Anyone else having problems using their UA branded Chase credit cards internationally
Jul 20, 2012, 8:12 am
#16
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Potomac MD
Programs: UA MP 1K
Posts: 7,182
Since I have more than enough miles I now use a card through my broker from Bank of America that has no foreign transaction fee (the Chase card has fees of about 2-3%) as well as cashback. (Sorry for the duplication on this aspect--didn't read all of the posts).
Jul 20, 2012, 8:23 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
I am curious whether anyone else has experienced problems using their Presidential Plus or United branded Chase credit cards internationally? I have been having problems from time to time over the past year using the card when I leave the country and for international internet transactions with major merchants and Chase continually claims that the problem are on the merchant's side. If you have, please let me know the type of problem you had and what response, if any, you received from Chase about the card not working. I now have a contact at United who has offered to pass on my concerns about this, but thought it would be great to see if I am not the only one experiencing such issues.
Some examples of problems encountered once I started keeping track:
My card was turned off in London while trying to leave the airport with a leading corporate car service, after the fraud department specifically noted on my account in advance of my departing that I would be traveling to London (and had purchased my tickets on the card too).
Last fall, my card was declined in both Taiwan and China when attempting to make in person transactions, but my American Express went through with no problem. Chase claims that these did not show up in their system, but I had the merchant try a few times to put the charge through. I remember each of these transactions since I did not use my American Express for any other charges on that trip.
In late April, I had a problem using my card with a major theater company in London with a Chase supervisor on the telephone line with me for an extended period of time to see if they could solve the problem with my inability to use the card. With this supervisor on the phone, with the same address entered on the web site, my American Express Platinum Card went through immediately.
Chase alleges the problems are always with the merchant and never on Chase's part. It is quite curious that my American Express Platinum card can make the same purchases, with the exact same information except for the change of card number, with no delays for the transaction.
I am not a tech person, but it makes me wonder whether Chase's card processing metrics or whatever they are called do not yet appear to be up to the level of the American Express Platinum card for international transactions and does not appear to match the standards of reliability and/or customer service that the business travelers have grown accustomed to from the American Express Platinum Card.
I find it extremely frustrating to not be able to rely upon the card that both United and Chase had hoped would be my primary card when I have made a significant amount of charges on this card over the past year and still need to maintain the additional expense of the American Express Platinum card as a result of the continued unreliability of my United branded Chase card.
Would love to hear whether people have encountered similar problems.
Some examples of problems encountered once I started keeping track:
My card was turned off in London while trying to leave the airport with a leading corporate car service, after the fraud department specifically noted on my account in advance of my departing that I would be traveling to London (and had purchased my tickets on the card too).
Last fall, my card was declined in both Taiwan and China when attempting to make in person transactions, but my American Express went through with no problem. Chase claims that these did not show up in their system, but I had the merchant try a few times to put the charge through. I remember each of these transactions since I did not use my American Express for any other charges on that trip.
In late April, I had a problem using my card with a major theater company in London with a Chase supervisor on the telephone line with me for an extended period of time to see if they could solve the problem with my inability to use the card. With this supervisor on the phone, with the same address entered on the web site, my American Express Platinum Card went through immediately.
Chase alleges the problems are always with the merchant and never on Chase's part. It is quite curious that my American Express Platinum card can make the same purchases, with the exact same information except for the change of card number, with no delays for the transaction.
I am not a tech person, but it makes me wonder whether Chase's card processing metrics or whatever they are called do not yet appear to be up to the level of the American Express Platinum card for international transactions and does not appear to match the standards of reliability and/or customer service that the business travelers have grown accustomed to from the American Express Platinum Card.
I find it extremely frustrating to not be able to rely upon the card that both United and Chase had hoped would be my primary card when I have made a significant amount of charges on this card over the past year and still need to maintain the additional expense of the American Express Platinum card as a result of the continued unreliability of my United branded Chase card.
Would love to hear whether people have encountered similar problems.
