Cards

[#1]

Just returned from USA (California) and had a small issue with using my BW CC for purchasing petrol.

Every petrol station i've been to in the US requires you to prepay, and after swiping your card at the pump, requires a 5 digit zip code.

I tried all the normal ideas would would think of. (replace 1234 is my real postcode), including

• 1234
• 12340
• 60290
• 00000
• 90210
• 0

All invalid, and was "forced" to prepay in cash.

It's not exactly problem of the century, but it would be nice to just use my card for dispensing petrol. Late at night, some petrol stations are not manned, so this may cause a bigger issue for some. I spoke to 3 people at BW, including an employee of 8 years, and had never heard of this issue before. Google "zip code petrol us" and you'll see it's a problem for visitors.

Has Mastercard provided any info to BW, or other Australian card holders on this? Is there another way we could generate a code of other account information that could be used to "verify" our card?

Note: Petrol stations were big brands (Shell, Chevron) and ranged from small country towns (Marisposa, CA) to large cities (San Francisco).  

I like using my card for pretty much everything (USD is a PITA) so a solution would help both myself and others out.

Thanks in advance.

[#2]

You missed a trick @user99700 - simply add a 0 (zero) in front of the postcode your statement is sent to (I say that in case your home address is different to your mailing address). The majority of pumps will pass this on validation from my experience.

And if that doesn't wok, prepay is the best option anyway if the station requires payment or authorisation up front.