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I had something similar happen to me and called the bank that issued the credit card. See, I had filled my car's tank, then filled my girlfriend's car with gas. The second purchase was rejected. They said they monitor gas purchases and if you make two separate gasoline purchases within a short period of time (like 30 minutes or so), it triggers a stop on the second purchase. This is because they said that stolen credit cards are often used to buy multiple gas purchases in a short period of time. I was surprised purchases were monitored that carefully, but it makes sense.

I've also had instances where I've gone to the local gas station and filled up. Went to pay for the gas and purchase some merchandise at the same time. Thw clerk forgot to add the gas to the merchandise total, so had to swipe the card again to pay for the gas. This doesn't seem to trigger the system even though they both originated from the same gas station. It must be how they classify the purchase/sale...gas vs merchandise.