craz

If theres no way that you can call ahead of time and let them know that a purchase for $XXXX.xx will be done shortly then you simply wont beable to use that CC @ SM

What process of voiding what is long and tedious??? If you are referring to what was rung up, I would expect that until the charge actually goes thru those SMGCs arent activated. If you are referring to your CC a decline shouldnt have any consequences on the CC. Its no different then a charge for $5 at a supermkt, the items are rung up,you swipe your CC its declined, you walkout w/o anything and your CC was never charged all the cashier needs to do is void the whole transaction probbaly with an overide key provided by a mgr

And your question was properly answered by the others I guess you want a specific answer what you can do in your case to be able to still use that particular CC and you its been answered a couple of times. So either use another CC or forget all about SM

Wonko

On a few occasions they've kept the transaction open while I called in, cleared the fraud alert, and then swiped again.

sosamo

Yup. The Simon that I go to a lot always tell me stories of newbies that get their CC declined, and have no back up CC to us. The Simon employees complain that they have to void out the order, etc.

I always carry a few back up CC. And If I have a new card, I'll say,"yah, give it a try, it's new, might get declined, but I have a back up".

craz

then again split payments work, so you can max out the CC you want to and put the difference on another CC

MileageGoblin

I don't believe it is. The CSRs have only complained to me that they then have to cut up the GCs per policy and they wasted their time swiping all the cards to begin with. Voiding in computer shouldn't take as long as the loading process.

craz

could be my assumption was wrong that they arent activated till actually paid for. And if they are activated after they are swiped but before the CC is swiped.Then I can see where they would have to cx each and every GC 1 by 1

OK I just pulled out my last purchase and it seems from the receipt that unlike getting GCs elsewhere each time the GC is swiped its Approved and Authorized = the GC is activated (then again once the CC is swiped it takes no time efor the receipt to be printed unlike any drug store,supermkt or office supply place where you have to wait for the activation to be done and completed. So indeed it wont be enough just cutting them up they will need to remove them completely from the computer = 1 by 1.

Happy

You need to "train" your new card by going slow by starting with a reasonable amount, then work the way up over the course of a billing cycle or 2.

Definitely NOT the case. The register does not distinguish such. I routinely use the same FIA on 2 separate transactions. The register happily takes both transactions.

Each time I use a new card I would joke about this is the baby in training and "let's see if the bank is happy about it." with a reasonable amount in relationship to the needed spend and the credit line. I never start a new card in the thousands - which is just asking for potential hassle should it be declined.

After a long trip when we restart again, even the seasoned cards could be declined because the system might forget the previous pattern. I would start with a smaller amount than previous times and again informed the CSR that the card hadn't been used for several weeks, let's see if the bank is happy about the transaction.

I have never call the banks for pre-clearance of large amount at Simon's.

Chelski

I watch the CS at my SM swipe each card enter the amount and then compare the last four on the screen to the last four on each card. luckily she is happy with me doing this and also I don't have to go through the receipt on my own afterwards to verify I got the right cards.

MileageGoblin

That's a little much since you are there when she swipes and prints receipt. The only time you should even need to check numbers to receipts is if you phone-in your order. And even that's not an issue if you immediately liquidate thereafter. To each their own, but I don't think Simon CSRs are going to risk getting arrested + losing their jobs switching out GCs for unloaded ones and then using after their shift. I'm sure Simon isn't hiring ex-cons for these positions since they handle money.

Happy

Agree. Simon cards are the safest to hold onto if you dont have time to liquidate them quickly.

Most CSRs would count the number of the cards you need, take those out from the stacks and lay them on the counter before they start the process. Therefore on the counter, they are the exact number of cards you are going to purchase, no additional cards.

However we had one incident that one of the cards was not activated, because after all cards were done, the total amount was less by $503.95. So we both knew one card in the stack was not activated. The solution was to swipe another card to add to the total. Then we compared the receipt with the cards to find the non-activated card. It was a tedious process. Since then, we wrote down the last 4 digits as the CSR swiped and laid the card aside. Then quickly compare the numbers with those on the receipt - took 2 min max for that extra step.

Sometimes the cards could stick together too. This tends to happen on the birthday cake card. The CSRs have caught that themselves a few times when they look at the screen and find the last 4 do not match with the card - turns out there are 2 cards stuck together, the "bottom" card was the one swiped, hence the last 4 did not match with the "top" card they looked at. I find the procedure of checking the last 4 on the screen against the card makes sense.

AndrewTheMan

Yeah.. Which design do you prefer? I've taken a year hiatus from Simon (had some "credit issues") but in the last week I've done about 12k on a new credit card. They've given the silver "gift card" ones and the Fashion design.. I kinda like the fashion ones more but not sure if there's anything better.

Happy

fashion hands down. Nice looking, easy to read last 4. The grey one is difficult to read the last 4 due to the light background. My mall almost always run out of fashion by the end of the week. So now we drop by mid week. The red birthday cake while looks funny, the last 4 is also easy to read and it actually looks more like a real bank debit card than the grey one.

Chelski

It's actually a doublecheck that is very fast and doesn't slow down the process. The CSR recommended doing it that way to ensure she enters the right amount for each card and they match. I'll ask her if she's ever had them not match. The main CSR doesn't care for me to call in ahead. If only they had a $500 key instead of having to type in "50000" each time to get $500.00.

Majuki

I agree. I haven't had any issues with the Fashion cards. They're the most real looking debit cards compared to some of the other sources. They have embossed numbers, and the print that says Simon Gift Card is small and not noticeable. The only tell is the name on the card isn't a real person.

DaveInLA

Last I read, the Montebello (CA) mall only has $250 gcs. Is that still the case? The next closest Simon is too far for me to do MS with any regularity.