Gas credit cards

[Anonymous]

Are there any gas credit cards that are super easy to get approved for?

[Anonymous]

I would say BP Visa is a pretty good bet.  They've got some good rewards with their card and will approve you even if you have bad credit in my experience.  I personally don't use them because of authorization holds on credit cards.  I purchase gas gift cards in $100 increments so I don't have to worry about this.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would say BP Visa is a pretty good bet. They've got some good rewards with their card and will approve you even if you have bad credit in my experience. I personally don't use them because of authorization holds on credit cards. I purchase gas gift cards in $100 increments so I don't have to worry about this.

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Could you explain more on the authorization holds? I just switched my bp store card to the bp visa and this post could my attention. Is there anything I should know?

[Anonymous]

I've had the BP Visa since 1995, I don't recall getting any authorization holds?

[Anonymous]

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RGordon wrote:

Could you explain more on the authorization holds? I just switched my bp store card to the bp visa and this post could my attention. Is there anything I should know?

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Absolutely...

Okay, so when you swipe your card at the pump the credit card has no idea how much you're going to pump into your gas tank so they all check to see if funds are available so you can be covered in the event you decide to get a large amount of gas no matter what.

Visa preauthorizes $50.

Mastercard - $75.

Amex - $100 and sometimes $101 for some reason at like Exxon Mobils or whatever.

Not sure about Discover or the other card issuers besides those listed above.

Anyway, so the authorization holds remain on your account for up to 7 to 10 days...but most often they fall off in 3-5 business days.  Now, the gas station will only bill you for the amount that you pump but the hold will still be placed on your account.  If you ever look at the small print below the credit card company logos you will see, "not responsible for any authorization holds placed on by card issuer" I challenge you to look next time you pump.  Even if you get $5 for gas...they will still put anywhere from $50 to $100 (and sometimes $101) depending on where you go and card issuer. 

Now in the event that many holds are placed on in the same day by accident you can call in and get the authorizations reversed however sometimes it won't automatically update in the system and you will still need to wait because it will tie up your available LOC.  Authorization is different from billed balance so it obviously won't affect UTIL on cbr.

Are you confused yet?  I hope I explained it well...

Best way to combat this issue is always make sure you have lots of LOC available if you insist on swiping at pump...you get a gas gift card...OR you can give your card to the clerk, they will only swipe for the amount of the sale.

[Anonymous]

On my store card they have never done that in the ten years I have had it, I will test it out when the new card comes. I notice on my check card, if I use it at the pump as a visa it holds the correct amount but takes about a week to clear but if I enter the pin number it clears right away. That stinks that they hold the money because I don't know one place anymore that lets you pump then walk inside to pay, always prepay or pay at the pump. When I call to activate the new card I will have to ask for a CLI.

[Anonymous]

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RGordon wrote:
On my store card they have never done that in the ten years I have had it, I will test it out when the new card comes. I notice on my check card, if I use it at the pump as a visa it holds the correct amount but takes about a week to clear but if I enter the pin number it clears right away. That stinks that they hold the money because I don't know one place anymore that lets you pump then walk inside to pay, always prepay or pay at the pump. When I call to activate the new card I will have to ask for a CLI.

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Now that's what I forgot to mention...on store cards they do not do authorization holds because it is credit directly from the store itself and they don't need to hold to check the funds are available, it's not run from a separate bank.  Also on debit cards there's only a hold for $1 typically.

And also it is very common for places to require you to prepay or pay at the pump, however in...how should I say this...?  Less riskier places like the Midwest like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan you can pump and then pay later.

If it's a store card you probably don't have to worry about this.  I should have clarified further.  I'm always looking from an Amex point of view...

[Creditaddict]

I have a chase freedom that I only use for gas... it has a $500 limit since it's just for gas. I have never had any problems with holds.

The BP is also through Chase.

maybe they drop the hold before I try to use it again... but I think you see the holds more with Check cards vs credit cards.

[Anonymous]

Aah, I see. In the CC merchant world, what you're referring to are pre-auths (pre-authorization). These are the runs merchants do to make sure there's enough buying power on the credit card. If you ever run a charge and notice an approval code, that's generated by a pre-auth.

It can then get a little complicated to explain in detail, but mere employees typically do not have the knowledge nor the access to reverse a pre-auth. What they tend to do is to run the charge again without realizing there's a pre-auth holding some of the credit limit.

The pre-auth sits around waiting to be matched to a real charge or to get "released" for about 3-5 days. Unless it's a debit card as mentioned earlier, then +2 days.

Yes, pre-auth's stink when they're not managed right. Honestly though, I don't notice large pre-auth's for gas on my card. Whenever I've checked my account on-line right after filling up, I would only notice a temporary charge for $1 which eventually gets replaced by the correct amount.

[Anonymous]

Jemi, gas cards, like cc's pull CR's from the CRA's.  And like credit card companies, your cl will depend on your credit score and what's contained in your CR.

I got a Chevron/Texaco card back in August, approved for $400. I applied online with them. My TU FICO score was 656. But had several baddies on it(1 collection for $369; 1 charge off for $16.00), and a LOT of lates, all 30 days, nothing beyond 30.

Have you pulled your credit report lately? If not, I'd suggest you do so.

Does that answer your question?