I can share with you that I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and that I have had basically all of the problems you described. It has been my experience that the Chase fraud department is extremely trigger-happy about shutting down my card for purchases that I don't think are high risk, similar to the types of purchases you have described. It has been an enormous inconvenience and cost to me while I travel overseas. It's surprising because these cards are marketed specifically for travel (2% rewards on travel, no forex fees).
It's not valid for you to compare Chase with Amex. Amex is known to be the most customer friendly card brand. Furthermore, they also tend to have a higher fraud rate precisely because they are liberal to the other extreme about not rejecting transactions or shutting down cards.
Based on my experience, Chase is on the extreme conservative side in regards to blocking orders and shutting down cards (joined by BofA and US Bank). Whereas Amex is on the other extreme, resulting in more fraud but much less inconvenience.
I'd suggest you take a look at Citibank. My international experience with Citibank has been better than with any other Visa/MC card issuer in terms of transaction acceptance and card shutdown activity. They seem to be smarter about evaluating transaction risk.
One final suggestion is to call Chase, complain, scream, and escalate. Do it a lot. After several weeks of intense frustration with them, I was somehow magically transferred into an "executive" category, which has resulted in better/faster service and fewer shutdowns to my card. Since then, my experience with this card has not been bad, but I always carry a backup from another issuer when I leave the country.
Jul 20, 2012, 8:55 am
#18
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: UA lifetime gold; Hilton Gold; Marriott/SPG Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,954
I have noticed 2 types of problems; I have to say though that the customer service at Pres Plat Chase is absolutely great; very professional and empowered to fix the problem right there and then.
1. I make a reservation for a hotel or purchase something from an international based company while still in the US. That triggers the "fraud alert" and I agree with an earlier post that Chase is hypervigilant compared to american express or another mastercard. Usually one phone call and they fix it immediately
2. When I travel outside the country, sometimes charges do not go through. Some are because of "fraud alert" and some are just because they don't go through. In fact I notice many times outside the US, AMEX credit card "does not work" but I think it is because merchants prefer a Visa or Mastercard. I have made a habit of calling Chase to tell them I am outside the US and the dates.
Did I mention that I love their customer service??????
1. I make a reservation for a hotel or purchase something from an international based company while still in the US. That triggers the "fraud alert" and I agree with an earlier post that Chase is hypervigilant compared to american express or another mastercard. Usually one phone call and they fix it immediately
2. When I travel outside the country, sometimes charges do not go through. Some are because of "fraud alert" and some are just because they don't go through. In fact I notice many times outside the US, AMEX credit card "does not work" but I think it is because merchants prefer a Visa or Mastercard. I have made a habit of calling Chase to tell them I am outside the US and the dates.
Did I mention that I love their customer service??????
Jul 20, 2012, 9:10 am
#19
Join Date: May 2008
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, DL, AA, AS
Posts: 305
I use my Pres Plus Card exclusively when travelling internationally.
I agree, the fraud department is hypervigilant. I also call before leaving the US with the list of countries I'm travelling to.
1. Sometimes, I get a call back from the Fraud Dept a hour/two later confirming I actually did call.
2. I get a Fraud Alert when making the first purchases overseas.
Afterwards, I'm not notified any further and additional purchases go through.
FYI. You can set a Email alert through the Chase.com website to automatically notify you if you've made a purchase overseas or over a certain amount (eg. I set it at $500). The email gets to me immediately after I make the purchase so I know what I've been charged in USD.
I agree, the fraud department is hypervigilant. I also call before leaving the US with the list of countries I'm travelling to.
1. Sometimes, I get a call back from the Fraud Dept a hour/two later confirming I actually did call.
2. I get a Fraud Alert when making the first purchases overseas.
Afterwards, I'm not notified any further and additional purchases go through.
FYI. You can set a Email alert through the Chase.com website to automatically notify you if you've made a purchase overseas or over a certain amount (eg. I set it at $500). The email gets to me immediately after I make the purchase so I know what I've been charged in USD.
