Credit card fuel purchases

[NJMac]

You are being declined because you are a millennial. If you were a Boomer, you would have no problem at the pumps!

I can promise you I'm the most unusual millennial you'll ever meet. I've even got a work ethic.

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[1964-M20E]

Well I have multiple cards and have had to use them before for similar reasons.  I also have several hundred in cash for those rare times when a card just won't do.  However, when the field is deserted but for you and the self serve pump and it wont take your card I guess you are doing some very strategic planning to get to another field with a human that can take cash money or the card for fuel.  Then you can always spend the night in the plane or uber to the nearest lodging opportunity.  Oh yeah some places don't have Uber either.

 

Fly to enough places and sooner or later you will find that place above.  Plan your fuel wisely my friend.

[McMooney]

1.  GET AMEX, gold or platinum.  treat this card properly and it'll never let you down.

     I once purchased a car on amex got tired of waiting at the dealership, refinanced it the next day.

2.  get visa, mastercard AND discover.  there are places which only take certain cards.

also get cards that do contactless pay, I know everyone is tracking you but hey atleast it's a company that already has all your info.

 

leave one of the cards and ID in the plane.  I took off on a trip once, left my wallet at home, thank god I'm paranoid.

 

[Speed Brakes]

I have the cell phone ready to text back the fraud alert system for our citi doublecash mc then swipe the card again. If we fill up before the flight and get gas at our destination, the change in zip codes in the short duration flags the charge. True, Amex always goes through (it’s also in my wallet) but with the citi doublecash it’s worth the 2% back to me... and their fraud alert system has helped us with actually fraudulent charges in the past.


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[MoonFlyer68]

A few years back I was stationed in Germany flying VIP business jets all over Europe.  I had a trip when my card stopped working as well.  I had already notified the card company I was moving to Germany and all had been fine since I arrived.  The night the card stopped working I called them up.  They said there was suspicious activity on the card.  All in the same day my card was used in Germany, Turkey, and then Portugal.   I had to explain that I fly jets for a living.  I bought a couple Cokes in Germany before my flight.  Had lunch in Turkey when we were picking up our passenger.   I had dinner in Portugal when we dropped him off.

 

I have never had a problem since.

[NJMac]

A few years back I was stationed in Germany flying VIP business jets all over Europe.  I had a trip when my card stopped working as well.  I had already notified the card company I was moving to Germany and all had been fine since I arrived.  The night the card stopped working I called them up.  They said there was suspicious activity on the card.  All in the same day my card was used in Germany, Turkey, and then Portugal.   I had to explain that I fly jets for a living.  I bought a couple Cokes in Germany before my flight.  Had lunch in Turkey when we were picking up our passenger.   I had dinner in Portugal when we dropped him off.
 
I have never had a problem since.

My mother in law suggested what I think you are saying... Buy something local off airport like a Coke at a convenience store, then the card may be more likely to work?

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[Mooneymite]

I've noticed that when my CC is declined, I'm at an airport with no cell phone coverage so I can't get hold of the bank.  I guess that's the punishment for going to airports with cheap avgas? 

[GeeBee]

The other great thing about AMEX is you can link it to Apple Pay and Apple wallet. AMEX's computers are lightning fast. When I hand my card to a waiter, I can put my phone on the table and see when it was ran and for how much before the waiter even returns with the card. Ditto when you pay them. I click to send the money, my phone dings immediately to say payment received. They just are better in every way. Merchants hate them because their merchant fee is higher, but you get what you pay for I say.

By the way my daughter is a banker (she even banks bankers!) and an expert in banking fraud including CC fraud. She says Apple Pay is the most secure system out there and to use it whenever you can.

 

 

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, MilitaryAV8R said:

A few years back I was stationed in Germany flying VIP business jets all over Europe.  I had a trip when my card stopped working as well.  I had already notified the card company I was moving to Germany and all had been fine since I arrived.  The night the card stopped working I called them up.  They said there was suspicious activity on the card.  All in the same day my card was used in Germany, Turkey, and then Portugal.   I had to explain that I fly jets for a living.  I bought a couple Cokes in Germany before my flight.  Had lunch in Turkey when we were picking up our passenger.   I had dinner in Portugal when we dropped him off.

 

I have never had a problem since.

I had a similar thing where my card was shut off because it was used somewhere in the middle of Russia.   I said, "Yeah, that was me getting some cash at an ATM."   Likewise I've not had much trouble since, and they've still managed to catch and stop some suspicious stuff.

