CapOne accepted charge referencing old account number

[NRB525]

CapOne PC'd my Platinum to a QS in Sept 2015, on my request. The account number on the card changed at that time, and it seems likely that the expiration month would have to change. The QS card has an expiration in 2020. I doubt the old Platinum had an expiration that far out. The account was not closed/reopened, so keeps the same history on my credit file.

In Uber, it seems I added the CapOne Platinum card in the past, because that card shows up as a payment method, the last four digits are for that MC. But the current QS has different last four digits. The Uber ride was after a long day of travel, and I don't recall specifying which card to use to pay the tip.

On my QS statement, is a charge from Uber. Checking the details of the trip, it is a tip charge on that trip.

So apparently Capital One accepted the old account number, with the new expiration month, and processed the charge as sent by Uber. The Product Change from CO Platinum to CO QS did not create a new account on my credit bureau info, so there must be a history of relevant account numbers that Capital One accepts.

This does not seem appropriate to me.

[Anonymous]

That seems to happen a lot with all kinds of account. My best guess is the old accout don't get recycled unless its reported stolen.

[simplynoir]

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@Anonymous wrote:

That seems to happen a lot with all kinds of account. My best guess is the old accout don't get recycled unless its reported stolen.

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+1 Merchants are authorized to get the information needed to put the purchase through. I haven't heard of serivces like Uber being able to circumvent this. Usually this is tied to subscription services like tolls passes, magazine renewals, gym memberships, and so on.

[jaimeylynn]

This is not specific to certain banks, its actually a service provided by the credit card companies (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex) as a courtesy to customers to help prevent declines in the event of a lost card, new exp date, etc .. Only participating merchants who have card credentials stored for billing (usually recurring bills like subscriptions, but also some that store info on file for faster "click to pay" type payments) prior to the card # or expiration date changing , are updated with new information.  Helps the merchant so they dont have to contact the customer to request new payment info, Also helps the customer by them not having to figure out which companies are on autopay for a particular card and having to take the time to update each one themselves.  You are able to opt out of the service by calling and requesting that your card information not be shared with any merchants, but when opting out it does opt you out for all merchants, not specific ones you request (Unsure if Discover or Amex allow you to opt out for a specific merchant but Visa and Mastercard do not). Visa refers to theirs as Visa Account Updater (VAU).. Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater (ABU).  Most merchants to participate in the services so if not opted out you have to contact the merchant directly to cancel your contract or subscription in order to stop the charges.  

Types of charges that would likely be updated :

Transportation services (Uber or Lyft)
Online retailers (Amazon, Wayfair)

Movies, music and eBook download services (Netflix)
Online payment services (Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal)

Cable TV service
Utilities
EZ Pass
Association dues or Club memberships
Music subscriptions
Magazine subscription
Gym membership
Anti-Virus software
Insurance premiums
Recurring charitable donations