Paying non-US sites for travel: CC Security

[sengsational]

I was trying to buy airline tickets from TAP (Air Portugal) and despite trying two computers, three browsers, plus their Android app, it doesn't accept payment.


After booking, I was able to call and they saw my reservation and gave me a link (via email) to click, but that didn't work either.


When I look at my credit card (Elan Visa through Fidelity), there are no rejected charges. I've had this problem before, but only with non-US travel suppliers. I think they use "Verified by Visa" or "3D Secure" or something, and I think a credit card issuer has to opt-in to that.


The weird thing is, I remember wrestling with this a few years ago, but my records indicate that I was finally able to pay with the Elan card.


I just wondered if there was something I am missing. I should just bite the bullet and put it on another card, but it's hard to walk away from the 2% kickback that I get with the Elan Visa.

 

[braumeister]

I just wondered if there was something I am missing. I should just bite the bullet and put it on another card, but it's hard to walk away from the 2% kickback that I get with the Elan Visa.

I've had similar results many times from European sites. Sometimes it's the "Verified by Visa" or any of half a dozen similar programs they use, and sometimes it's simply a matter of their not accepting cards that were not issued in the EU.

I don't think there is any workaround except to use a different card, or once in a while you can bypass the cards and just make a bank transfer directly to them with Wise.

 

[audreyh1]

Fortunately my verified by VISA stuff has worked. I was probably using a Bank of America no FTF credit card. This was before Fidelity dropped their FTF.

Some foreign operators like KLM accept PayPal.

 

[athena53]

I haven't had any problems in this area; in the last couple of years I've booked Air Malta, Air Serbia and British Airways on my Costco Visa with no issues.

 

[brett]

I was trying to buy airline tickets from TAP (Air Portugal) and despite trying two computers, three browsers, plus their Android app, it doesn't accept payment.


After booking, I was able to call and they saw my reservation and gave me a link (via email) to click, but that didn't work either.


When I look at my credit card (Elan Visa through Fidelity), there are no rejected charges. I've had this problem before, but only with non-US travel suppliers. I think they use "Verified by Visa" or "3D Secure" or something, and I think a credit card issuer has to opt-in to that.


The weird thing is, I remember wrestling with this a few years ago, but my records indicate that I was finally able to pay with the Elan card.


I just wondered if there was something I am missing. I should just bite the bullet and put it on another card, but it's hard to walk away from the 2% kickback that I get with the Elan Visa.

I did not have this issue when I booked with TAP...but it was 18 months ago.

I have experienced this issue with some low cost airlines in SE Asia and Oz. Specifically AirAsia and Jetstar. When I used a different card the transaction went through. When I called the card issuer they had no record of the card being rejected hence I think that the airline did not even try because it was a premium card.

Do I care? No...because the price advantage of the fares far outweighted giving up the cashback credits on a premium card.

We buy a fair amount of travel products on non NA websites. Almost all of our Mexican AI stays are booked through a UK TA or directly with Riu because of the cost saving that we sometimes realize by doing so. Never had a problem using a premium card. Ditto for airfares, etc, booked directly on foreign vendor websites.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I have never had an issue with my Capital One card. It has worked every time I’ve used it for a foreign transaction done from the states or while abroad. On the web, it many times has to go thru the additional validation where it prompts me to initiate the sending of a confirmation code to my phone which must then be entered into the transaction. That has never failed. It’s my go-to card for foreign travel. I don’t use it for much else.

 

[Chuckanut]

I had a similar problem with Elan a few years ago. I called them, verified who I was, and they overrode the security bump. But, I also was hit with a foreign currency fee back then. Foolish me.

 

[USGrant1962]

I just had this a couple of weeks ago with Saudia Airlines, plus I tried multiple CCs. I called my CC thinking they were rejecting the transaction but it wasn't even getting to them - no rejected or pending transactions on my account. Then I called Saudia and they said I could only pay through their website.