Some friends had trouble renting bikes in Sturgis during the rally when the renter charged their cards through their Florida site.   This made it look like my friends had travelled from South Dakota to Florida in a few minutes, so it got declined.    There is some geographic intelligence built in, but sometimes that gets tripped up by stuff like this.

I carry a CC and my Debit card, and if one of them doesn't work the other one usually does.  

 

[PT20J]

14 hours ago, Bravoman said:

You are being declined because you are a millennial. If you were a Boomer, you would have no problem at the pumps!

I'm a "boomer" and I've been declined.

[midlifeflyer]

Citi was pretty good. On the second out-of state fuel purchase - two different days and two different states - they let the charge go through but sent me a post-fueling alert to ask if it was me. It came text and email. I replied and we were done.

Chase simply declined once with no follow-up, but that was enough years ago to not count. I gave them hell for potentially (I had another card) leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere and it never happened again.

[Bravoman]

26 minutes ago, PT20J said:

I'm a "boomer" and I've been declined.

 Me too, always because of security reasons, the credit card company wanting to know that it is me making the purchases. That is something that I welcome.  I typically get hit with a text when that occurs, and  can clear it right up. 

 I have two millennial sons, one of which is a pilot. I like giving them a hard time whenever possible! 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Bravoman

[bradp]

BoA has a good interface.  The fraud protection is “dialed right”.  Can turn on or off travel alerts for individual cards, you get a text about declines / fishy stuff and can reset with app or text in seconds.  

Ive has issues with debit cards getting declined but never a credit card, which is my backup for fuel purchases anyway. 

[kris_adams]

as much as I don't like mega banks and hear bad things about them, BoA will text me immediately if they deny a charge.  As a backup I always keep 2 different cards from completely different companies/networks...no cash on me either...hardly ever.

[SantosDumont]

I haven't had AMEX rejected at the pump yet.

[BKlott]

It is just a fraud protection program. They claim that most fraudulent purchases are made out of state. Both my Credit Union and my B of A cards have website screens to remove the territorial restrictions from the cards. You plug in the desired date range then check off the different States that you may be visiting during your trip. You’ll normally receive a confirmation along with a phone number to call if you run into any problems while traveling. Has always worked well for me.

[NJMac]

Sounds like I'll be picking up an Amex personally. Thanks team.

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[RLCarter]

Kinda shocked at how many travel (or not) with out cash, leaving the house for me with out cash is like leaving without my cel phone.... I'll turn around for either

[EricJ]

15 hours ago, RLCarter said:

Kinda shocked at how many travel (or not) with out cash, leaving the house for me with out cash is like leaving without my cel phone.... I'll turn around for either

If you're travelling internationally, and especially if you're not completely sure of your itinerary, that can be tough.    Travelling internationally I've found it's nearly always a much better exchange rate to just wait and get cash at an ATM at the destination.   I've never personally had any trouble with CCs when travelling internationally...that pain has been reserved for cell phones and similar things.

 

[EricJ]

Just now, EricJ said:

If you're travelling internationally, and especially if you're not completely sure of your itinerary, that can be tough.    Travelling internationally I've found it's nearly always a much better exchange rate to just wait and get cash at an ATM at the destination.   I've never personally had any trouble with CCs when travelling internationally (other than it being shut off after I got home from Russia)...that pain has been reserved for cell phones and similar things.

 

 

[Bolter]

On 9/22/2019 at 3:29 PM, BDPetersen said:

Recently I had a card decline that was apparently generated by inserting my card in the reader backwards ( I was at optometrist and eyes were dilated). Getting my card reactivated involved getting photos of my drivers license transmitted to the card company (like transmitting a check, front and back). Frustrating. Cash in billfold hurts my back. Writing checks makes my hand hurt.

Not really part of the core discussion, but I got tired of thick wallets, and have been using the ultra-thin wallets for years.  All the same contents, less than half the thickness when filled.  You forget it is there, even on long flights.  Both flying LOP and ROP...    

https://www.all-ett.com/collections/mens-wallets/products/nylon-id-wallet 

Checks are for the Amish...

-dan  

[RLCarter]

10 minutes ago, Dan at S43 said:

 I got tired of thick wallets,

I haven't carried cash in my wallet for 30 something years, front pocket folded in half. I've seen those guys with so much crap in their wallet it barely closes and when it does its 3" thick

[Bolter]

1 hour ago, RLCarter said:

I haven't carried cash in my wallet for 30 something years, front pocket folded in half. I've seen those guys with so much crap in their wallet it barely closes and when it does its 3" thick