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Comment by tinco | Hacker News Reader

Fun fact, you can't use a credit card to tank gas in the US. When you try, they'll ask for a zipcode, which you don't have since your card is not in the US. Luckily they do take debit cards so you can just use your debit card. But good luck finding that out during your research.

I suspect that if you claim your credit card is a debit card it might work as well, but I haven't tried it yet.

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The terminal on the pump will ask for a zipcode. If you can't pay at the pump (which sometimes happens even for locals for no apparent reason), you can step out of the car, go inside, and tell the cashier which pump you are at, and pay as if you were buying any other product.

For a Canadian card, put the numbers from your postcode then add zeroes until you get to five digits. I've never tried this myself, but gas stations in Niagara Falls NY will commonly have signs about it.

Can confirm that this works for Canadian credit cards at the gas stations I've used in Washington and Nevada. (In case the parent was unclear: If your postal code is A1B 2C3, your "zip code" is 12300.)

Not true, it will bypass the ZIP requirement based on BIN, the BIN is the first 6 digits of the credit card, or bank identification number. They will not enforce zip on foreign non USA issued credit cards.

I've used Japanese credit cards on the same pumps I use USA based one, and no issue at all. Both Visa and JCB branded.

Worse comes to worse, go inside and do a purchase via credit card for gas. The same way as if the point of sale at the pump was broken or defective, no gas station will refuse this. If worse comes to worse, just say the machine wouldn't take your card - works easier then explaining you're a tourist with a foreign card.

I ran into a similar problem, the other way in Norway. I couldn't buy gas with my USA credit card because I had no PIN. The station was unmanned. Fortunately, I had a debit card and could use that and it's PIN instead.

likewise, I've def run into this problem in Europe (several years ago). Some unmanned ticket kiosk for the local train/public transport would invariably only accept credit cards and require a pin, which I would not have. I think at some point I found out you could request a pin for you card, but I never actually got that to work either..

> ...I think at some point I found out you could request a pin for you card...

Wouldn't such PIN transaction amount to a 'cash advance' with a draconian interest rate?

My (European) credit cards require a PIN for most payments, not only for cash advances. Presumably, a payment for fuel with PIN wouldn't be considered a cash advance.

If I did want cash, I'd use a debit card and it would be interest free (assuming there's money in my account), but I'd still have to pay a currency conversion fee and/or spread.

Yes you can use your card at the pump. Just look up what people do in the US with credit cards from your country. It's going to be something like 00000, or another number in your address, or the numbers in your postal code plus extra digits.

Plus you can pay inside, as others said, or do contactless at the pump with your saved card in the phone and you won't get asked.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but this is google-able...

> Fun fact, you can't use a credit card to tank gas in the US. When you try, they'll ask for a zipcode, which you don't have since your card is not in the US.

Yes you can, you just need to go inside and pay (with the credit card) at the counter.

Sometimes if a keypad number that I need is broken or whatever, this can happen to a local as well. But can always pay inside.

I’ve noticed that touchless cards (with the symbol that looks like a sideways wifi logo) don’t ask for a zip code when you use then touchlessly. Not sure how common this feature is on cards issued outside the US though.

I have been asked for a zip code buying gas with a tap to pay card recently. I assume that’s going to be more common.

If it’s during open hours, you can always walk inside the store and buy gas from the attendant which should let you use your card without a zip.

Can't you just pay inside with it?

Yes, you can usually pay inside. Also, just entering any 5 digit zip code will often work. Had no issues with random 5 digit zip codes and my UK and HK-issued cards at gas pumps in the USA.

Weird, I tried my friends' zipcode and it didn't work. Maybe I got it wrong or something.

It probably depends on the company. Most gas pumps in the US only support swipe payments (as opposed to chip based EMV or contactless). The gas station gets charged lower credit card network fees if they submit address info with the swiped payment. Whether the address is correct or not doesn't affect the fees, and it's usually up to the company to decide if they want payments to be declined when there's an address mismatch.

Mismatch between which addresses?

Why can’t I fill my car anywhere, regardless of where I live?

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