I understand putting a hold on a credit card (not a debit card) when you rent a room or a car, but for a retail purchase? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Pay in cash. Convenience has its penalties.
Use of the card constitutes agreement to the terms. They put the $75 hold on to cover the potential cost of the gas. Only way around it is to go inside and have them put a specific amount against the card.
Pssssttt,
Get rid of ALL the friggin cards and pay CASH.
CASH IS KING.
I have NO checking, saving, credit card or other accounts.
You need to see how these vermin slobber after me for my business.
If you think the holds are something, you need to understand how they up and down the interest rates on your accounts.
Creepy. I’d stop using that prepaid card and get a bank one, even from a sucky bank (which most are). At least they don’t do that.
It’s not the card company its the place you got gas from, they are the ones putting the hold.
I use a debit card regularly. A lot of times they will put a one dollar hold/charge on it before the whole amount is applied several days later.
I have never had a charge larger than the actual amount of the debit placed on it.
By the way, jumping onto the thread: what about when you leave a debit card as your card at a hotel? They put a hold on your card that lasts longer than your stay. How to avoid that? Would leaving cash be better, because they have to give you back your cash when you leave?
the gas station does that because it has no way of knowing in advance, when it authorizes your purchase, how much gas you are going to pump into your car
so it actually makes sense
they then only actually bill your credit card for the amount you do in fact pump.
if you don’t want that hold to show on your account, you can go inside and have the attendant charge your card for a specified amount in advance (or most gas stations will agree to hold your card inside while you go and fill you tank, then you go back in and sign and pick up your card).
so you do have a way around this problem.
Barrack Obama thanks you for the $75 donation.
If you have ever been to a station where the hold is too low then you have to do multiple transactions if you have a vehicle with a large tank. That's a pain too.
There's an overview of the whole process and problems at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_hold
It’s common. The places I buy gas have stickers on the pump indicating that a hold may be placed on your card. They indicate it is the bank and not them...it makes a little sense. In a sense it’s an odd debit purchase because you’re authorized before the amount of sale is known, which defies the concept of a debit purchase. USAA does not seem to do it.
Without human intervention, analytical software flags certain transactions as suspect and may impose rejections, delays, holds, and such as a result. The lengthy cardholder agreements and various laws and regulations permit the practice, as annoying as it can be.
It depends upon which gas station you use. I recently drove from NM to Ames, Iowa, using a debit card all the way. Some gas stations did the $1.00 charge to make sure the card worked and others just pre-authorized $75 at the pumps as you experienced.
There’s no way around it unless you go inside and say $25 on pump 4. Then they put the purchase through immediately.
It’s a common practice.
I was on a trip one time and using American Express prepaid credit card. Bought gas at one station with the card, then stopped at a place to eat later that day and tried to use the same card and it wasn’t accepted. Luckily I had more than one card to use.
Many credit card agreements with retailers involve a means to modify the original transaction with an upcharge for a gratuity or additional authorized charge without swiping the card a second time. Those agreements provide a hold amount for prepaid debit cards when swiped, and a time limit to submit the additional charge for all cards. You are subject to the terms of hose agreements if you choose to pay at those retailers with your card.
Once we drove from Florida to Oklahoma. We stopped at a motel and I gave them an American Express Gold Card. This was back in the early 80s and it actually meant something then.
Anyway the clerk swiped the card with one of those manual slides they used to use. She then phoned in to make sure it was good before letting us stay. I had never had anyone do that before or later. Maybe they do it after you leave the office, I don’t know but it irritated me a bit.
I haven’t researched this particular issue, but as a general rule, you have FAR fewer rights with a debit card than you do with a credit card. I’d never have a debit card tied to my bank account. (I can see a limited utility for the prepaids).
When you use a card at the pump it charges you $1 to ensure the card is valid. The remainder of the purchase hits a while after you pump.
I avoid the hassle and just go inside and pay with my card so it all comes out at once with no “hold” on it.
But cash is better!
Generally, the gas pump has a sign that this is a possibility, just like when you rent a car for a week a two week hold is on the card.
These actions are customary.