I went to the gas station twice in one day and they charged my credit card $50 each time?

Question

When I had gone to the gas station in the morning I only put $5 in because I was in a really big hurry. Later that day I went to the same gas station and put $54 in. When I checked the balance on my visa, there were two $50 transactions at the gas station. I thought it was an error, so I called the owner and he said that it's not a mistake and that when you pay with a credit card at the pump it pre-authorizes the card for $50. Does anyone know how long it will take to go back on my card? This whole thing happened at 7:30am and 1:30pm yesterday. Has anyone ever heard of this happening?

Answer 1

The bank will usually release any unused authorization when they receive the actual amount from the merchant.  However, there are some banks that will leave the hold on the account for up to two weeks.

Answer 2

It depends on your bank, how soon they release the held funds back into your account. Some banks release them instantly. Yours obviously doesn't, so only the bank themselves could tell you how long it will take.