Theford

[real frigate]

I don't think you can use Payment Links with saved payment methods or with a separate auth and capture workflow. You would have to use another payment workflow like Checkout or the Payment Element.

As for pros and cons of each, it sounds like you found the major ones already. Separate auth and capture (SA&C) allows you to authorize the card for X amount, then charge up to X amount within 7 days (the hold on the card cannot be longer than that). Setting up a payment method for future payments allows the customer to authenticate once, then have their card used as many times as you want afterward without them having to come back into the payment/auth flow. Generally, using Setup Intents to setup the cards for future payments is most flexible and has the least amount of restrictions. Both are about the same level of complexity to set up, but the SA&C workflow requires a lot more custom code and planning after the first authorization.

[coral crane]

Thanks for the insightful answer. Always happy to get the confirmation that the direction is on track.
I did. implement future payments in another project a year ago and it was a breeze to implement. Could you elaborate on why SA&C is harder to implement?
The one advantage I see with SA&C is that I know that funds are available and the payment method is up2date. Is there a similar option for future payment to check whether funds are still available or at least the payment method is still working?

[real frigate]

You can still put a hold on a card that is saved, so you could technically setup the card for future usage, then auth the card before capturing the payment.