US spending – payment card options.

[SteveJ]

SteveJ wrote:

Quirk of the Curve £1,000 FX fee free weekdays.

If you have pending transactions that drop off (e.g. an Uber that you cancel or have to rebook), despite it dropping off your pending charges, it seems to hit the spend counter against the £1,000 weekday limit.

Good thing the transactions show up straight away. In my case I flipped straight over to the Chase debit card once I saw that Curve had prematurely started applying a fee, it was just sooner than I had anticipated.

Despite limiting my exposure I’m still querying it with Curve CS, but they are painfully slow at responding on chat.

And now the “we’re scrapping weekend foreign exchange fees from 1 June to 31 August 2022”, where there is supposedly “no monthly limits on how much you spend on weekends” is also not working, being hit with FX fees. Raising this with CS on chat, but continues to prove that Curve can’t be trusted. Not everyone clicks each transaction to check if a fee has been applied.

No fees weekend fees and no limits quoted here:
https://community.curve.com/t/no-fees-overseas-on-any-card/41721

[rontse]

Hello, just used curve in SF for Uber, charge was $61.30, instant notification shows £50.82, but app is showing £98.79. Is this just an error and will sort itself out in time or do I need to message customer service? Thanks.

[SteveJ]

rontse wrote:

Hello, just used curve in SF for Uber, charge was $61.30, instant notification shows £50.82, but app is showing £98.79. Is this just an error and will sort itself out in time or do I need to message customer service? Thanks.

Whilst it’s in pending stage all bets are off, wait for it to clear pending then check.

[0 post]

To avoid such problems, you should just open an online checking account swiftoo and pay only through it. It is absolutely safe and also much more convenient. I myself have been using this service for a long time. There were no problems.

[SteveJ]

Anonymous wrote:

To avoid such problems, you should just open an online checking account swiftoo and pay only through it. It is absolutely safe and also much more convenient. I myself have been using this service for a long time. There were no problems.

No.

Are Rob and Rhys on holiday? The moderation on the site has fallen off a cliff, posts like the above and the leeches posting their 70k platinum links.

[CarpalTravel]

Anonymous wrote:

To avoid such problems, you should just open an {dodgy site} and pay only through it. It is absolutely safe and also much more convenient. I myself have been using this service for a long time. There were no problems.

Anytime someone has to use the words “It is absolutely safe” you know that the opposite must be true and that it is anything BUT safe.

Please, go away. None of us are stupid enough to use your fraudulent, SPAMMY crap.

[davefl]

SteveJ wrote:

MeganKliry wrote:

To avoid such problems, you should just open an online checking account swiftoo and pay only through it. It is absolutely safe and also much more convenient. I myself have been using this service for a long time. There were no problems.

No.

Are Rob and Rhys on holiday? The moderation on the site has fallen off a cliff, posts like the above and the leeches posting their 70k platinum links.

Yes, that was the answer I got the other day when I complained about posts not being released from the super aggressive spam filter. No moderation due to staff shortages.

If I were him I’d blame heathrow pax caps and lack of baggage handlers myself…

[comeocome]

davefl wrote:

Done 6 weeks in the US this year so a lot of experience. It’s about which card will actually be accepted for the transaction. You may have to deal with contactless, insert card + pin, insert card + signature and just insert card with nothing. Often the transcation will fail and you’ll have to try another. Sometimes get asked for zip code (especially places like the CTA in Chicago at the ticket machines) where you can use the 3 digits of your postcode followed by 00. Ordering food online for takeout or collection is a lottery as to whether it’ll be accepted or not.

All the above types will fail randomly at one time or another and had to try 2nd or 3rd card.

My go to options at the moment for zero forex were Barclaycard rewards (0.25% cashback card), Virgin Money current account debit card, and lastly Halifax Clarity.

For stats on what works I put something like 100 transactions through the Barclay, 10 as fall back on the Virgin when barclay didn’t work
plus 5 zero fee cash withdrawls (US cash machines added $3-5 depending on ATM), and then all my Uber and Lyft were on the Halifax.

Barclay barfed once for suspected fraud when I bought some CDs (after 2.5 weeks in the US) but the guy swiped it again and it went through, followed up by a SMS from barclay asking if the transactions were valid about 30 mins later.

Thanks for the very detailed review! I go to the US a lot so really appreciate it.

Why would you use Halifax Clarity for the Uber/ Lyft rides? Barclays offers an additional 0.25%, wouldn’t that be better than Halifax?

