Reason code · American Express
Amex C18: “no show” or CARDeposit canceled
C18 is Amex’s lodging code. The Card Member says they canceled a reservation and were still billed as a no-show, or never got credit for a canceled advance deposit. Your booking terms and cancellation log decide it.
What C18 means
C18 is built for hotels and other lodging. The Card Member says they canceled a reservation and were billed anyway, or that they never got credit for a canceled CARDeposit charge, a deposit program Amex ties to lodging reservations. Amex’s guide lists causes such as:
- The cancellation was never processed, or processed late.
- The guest tried to cancel and couldn’t.
- The guest canceled outside your policy, or doesn’t understand your deadlines.
- A promised refund never posted.
What the guest told Amex
“I canceled the room” or “I canceled and never got my deposit back.” The timestamp of their cancellation, measured against your stated deadline, usually decides it.
Time limit
Amex’s guide says Card Members (Amex’s word for cardholders) generally get 120 days from the transaction date, and that canceled disputes can follow a different time frame. Processor guides list 120 days from the latest of the transaction date, the date the credit was due, or the date the reservation was canceled.
Your side of the clock is short. Amex’s own guide tells merchants to respond within 20 days. If you accept Amex through a processor such as Stripe or Square, the processor sets its own date, often a shorter one. The due date on your notice is the one that counts.
What proof matters
Amex accepts documentation that supports the validity of the no-show or CARDeposit charge, or proof that a refund already offsets it. In practice: the policy the guest saw when they booked, and your record of whether and when they canceled.
The cancellation log is the case
Amex’s guide tells lodging merchants to log every confirmation and cancellation number, as required by its Assured Reservation and CARDeposit programs, and to give guests a cancellation number when they cancel. When a guest says “I canceled” and you can’t produce the log, you’re arguing from memory. When you can show no cancellation number was ever issued, the claim gets much harder for them to support.
The common mistake
Telling the guest the policy only at check-in or in fine print after booking. Amex’s guide says to advise the guest of the cancellation policy at the time of the reservation. If they never saw it then, it won’t carry much weight now.
Dispute Daddy builds this for you
Upload the notice and your records. Dispute Daddy builds a response around the reason Amex actually gave, and you approve it before you submit. See how the method works.