In the end, on a whim, I fired up a free VPN and the transaction went through immediately on my same CC. The VPN connection was through Netherlands using the free version of Proton.

 

[audreyh1]

I did buy some TAP tickets online in 2019. I don’t remember exactly how I paid for them.

 

[Luvdogs]

Sometimes it is your bank, it seems especially Visa branded cards, that prevent this.
Apparently they think it's fraud.
I had problems with pre-booking things in Japan a few years ago (in addition to their sites!!, just different from US ones sometimes.)

DD also had problems just a few months ago with Japan sites. She called Chase and they "pushed" it through. They said it was a fraud prevention thing with Visa cards. Mastercards are easier to prepay with.
She got a Capital One Mastercard with no foreign transaction fees to prepay Japan sites and has had no problems.

I'm heading to Japan in a few days and also got the same card.

It seems that there isn't a problem using a Visa card once there, it's just using it from the US.

It hardly ever happens but is aggravating when it does.

 

[brett]

It has caused us to have two no FX admin fee cards...a Visa and a MC.

Half or more of our travel spend is purchased on foreign travel sites.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I get notified when there are fraudulent charges to my direct reports' cards ar w*rk and I can tell you the the vast majority of them for 10 years have been airline tickets!

I have also never notified my bank when I traveled and never had an issue. My partner mentioned she would be in Europe last summer to a teller at her credit union and the teller said she she let them know. I thought it was just because it was a small local CU but I contacted my issuer, Chase, and they told me it is not necessary but is a good idea to notify them. AMEX said the same thing. So maybe times have changed.

Probably no help to OP but my experience using a VPN (proton) is that sometimes things mysteriously don't work although I have never had an issue with payments.

 

[braumeister]

I forgot to mention that another little trick I've used in these cases is to make a phone call to the European place and read them my card number to make a payment. That has worked well, although there is no logical reason why it should be different from entering it on their website.

 

[frank]

just a question: what is the benefit of buying through a foreign travel agency?

 

[brett]

just a question: what is the benefit of buying through a foreign travel agency?

Saving. Sometimes as much as 20-30 percent. Especially on late booking Mexico AI's.

On our last trip to Greece/Turkey we had four domestic flights. It was less expensive to book them on Greek travel sites than NA sites. Dito for domestic flights on LC carriers in Turkey.

Several years ago we purchased a last minute 21 day cruise in Australia/NZ while on an extended land trip. I saw it referenced on a cruise review site by locals. Checked the price with our on line cruise agency in the US. Then called RCI's Sydney, Australia call centre. The Sydney call center price was 30 percent less, adjusted for currency, than the best price we could get from our NA on line TA. A significant saving for us. The RCI agent was well aware that I did not live in Australia because he pulled up our cruising account. No problem.

You do need to be careful when buying cruises though becasue the T's and C's are very different from one country to another. Works for us because we typically buy last minute whilst we are on extended land trips.

My sister did exactly the same on a Northern Europe cruise. Booked with a TA in the UK and saved ten percent. She was sharing a cabin with her UK friend. They compared the fare quotes. Quite unusual because typically savvy British cruisers will book cruises with NA TA's because of price.

When we were planning a SA trip five years ago I called the Aerolineas NA 1-800 line to inquire about flights from BA-Igouza Falls. The agent gave me the local number of the Aerolineas Buenes Aires call centre, told me the hours of operation, and said English was no problem. I contacted the BA call center and booked our flights through them in local currency. 25-30 percent less than the NA website AND a better choice of available flights!

We did a Wild Wings safari in South Africa when we retired 12 years ago. We wanted more info than we could get on line so we started to communicate directly with the tour operators. We booked it in South Africa vs NA because of the price delta, and because they we so much more knowledgeable about our options and post safari independent touring plans.

This is not always so but based on the savings we have enjoyed from time to time we tend to check out of country sites to verify pricing. It is so easy to do on line...takes a few minutes. Since retiring most of our travel is international-Europe, SE Asia, and Oz.

