The parts you highlighted refer to the online booking, and are correct - no charge to your card happened at the time of booking, you were charged by the hotel o

The parts you highlighted refer to the online booking, and are correct - no charge to your card happened at the time of booking, you were charged by the hotel on arrival - as is custom on every hotel check in, online booking or not. On top of that, anyone taking a large payment via CC will usually require payment on the same card used for the authorization hold. Accepting another card is risky as funds can be easily made unavailable before the transaction settles. You just had wrong expectations - on cc charges, that booking would be a “neutral escrow” or be able/willing to help. I’ve been in a similar situation where they held the entire reservation amount, in the thousands, while having already taken payment, and it’s 100% up to the hotel. They just don’t give a shit. This is yet another reason why CCs are a terrible idea. Having the funds in a checking account and not being able to use them because of credit limit shenanigans is infuriating.