Jul 20, 2012, 9:29 am
#20
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Suburban Philadelphia
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,392
I am leaving tomorrow for overseas, my UA card will be my primary card. I just called Chase to confirm that I will be traveling in Europe and to not trigger my card when overseas charges come through.
Does anyone have experience with their card getting flagged if they've called to let Chase know?
I had Chase catch a suspicious $2 charge in Australia several years ago on my Marriott card. We shut the card down and they sent me a new one. Kudos to them for that one.
Does anyone have experience with their card getting flagged if they've called to let Chase know?
I had Chase catch a suspicious $2 charge in Australia several years ago on my Marriott card. We shut the card down and they sent me a new one. Kudos to them for that one.
Jul 20, 2012, 9:37 am
#21
Join Date: May 2012
Location: DEN
Posts: 177
I used my UA card with no problems. I had let them know.
I brought another chase card as a back up and did not tell them I would be using this card. Someone stole my card and charged $3 in furniture and $2 in jewelry in BKK ... in the same day and Chase's fraud alert didn't catch it.
I brought another chase card as a back up and did not tell them I would be using this card. Someone stole my card and charged $3 in furniture and $2 in jewelry in BKK ... in the same day and Chase's fraud alert didn't catch it.
Jul 20, 2012, 9:39 am
#22
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,129
Chase is IME very aggressive with their fraud detection metrics and also perhaps don't take into account as many factors as they probably should (e.g. if they see the plane ticket booked, or see the hotel charges, or a gas station in the area, using it at a theater shouldn't raise suspicions). I had problems using mine outside my "home area" even when giving advance notice to Chase, and my parents always have their card rejected when visiting me and trying to pay for anything at Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, etc. (places where Chase apparently feels a thief or fraudster will go).
This is one reason I use Amex as my primary card when traveling. They don't even require you provide advance notice of international travel any longer.
This is one reason I use Amex as my primary card when traveling. They don't even require you provide advance notice of international travel any longer.
Jul 20, 2012, 9:47 am
#23
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: USA
Programs: UA 1K/*G, Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy BS, Hertz & Avis Pres
Posts: 653
I'm in the U.S. but traveling to Asia in October. Last night I booked two intra-Philippines flights and I've booked a number of hotels in the past 100 hours, most with non-int'l hotel chains. Every time, I used either my Chase Sapphire or UA Club Visa from Chase. All went through fine and I got the "International Transaction Alert" email instantly.
Concerned about Chase's fraud group getting suspicious, I called the Sapphire line last night and asked if they can notate that I will be making transactions in Asia during my trip planning for the next few months. They said they could and notated my account.
Net-net, I have not had any problems with any of my Chase cards recently.
Concerned about Chase's fraud group getting suspicious, I called the Sapphire line last night and asked if they can notate that I will be making transactions in Asia during my trip planning for the next few months. They said they could and notated my account.
Net-net, I have not had any problems with any of my Chase cards recently.
Jul 20, 2012, 9:53 am
#24
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: UA 2K, 1.5MM, Hertz 5*
Posts: 130
I use my UA MP and UA Club cards extensively when traveling overseas (1-2x per month). I have gotten flagged from time to time by their hyper vigilant fraud dept, but I explained (cough) to them that I use these cards for business travel overseas - AND THAT I BOUGHT the plane tix with the same cards in the first place. They have adjusted my "fraud threshold" accordingly, and I haven't had a problem in years.
That said, this past week, I did get a text message from their fraud dept regarding a possible fraud transaction. It was a CARD PRESENT transaction in Strasbourg, France -- and I was in the USA. I told them it wasn't me, and they found 5 similar transactions that same morning -- all in Strasbourg, and all were card present.
They immediately cancelled the account and overnighted me replacement cards.
They may be hyper vigilant, but I for one appreciate their work. Kudos.
Oh, and I really like that there are no foreign transaction fees on my Club card.
Cheers,
1Ken
That said, this past week, I did get a text message from their fraud dept regarding a possible fraud transaction. It was a CARD PRESENT transaction in Strasbourg, France -- and I was in the USA. I told them it wasn't me, and they found 5 similar transactions that same morning -- all in Strasbourg, and all were card present.