[Man of Kent]

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

[stevenhp1987]

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

[davefl]

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

+1 Works on most but not all cards in most but not all locations as I mentioned in my above post.

[Man of Kent]

Great, thanks very much both. Will give it a try.

[davefl]

comeocome wrote:

davefl wrote:

Done 6 weeks in the US this year so a lot of experience. It’s about which card will actually be accepted for the transaction. You may have to deal with contactless, insert card + pin, insert card + signature and just insert card with nothing. Often the transcation will fail and you’ll have to try another. Sometimes get asked for zip code (especially places like the CTA in Chicago at the ticket machines) where you can use the 3 digits of your postcode followed by 00. Ordering food online for takeout or collection is a lottery as to whether it’ll be accepted or not.

All the above types will fail randomly at one time or another and had to try 2nd or 3rd card.

My go to options at the moment for zero forex were Barclaycard rewards (0.25% cashback card), Virgin Money current account debit card, and lastly Halifax Clarity.

For stats on what works I put something like 100 transactions through the Barclay, 10 as fall back on the Virgin when barclay didn’t work
plus 5 zero fee cash withdrawls (US cash machines added $3-5 depending on ATM), and then all my Uber and Lyft were on the Halifax.

Barclay barfed once for suspected fraud when I bought some CDs (after 2.5 weeks in the US) but the guy swiped it again and it went through, followed up by a SMS from barclay asking if the transactions were valid about 30 mins later.

Thanks for the very detailed review! I go to the US a lot so really appreciate it.

Why would you use Halifax Clarity for the Uber/ Lyft rides? Barclays offers an additional 0.25%, wouldn’t that be better than Halifax?

Glad you found my rambling useful 🙂

Because I wanted to keep stuff seperate. Barclays was an unknown quantity as it was the 1st time I’d used it in the US, so I just used the Halifax for minimal transactions in case I had to fall back on it if the BCard got stopped for any reason. The 0.25% amounts to almost nothing in the wider scheme of things.

[Man of Kent]

davefl wrote:

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

That’s great, thanks very much. Heading to the East Coast of Florida on Friday so may be lucky and catch the Artemis 1 rocket launch on Saturday afternoon.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

+1 Works on most but not all cards in most but not all locations as I mentioned in my above post.

[Scottpat78]

davefl wrote:

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

stevenhp1987 wrote:

Man of Kent wrote:

Does anyone have any advice on what to enter when asked for a zip code at US petrol (gas) stations when wanting to pay by credit card? In the past I’ve tried the zip code for the accommodation but that’s no good and usually have to go to the booth to get an amount pre-authorised which is a faff particularly if it’s busy?

I use the numbers from my postcode, suffixed with 0s to make a 5 digit zip code.

Didn’t work with Chase, but did with my Barclaycard Travel a few days ago. Has worked on other cards for myself historically too.

Eg. your postcode is AB12 3CD then enter 12300. If EC2R 8EJ then 28000.

+1 Works on most but not all cards in most but not all locations as I mentioned in my above post.

+2 This worked for me with Curve Metal backed into BC Avios recently in the US whenever I was asked for zip code at a petrol station pump.

[Nomad]

Anyone used Chase? It’s supposed to be zero FX fees plus 1% cashback.
Am I missing something?

[SteveJ]

Nomad wrote:

Anyone used Chase? It’s supposed to be zero FX fees plus 1% cashback.
Am I missing something?

Chase is a great option for most scenarios. It’s a debit card so lacks s75 protection, so depending on what you’re buying that may swing things.

[Wally1976]

Nomad wrote:

Anyone used Chase? It’s supposed to be zero FX fees plus 1% cashback.
Am I missing something?

Made extensive use of Chase account on recent visit to the US and it was great. Only got refused once when I inadvertently ran out of money in the account!

I liked the instant notifications from the app every time I used it (as well as the other benefits noted).

[stevenhp1987]

Wally1976 wrote:

Nomad wrote:

Anyone used Chase? It’s supposed to be zero FX fees plus 1% cashback.
Am I missing something?

Made extensive use of Chase account on recent visit to the US and it was great. Only got refused once when I inadvertently ran out of money in the account!

I liked the instant notifications from the app every time I used it (as well as the other benefits noted).

The only minor annoyance is that it didn’t send any notification for updated transactions, e.g. when the tip was later added to the posted transaction.

But that doesn’t really bother me. It’s a great FX free card, until the 1% offer ends of course.