All codesLodgingMedium Risk

3503Sheraton Hotels (Starwood)

Lodging code for Sheraton Hotels (Starwood). Covers room charges, resort fees, and on-property services.

Networks:VisaMastercardAmexDiscover

Merchants Using MCC 3503

Well-known businesses assigned this code

Sheraton Hotels (Starwood) reservationsSheraton Hotels (Starwood) front deskSheraton Hotels (Starwood) online booking

Risk Assessment

May require additional documentation or slightly higher processing fees. Some processors apply enhanced monitoring.

Common Use Cases

  • Room reservations
  • Group bookings
  • Loyalty program redemptions

Category Details

Category
Lodging
MCC Range
3501–3999
Description
Hotels, motels, resorts, and timeshare properties.

Credit Card Rewards

Bonus CategoryTravel / Hotels
Typical Earning2x–5x

Hotel co-branded cards and premium travel cards earn bonus rewards on hotel charges. Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Chase Sapphire cards are popular choices.

Why MCC Codes Matter for Your Business

Your MCC code directly affects how card networks and processors treat your transactions.

Approval Rate Impact

Processors have different acceptance rates per MCC. A misclassified code can silently tank your approval rate by 5-15%, costing revenue on every declined transaction.

Interchange Fees

The interchange fee you pay on every transaction is directly tied to your MCC code. Some categories pay 0.5% less per transaction — at scale, that compounds into significant savings or hidden costs.

Chargeback Thresholds

Visa and Mastercard set different chargeback monitoring thresholds per MCC category. High-risk MCCs face stricter limits — exceeding them triggers fines, reserve requirements, or account termination.

Wrong MCC = Serious Risk

An incorrect MCC assignment means you could be paying inflated fees, hitting the wrong chargeback program, or worse — facing account termination for "MCC mismatch" during a processor audit.

Tagada Optimizes Routing by MCC Code

Tagada's payment orchestration engine analyzes your MCC code to route each transaction to the processor with the highest approval rate and lowest fees for that specific merchant category. For MCC 3503, this means your sheraton hotels (starwood) transactions are automatically sent through the optimal path in your processor stack.

Related Payment Terms

Frequently Asked Questions

What is MCC 3503?

MCC 3503 is the merchant category code for Sheraton Hotels (Starwood), used for hotel room charges and on-property services.

Is MCC 3503 high risk?

Lodging codes are medium risk due to advance booking cancellations, no-show charges, and incidental charge disputes.

What charges appear under MCC 3503?

Room rates, resort fees, minibar charges, room service, parking, and other on-property charges at Sheraton Hotels (Starwood).

Tagada Platform

Optimize MCC 3503 payments with Tagada

Tagada's intelligent routing engine optimizes MCC 3503 transactions for the best approval rate, lowest fees, and fastest settlement across your processor stack.