They immediately cancelled the account and overnighted me replacement cards.
They may be hyper vigilant, but I for one appreciate their work. Kudos.
Oh, and I really like that there are no foreign transaction fees on my Club card.
Cheers,
1Ken
Jul 20, 2012, 10:18 am
#25
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 76
Always call Chase before leaving so that you don't get denied because of a fraud flag. The cards usually work fine then, but will still sometimes get denied (and require a call to Chase to fix) if you try and buy something that the average traveller wouldn't (like a TV etc).
I travel to the UK a lot and increasingly find -especially this year -that some shops won't take a card without a chip+pin. I was told on more than one occasion that it was their company policy (rather than that it was impossible for them to do so). Chip+pin is safer and quicker - I wish Chase would hurry up and change over.
I travel to the UK a lot and increasingly find -especially this year -that some shops won't take a card without a chip+pin. I was told on more than one occasion that it was their company policy (rather than that it was impossible for them to do so). Chip+pin is safer and quicker - I wish Chase would hurry up and change over.
Jul 20, 2012, 10:23 am
#26
Join Date: Jan 2002
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott lifetime Plt, UA 1MM
Posts: 919
My favorite is when we were flying back CDG-IAD, I had notified Chase that we were going to traveling to France and had used the card a couple of times. I had a buy up offer to business class on the flight and when the agent tried to charge the upgrade the United Chase card denied a United charge. Spent 30 minutes on the phone with no sucess.
What is odd is I have had no problems with my Marriott Chase but with the United Chase it has been hyper-sensitive to foreign charges.
What is odd is I have had no problems with my Marriott Chase but with the United Chase it has been hyper-sensitive to foreign charges.
Jul 20, 2012, 10:39 am
#27
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,129
I travel to the UK a lot and increasingly find -especially this year -that some shops won't take a card without a chip+pin. I was told on more than one occasion that it was their company policy (rather than that it was impossible for them to do so). Chip+pin is safer and quicker - I wish Chase would hurry up and change over.
The fact is that they're in violation of their merchant agreements with Visa if they refuse a non-chip+pin card. It doesn't matter what their company policy is; Visa says they have to take it.
Jul 20, 2012, 12:01 pm
#28
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Southern, CA, USA
Programs: UA just 8800 mi short of Silver
Posts: 2,815
I always call Chase before I leave and tell them where I'll be and to let charges go through. I've had no problem with the card and my house was never robbed
Jul 20, 2012, 12:11 pm
#29
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
No issues when I was in the Czech Republic last December. A ticket machine at the RER/TGV station at CDG didn't take it but I think it's because my card doesn't have the chip in it.
Jul 20, 2012, 12:25 pm
#30
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: near to SFO and LHR
Programs: BA Gold, B6 Mosiac, VS, AA, DL (and a legacy UA 2MM)
Posts: 2,274
I regularly use my Chase VISA Signature card for smaller amounts in the UK and in France, without notifying anyone about my travel plans (although I probably have notified them on occasions in the past). I actually found the Chase card to be more reliable than the Capital One Visa card which, although not having a 3% surcharge, sometimes gets refused.
For hotels, I generally use a Virgin Atlantic Amex card, which also has no surcharge. (Virgin is my backup airline to UA)
And the above poster is correct: in many train stations in Europe, only chip and pin cards are acceptable when using the machines. You can queue up and use your non-chipped card with a human though in those cases.
For restaurants, I often use a credit card in the UK and France. Have never had someone refuse a non-chip and pin card.
For hotels, I generally use a Virgin Atlantic Amex card, which also has no surcharge. (Virgin is my backup airline to UA)
And the above poster is correct: in many train stations in Europe, only chip and pin cards are acceptable when using the machines. You can queue up and use your non-chipped card with a human though in those cases.
For restaurants, I often use a credit card in the UK and France. Have never had someone refuse a non-chip and pin card.