 

[tulak]

I bought tickets with TAP using a Chase Sapphire card. I rarely have issues with this card.

I've tried to use the Fidelity (Elan) card a few times for international purchases and it's hit and miss. When it fails, I use the Sapphire card.

 

[audreyh1]

I bought tickets with TAP using a Chase Sapphire card. I rarely have issues with this card.

I've tried to use the Fidelity (Elan) card a few times for international purchases and it's hit and miss. When it fails, I use the Sapphire card.

Interesting!

I do remember buying some TAP tickets successfully online in 2019. I probably used the BofA Travel Rewards Visa.

I have also had decent luck with the FirstTech Mastercard online directly from foreign sites.

 

[sengsational]

I had a similar problem with Elan a few years ago. I called them, verified who I was, and they overrode the security bump. But, I also was hit with a foreign currency fee back then. Foolish me.

This was the problem in my case, as it turned out.

So I was trying to book on TAP through several avenues (various browsers, with/without VPN, their mobile app), all would generate a reservation, but not show payment completed. Calling TAP and getting an email with a link that accepted payment also failed.

Logging on to the Fidelity Elan Visa account web interface, no denied transactions were showing. I called, and they said they didn't see any charges had been attempted, so I continued to push on the TAP side.

I called Elan again and the second time they put me through to the "fraud division", and they said "oh, we dismissed those transactions". Great. So you have a web site that only SOMETIMES tells you about denied transactions

The good news was the fraud CSR gave me a 24 hour window to get the booking paid for (removed the restriction), and I was finally successful. I did have to answer some "prove who you say you are" questions.

As an aside, I noticed a comment about foreign transaction fees, above. As it turns out, if you book TAP with US/English selected, it goes through in New Jersey or somewhere and you get USD. If you book with Canada/English it goes through as CAD. Those prices appear to use an unadulterated exchange rate. Just a discovery about Elan (unrelated to the original issue of the payment not going through) is that the Elan Visa doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee any more, but they also don't give you a great exchange rate. Not a horrible rate, but not a great rate either. So given the opportunity, I'd try for USD.

 

[audreyh1]

Elan Visa doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee anymore but you get the standard Visa exchange rate, same with any other Visa card.

Usually you get a much worse exchange rate paying in USD.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I saved a bunch of money by paying in Euros via the European websites of different airlines. Just comes down to who has a better exchange rate, the airline websites, or your credit card.

 

[brett]

I was surprised to find a 'gray' market in travel products because they are such international products.

There seems no reason to my why a Caribbean cruise purchased in the UK should be 20-30 percent more than the same cruise purchased on a NA website.

Opposite for us on one cruise. The Oz RCI cruise site was 30 percent less than the NA cruise site. Same day, within an hour of each other!

Even though we have no fee FX cards we sometimes find that airline exchange rates are better than the posted XE rates. Often by a point of two.

 

[Gumby]

This is why I still have an Amex card. It has always, without fail, worked for me when traveling overseas.

 

[brett]

This is why I still have an Amex card. It has always, without fail, worked for me when traveling overseas.

I do as well.

However we are finding that many in Europe and Asia do not Amex. With the exception of auto rental, airlines, major hotel chains, and local 3,4,5 star hotels.

Never had that issue with our Visa or Mastercards. With the exception of when we have used a premium card on a SE Asian airlines. In our experience many SE Asia businesses charge a 3 percent adder for credit card sales.

At small family run accommodations/hotels in Europe we usually pull out a credit card but then ask if there is a discount for cash. Usually good for 10 percent plus or some other benefit like a upgraded hotel room, etc. Especially in Italy and Greece.

 

[braumeister]

I do as well.

However we find that many in Europe and Asia do not Amex. With the exception of auto rental, airlines, major hotel chains, and local 3,4,5 star hotels.

Same here. The little guys over there often don't take Amex. I imagine it's because of their higher card swipe fee, even though those fees are on average much lower than they are in North America.