Virtual card

A single-use card number an OTA or travel agency issues to pay for a booking, instead of passing you the guest's own card.

Booking.com, Expedia, Hopper and others use them for prepaid reservations. The number is generated for that one booking, usually capped at the booking value, and often only becomes chargeable on or after a set date, typically the check-in or check-out date.

For a front desk the practical difference from a guest card is timing and admin. You cannot charge it whenever you like, the activation window matters, and if you miss it you are chasing the OTA rather than the guest. Most PMSes can now authorize or charge virtual cards automatically on a schedule you set per channel, which removes the daily job of working through them by hand.

Also called a VCC or virtual credit card.