Sohu,
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by sohu:
I got a message that the card could not be authorized....
Any thoughts on how can I get around this problem. Is there any way I can purchase these bonds over the phone and have AMEX CSR on the second phone line.
</font>
What's happening is that the merchant (in the case the US Treasury I suppose) is being asked to phone AmEx and verify your identity, by asking you for a driver's license or the like. Obviously that can't happen for an online transaction, so it's treated as a failed authorization. AmEx customer service reps will insist till blue in the face that the charge was not "denied", but if you can't use the card it's a distinction without a difference.
They *can* do something about it, but there's a good chance the first rep you speak with will either insist that there isn't, or more likely insist that there's no problem. What they need to do is have an authorizer in (I think) the credit department enter an override in the system so that the authorization will be approved automatically without an ID check.
Get to the screen where you've entered your card number, then call AmEx and square things away. When they tell you it's taken care of, click "pay" and ask them to hold on just a few seconds until the charge goes through.
Keep at it until your problem is resolved. Sometimes, it seems, they only begin to help in earnest once they see that helping is going to take less time and effort than convincing you that they can't.
--ss