A “LUXOR – ADV DEP” charge on your credit card or bank statement is an advance deposit collected by the Luxor Hotel and Casino, an MGM Resorts property in Las Vegas. It is almost always tied to a hotel reservation and equals the first night’s room rate plus applicable tax, charged to the card used when the booking was made.1MGM Resorts. Frequently Asked Questions
What the Descriptor Means
“ADV DEP” is hotel-industry shorthand for “advance deposit,” a pre-arrival payment that property management systems track separately from charges you rack up during your stay. The same abbreviation shows up on statements for other MGM properties too, such as “EXC ADV DEP” for Excalibur.2WhatsThatCharge. EXC ADV DEP So if you booked a room at Luxor and see this line item shortly after, the descriptor is doing exactly what it is designed to do.
When the Charge Is Taken and How Much
MGM Resorts requires a deposit equal to the first night’s room rate plus tax at the time you book, processed to the card you used during the reservation.1MGM Resorts. Frequently Asked Questions This applies across MGM properties, Luxor included.3MGM Resorts. All-Inclusive Experience If the amount on your statement looks roughly like one night at the rate you booked, that’s the match you’re looking for.
Can You Get It Refunded
For standard reservations, the advance deposit is fully refundable if you cancel at least 72 hours before your scheduled arrival.1MGM Resorts. Frequently Asked Questions Promotional and special-rate bookings sometimes carry different cancellation rules, which appear in the terms and conditions shown at the time of purchase. Check your confirmation email for the exact rate type before assuming the standard 72-hour window applies.
There’s also an early departure fee to be aware of. If you check out before the confirmed departure date on your reservation, Luxor charges the quoted nightly rate plus tax for the night of departure.1MGM Resorts. Frequently Asked Questions
Telling It Apart From Luxor’s Other Charges
The advance deposit is one of three distinct charges a Luxor guest can see, and they often appear within days of each other:
- The advance deposit, taken at booking, covering one night’s room rate plus tax.
- The resort fee, a mandatory nightly charge of $51.02 per room as of late 2025, which covers fitness center access, internet, and phone calls.4Resort Fee Checker. Resort Fee Luxor Hotel Casino
- An incidentals hold of $75 per room per day, placed at check-in to cover possible charges during the stay.4Resort Fee Checker. Resort Fee Luxor Hotel Casino
The incidentals hold is the one most often mistaken for a duplicate deposit. It usually posts as a pending authorization and drops off after checkout once the hotel finalizes the real charges.
Pending Holds Versus Posted Charges
A pending transaction reduces your available credit or balance but has not been finalized. A posted transaction has moved through both the merchant and the bank and is permanent. The gap between the two can make a single charge look like two, especially in the lodging industry where holds can stay pending for days or even weeks before settling.5Stripe. Authorization Holds Explained Your bank generally cannot release a hotel’s hold on its own; the merchant has to release it or the hold has to expire.6Pioneer AFCU. Debit Card Holds Explained If your “LUXOR – ADV DEP” line is pending, giving it a few business days is often the simplest first move.
The $0.01 Charge Some People See
A small number of cardholders report a one-cent charge from Luxor, sometimes carrying the “ADV DEP” descriptor. According to posts on travel forums, this is a card verification practice some MGM properties use to confirm the card on file is active, with Luxor and Mandalay Bay specifically noted, and it is often seen when room charges are comped.7Vegas Message Board. Strange Luxor Authorization Appeared on My Visa Today The penny typically shows up around check-in and is refunded after checkout.
One caution: fraudsters also use tiny test charges to see whether a stolen card number works. A one-cent charge from Luxor when you actually have a reservation there is almost certainly the verification practice. A one-cent charge from Luxor when you have no connection to the hotel deserves closer attention.
If You Don’t Recognize the Booking
Before treating the charge as fraud, rule out the ordinary explanations. Someone else on your card may have booked the room: a spouse, an adult child, a travel companion, or an employer. A third-party booking site such as a travel agency or corporate travel platform can also route a reservation through Luxor’s deposit system. And if you booked and then forgot, the descriptor’s unfamiliarity is often what causes the surprise rather than the charge itself.
If none of those fit, treat it as a potentially unauthorized charge. Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card charges at $50, and many issuers maintain zero-liability policies that waive even that.8FDIC. Consumer News
How to Resolve a Billing Issue
Start with Luxor. The hotel’s billing department can be reached at 702-692-2900, and MGM Resorts runs an online billing portal at mgmresorts.com/billing along with a folio-request tool at mgmresorts.com/folio. Email replies come Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific, excluding holidays, with a typical response window of three to four business days.9Luxor Hotel and Casino. Contact Us A copy of your folio will show every charge on the reservation and often resolves the question without a dispute.
If the hotel can’t settle it, you have a formal path through your card issuer. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can dispute a billing error by writing to the issuer’s designated billing-inquiries address within 60 days of the statement date showing the charge.10Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges Include your name, account number, a description of the error, and copies of anything supporting your position. Certified mail gives you proof of delivery.
The issuer must acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days and resolve it within 90. While the investigation is open, you don’t have to pay the disputed amount or related finance charges, though you still owe the rest of the bill. The issuer cannot close or restrict your account or report you as delinquent on the disputed portion during that time.10Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges