Wow, $100 hold for buying $30 gas.

[amdhunter]

I was in New Jersey for a little bit today and decided to fill up on the cheaper tanks there, so I stopped at a 7 Eleven to fill up on gas.

I also figured I'd do some shopping for gloves on Amazon so I wanted to check my cashback on Discover, and I noticed this nice chunk of pending charges:

12/16/2012 PENDING 7-ELEVEN 32353 $ 100.00 PROCESSING

How the hell can they put such a high hold on your credit card? lol, I'm willing to bet that some people don't have $100 in available credit these days. I am so used to $1 holds that it took me by surprise.

Are holds like this common these days?

 

[coxmaster]

I was in New Jersey for a little bit today and decided to fill up on the cheaper tanks there, so I stopped at a 7 Eleven to fill up on gas.

I also figured I'd do some shopping for gloves on Amazon so I wanted to check my cashback on Discover, and I noticed this nice chunk of pending charges:

12/16/2012 PENDING 7-ELEVEN 32353 $ 100.00 PROCESSING

How the hell can they put such a high hold on your credit card? lol, I'm willing to bet that some people don't have $100 in available credit these days. I am so used to $1 holds that it took me by surprise.

Are holds like this common these days?

They've been doing that for a LONG time on debit cards.. Plus there is almost guaranteed to be a notice saying such on the pump itself.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Holds of $50-100 haven't been that uncommon for a while. Usually if its pretty high they'll put a sign/notice up to alert you. I know this took off quite a lot back in like 2005 when everyone was freaking out about gas prices and debit/check cards were getting really prevalent.

 

[bkch0]

Just the other day, I had a $150 hold on $50 worth of gas in PA.

Yesterday, I purchased $38 worth of gas in NJ. no hold at all.

 

[amdhunter]

They've been doing that for a LONG time on debit cards.. Plus there is almost guaranteed to be a notice saying such on the pump itself.

In NJ, they don't allow you to pump your own gas, so I wouldn't have seen a sign. I've never seen a hold this high ever.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Been that way for years. Varies depending on the location. If you want to avoid it set a specific amount at the pump before pumping or just pay after if possible.

Selecting fill will give you high holds to ensure you can pay depending on your vehicle. Nice gas guzzling truck can take a lot to fill up.

 

[Baked]

What's this hold you speak of? I've never heard of such a thing?

 

[Farmer]

I always get a $1 hold at the Giant Eagle GetGos in west PA.

 

[weadjust]

Gas is down to $2.74. Usually goes up during the holidays. I guess they are trying to sell it all before 12/21.

 

[RockinZ28]

Just varies by location I guess. I've only ever once seen a large hold, $125 by a Chevron in San Diego. Called Chase and they assured me it was legit, but didn't see why stations needed to put such large holds. Said to be thankful I'm not using a debit card, otherwise real money would be tied up.

Every other gas station I've ever been to has just done the $1 hold to my knowledge.

 

[Firebot]

It's been that way for pap transactions for ages. It's a mystery how so many people still don't understand how pay at the pump works. The pump doesn't know how much you wish to fill up, and needs to ensure you have the funds available before you actually pump it, so a preauthorization is done on your card at an amount like 100 or 125$ (most cars can't fuel that much gas and will never hit the limit). This hold disappears within a few days, most often without the person ever knowing unless he checks his statements daily.

You want the fun part? If you do an international transaction (i.e. use a US visa card in Canada), you will actually be charged the full hold amount which will be refunded back once the settlement completes.

 

[Soccerman06]

Gas is down to $2.74. Usually goes up during the holidays. I guess they are trying to sell it all before 12/21.

that cant be normal

 

[bigrash]

I've never seen a hold at a gas station either. I normally get charged the right amount right away.

 

[OCGuy]

On debit I can see why this would be an issue. Seeing as how a "pending" transaction never posts, then the pretend money that is available to you from the bank on a credit card being temporarily tied up should not be a problem. In fact, it is their money, not yours.

Now, if you are riding CC's that close to the limit, than a monthly finance charge can put you over at any time. If you have to live like this once you are older than 25, maybe the bank should see you are a distressed borrower and cut your limits anyway.

 

[rh71]

I've never seen a hold at a gas station either. I normally get charged the right amount right away.

you're only like 30 mins from me. Most of the gas stations here will show a hold on your current billing charges of $1. I use HESS a lot and they always do it for credit cards... have you used the HESS on Main next to the hospital?

 

[Svnla]

OP, I use CC for gas because of the 3% cashback and they never ever put a hold on my CC. Time to get better CC.

Or maybe you had a sucky gas retailer. I heard about a large hold on debit but never that much on CC.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The way it works in the US is so weird. Here it's so much simpler. Gas up till the pump stops, go in store, tell clerk your pump number (most of the time they've been watching so they know) pay for whatever gas you took, go back to your car, drive off. No holds, no guessing how much gas you need.

I heard they want to look at changing it though.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

OP, I use CC for gas because of the 3% cashback and they never ever put a hold on my CC. Time to get better CC.

Or maybe you had a sucky gas retailer. I heard about a large hold on debit but never that much on CC.

Has nothing to do with the CC company. The merchants themselves set the hold method and amount.

 

[BassBomb]

Up north I've started noticing where they request you select the maximum hold amount before filling. A $100 hold would be of no issue for me

 

[feralkid]

The way it works in the US is so weird. Here it's so much simpler. Gas up till the pump stops, go in store, tell clerk your pump number (most of the time they've been watching so they know) pay for whatever gas you took, go back to your car, drive off. No holds, no guessing how much gas you need.

How is that simpler than inserting card at the pump, filling the tank and you are done?

:\

 

[sjwaste]

The way it works in the US is so weird. Here it's so much simpler. Gas up till the pump stops, go in store, tell clerk your pump number (most of the time they've been watching so they know) pay for whatever gas you took, go back to your car, drive off. No holds, no guessing how much gas you need.

I heard they want to look at changing it though.

Yeah dude, we're allowed to do that too. In most areas, you'd go in first and give the clerk your card so you don't bolt without paying. But at least where I live, we can gas up then go in and pay. That said, why would I want to do that when I can just swipe my card? I use a credit card though, so I have no idea what the hold amount usually is.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i live in california, ive never heard of this sort of thing. i dont pay attention to things like that so i probably wouldnt notice either, but that seems really high if true

 

[sze5003]

I'm in pa as well and its just 1.00 for me. I usually go to the wawa. I guess it depends on the area. In jersey and new York gas was scarce because of the storm so that's why they may be doing this. But by now you should be able to tell when you fill up, how Much it will be so you can take out money and use cash

 

[dmcowen674]

I was in New Jersey for a little bit today and decided to fill up on the cheaper tanks there, so I stopped at a 7 Eleven to fill up on gas.

I also figured I'd do some shopping for gloves on Amazon so I wanted to check my cashback on Discover, and I noticed this nice chunk of pending charges:

12/16/2012 PENDING 7-ELEVEN 32353 $ 100.00 PROCESSING

How the hell can they put such a high hold on your credit card? lol, I'm willing to bet that some people don't have $100 in available credit these days. I am so used to $1 holds that it took me by surprise.

Are holds like this common these days?

It used to be $75 hold but they raised it to $100 when gas went above $3

This only affects the poor and working poor so if you are rich like most especially on here it shouldn't matter.

 

[eyahaloms]

Gas had become so expensive nowadays, it is unbelievable. Here in America, its the land of the rich.... holding 100$ for gas , why?