Why do I have a $1 charge on my credit card?

When a subscription is purchased using a credit or debit card, the merchant bank that processes the payment places a temporary hold on the purchaser's card for $1. The purpose of the hold is to validate the ability to complete the transaction. Once the purchase completes successfully, the $1 hold is removed. This happens immediately, and the $1 hold does not appear on the purchaser's credit or debit card statement.

When the $1 hold is successful, but the actual subscription purchase fails, a $1 hold appears on the purchaser's credit or debit card statement for up to 10 days.

In all cases, the $1 hold will disappear and is not an actual charge.

Each time a failed attempt is made to complete a purchase, an additional $1 hold will appear, as shown below.

The $1 holds are not actual charges, and they will get removed automatically by your bank. Please allow up to 10 days for these entries to disappear from your credit or debit card statement, if this applies to you.