Terms of use
Last updated 4 September 2026
Short version: Holdeta is a free informational tool. Use it to plan; verify anything that matters with your bank. Don't scrape us into oblivion or pass our estimates off as guarantees.
1. What Holdeta is, and who operates it
Holdeta provides estimates of when card authorization holds, deposits and pending charges may be released, plus explanatory guides. Estimates are computed from published card-network rules, documented issuer norms and calendar arithmetic. They are informational only.
Holdeta is operated by the person identified on the imprint, which is the single authoritative record of operator identity, correspondence address, contact and VAT details for this site. Contact for anything in these terms: hello@plainforge.com. Holdeta is a plainforge tool.
2. What Holdeta is not
- Not financial, legal or professional advice. We are not a bank, adviser, or law firm, and nothing here is a recommendation about your finances.
- Not a guarantee. Your issuer's actual policy and processing determine real timing. Never make payments, purchases or commitments that depend on a hold releasing by a specific date.
- Not affiliated with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or any bank or merchant mentioned. Trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify the systems being described.
3. Acceptable use
You may use the site for personal, non-commercial purposes and link to it freely (we're delighted). You may not misrepresent our estimates as guarantees or as your own product, remove attribution, or hammer the site with automated bulk requests.
4. Accuracy and changes
We work to keep rules current and say plainly (on the methodology page) where confidence is lower. Payment rules change; we may update content, the engine and these terms at any time. Corrections: hello@plainforge.com.
5. Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Holdeta is provided "as is," and we accept no liability for losses arising from reliance on estimates or guides, including declined payments, overdraft fees or missed obligations while funds remained held. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
6. Partner links
This site contains a small number of clearly labelled partner links, currently to three partners and nothing else: Discover Cars (car rental comparison) in the car rental deposits guide and under a finished estimate for a car rental; Monzo (a UK bank account) in the debit vs credit guide; and Current (a US account with a fee-free overdraft) in the debit vs credit guide and under a finished estimate for a debit card issued in the United States. Every such link is visibly tagged "Partner link" where it appears and is marked rel="sponsored nofollow" in the page code. If you book, open an account or buy something through one, the partner may pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Partner links never affect estimates, the engine, or what the guides say: the numbers come from published network rules either way. They are plain outbound links, with no tracking scripts or pixels attached to this site; the Monzo and Current links pass through the Takeads affiliate network (tatrck.com) on the way to the partner. See the privacy policy for what happens when you click one. On the estimator, a partner link can only appear underneath a finished estimate, never inside it, and only where the answers you entered make that partner relevant; the free or on-site route is always listed first.
7. Privacy
Covered separately, and briefly, because we collect almost nothing: privacy policy.