanding why it happened will help you resolve it quickly.
Common reasons a payment fails
Card declined by your bank or card issuer Your bank may decline a transaction for a number of reasons, including:
- Insufficient available funds or credit limit
- The bank's fraud detection flagging an unusual or international transaction
- A block on online or international card-not-present purchases
- Daily spending limits being reached
In these cases, the decline comes from your card issuer, not from ReserveTheNight.
Expired or incorrect card details Double-check the card number, expiration date, and CVV you entered. Even a single digit error will cause a decline. If your card has recently expired, use a new card.
** Identity verification not completed** Many banks require an additional authentication step - typically a one-time code sent to your phone or an in-app approval. If you closed this window or the code expired before you approved, the payment will fail. Return to checkout and try again, keeping the verification prompt open until it is complete.
How to retry
- Return to the checkout page. Your session and selected room should still be available.
- Re-enter your card details carefully, or try a different payment method.
- Make sure any 3D Secure authentication window is completed before it times out.
If the same card keeps failing
Contact your card issuer directly. Ask them to confirm whether transactions to online travel bookings are permitted on your card. They can also confirm whether a specific transaction was attempted and blocked.
No charge was made
A payment failure at checkout does not result in any charge to your account. If you see a pending amount on your statement after a failed payment, this is an authorization hold that was released - it will clear from your statement within 5–7 business days depending on your card issuer.
If the problem persists after trying a different card, contact ReserveTheNight support via the contact form.