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AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

Ok, so today I used my lovely new Zync card at a Chevron gas station to put some gas into the car - the first stall(?) I tried wasn't dispensing the gas for me, and then the screen started flickering that the pump had stopped, please wait.. my boyfriend went in to tell the cashier who said they would stop it while I moved to the next stall, which did work.

 

So just now, I was checking my activity on the account, and I'm seeing 2 pending transactions for Chevron, both of which are at $100, while I only put $20 worth of gas on the card. I read on that page that totals might vary once they were posted and removed from the pending list - should I be worried about this, and does anyone have any idea what this could be? Should I wait to see what it posts as before possibly disputing or inquire about it now? Thanks in advance!

Message 1 of 14
13 REPLIES 13
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

 

 


@Anonymous wrote:

Ok, so today I used my lovely new Zync card at a Chevron gas station to put some gas into the car - the first stall(?) I tried wasn't dispensing the gas for me, and then the screen started flickering that the pump had stopped, please wait.. my boyfriend went in to tell the cashier who said they would stop it while I moved to the next stall, which did work.

 

So just now, I was checking my activity on the account, and I'm seeing 2 pending transactions for Chevron, both of which are at $100, while I only put $20 worth of gas on the card. I read on that page that totals might vary once they were posted and removed from the pending list - should I be worried about this, and does anyone have any idea what this could be? Should I wait to see what it posts as before possibly disputing or inquire about it now? Thanks in advance!


 

When you put your card in the pump.   The gas station sends in a approval request with an arbitray amount for the purchase.   Then when you are finished they send the actual amount.   This preapproval will show as a pending charge for awhile (sometimes days) and then go away.   While it is pending it will reduce your available credit.   You did 2 pumps so there is an extra $200 pending.  There is nothing to do, it happens all the time and will go away on its own.

 

I find the $100 preapproval quite annoying, I prefer the stations which do $1.    If you know you are close to the limit on a card you should go to the cashier and tell them the amount you want and they will preapprove at that level.

Message 2 of 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

Simply paying inside after filling, selecting the "pay inside with cash" option, even if actually using a card, should prevent a hold at stations with large hold amounts. Not very convenient maybe, but potentially less so than a $100 hold. That is if a preapproval isn't needed, not much of a problem out in the sticks where I live. All of the stations around here only hold $1 anyway.
Message 3 of 14
ArisGreek
Frequent Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

Gee the hold is $100 now? They keep getting more and more expensive.  The holds around Boston are $75. It's crazy. Not that it matters on a credit card like Zync, but still...what if someone was using their debit card as a charge and was broke? That'd be horrible for them.

===========
TU: 745(TU98) | EQ: 774 | EX: ? | NO BADDIES!
What's in my wallet? AMEX Platinum, United Presidential Plus World Elite MC, AMEX JetBlue, Nordstrom Visa Sig, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Discover More, AMEX Zync, Citi AAdvantage Plat Select Visa, Banana Republic, Home Depot
Message 4 of 14
KIPPIE12
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

It's not Amex putting the 100$ auth on your account, it's the service stations' credit card authorization center that they use that does.  I ran into this same situation with my Discover card.  I only use service stations in my area that authorize 1$ on my account.   Some higher risk areas of the country, and cities may inflict the 100$ auth, but drops once the actual charge is presented.

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Message 5 of 14
tsquad131
Frequent Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

it happened for me too for a marathon station it showed the pending charge for the amount i filled plus the $100 authorization and it took over a week and a half for it to fall off my pending charges.

amazon
Message 6 of 14
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

It is the individual stores that set the amount.    For gas stations that I have seen  mostly  $1, but quite a few $40, or $100.

Message 7 of 14
stan_the_man
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

The pre-authorization amounts skyrocketed a few years ago when gas prices were over $4/gallon. SUV owners sometimes had to run there cards several times to fill a tank of gas. In response, the gas stations upped the pre-authorization amounts.

 

Nothing to worry about, unless you have a credit limit issue.

Message 8 of 14
SquidBilly
New Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

It IS Amex! I use the same gas station at least once a week to fill up and use Discover, Cap 1MC and my Credit Union Visa. It is ALWAYS $1.00! Got new Amex BC last week and used it today to fill up. When I checked pending charges it shows $99.00. IMO it is an Amex thing.
Message 9 of 14
SquidBilly
New Contributor

Re: AMEX pending charges question - should I be worried?

Next time I fill up I will use another card and see if it's Amex or a new policy. Will post results here. Zoom Zoom
Message 10 of 14
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