credit card approval after tips are added question

[nancesit]

What is the name of your state? PA

I like to buy my kids pre-paid credit cards so that they dont go over the limit by me just adding them to one of my accounts or borrowing mine. I came across a strange situation though when i one time bought and used a pre-paid visa card. It was like a $25 dollar one ok and so i had got a haircut and it was only like $12 and left a $3 dollar tip and I had forgot what was left on the card and got some dinner in the mall and a few days later i went online to check the balance and saw that it was $3 dollars negative! I thought this wasnt possible with prepaid via cards! What i now realize happened is that my credit available after the $12 hair cut was $13 and that was all used on the dinner bill and the $3 tip for the haircut was added later when the merchant put it back threw.

Now i know when you go to gas station with a regular credit card, all they do is authorize your credit card for a dolllar (since they dont know how much u will get) and then post the amount you actually pumped a few days later. they figure even if ur credit limit is say $100 and you only have a $1 left in available credit, even if you fo over the limit, they have your name , address, and social security number, and hope that you will pay or they wiill ruin your credit.

But my question is then, how does that second approval work with restaurants and bars where u leave tips on a credit card. Like does only the fact that the credit card is good since they got the first approval for the bill , say for example it was $50, and then you leave a $100 tip, is that just like the gas pumping example, that the merchant doesnt have to get a second approval and will always get paid? If so, i guess thats why i went over the limit on a prepaid visa card and seems that I guess they just cant differentiate between a regualr visa and a prepaid one when it comes to tips. ( i know if you try to usea pre-paid card for gas, they will authorize like $50 or $75 right off but this tip situation is different)

I thought id be ok buyign my kids these but they could tip their buddies like $100 at the bar or restaurant and go over the limit then right? since it happened to me with just the little haircut example. im stil confused ,any one know more about this , about second approvals for tips.

[ecmst12]

Originally Posted by nancesit

Now i know when you go to gas station with a regular credit card, all they do is authorize your credit card for a dolllar (since they dont know how much u will get) and then post the amount you actually pumped a few days later. they figure even if ur credit limit is say $100 and you only have a $1 left in available credit, even if you fo over the limit, they have your name , address, and social security number, and hope that you will pay or they wiill ruin your credit.

That's not how it works at all. If you go over on your card for this reason, the gas station still gets paid. Your account will just get overdrawn because of it, and your bank will charge you the applicable overdraft or over limit fees, and you will have to make a payment or deposit money into your account to correct the problem. It's up to the cardholder to keep track of their balance and make sure overdrafts don't happen, you can't just rely on the computer to deny your card if you're close to your limit. Late authorizations happen all the time.

[nancesit]

oh i meant the credit card company lets you go over the limit and has your name , ss#, etc , not the gas company.

what i am asking though is about PRE-PAID VISAS. i went over the limit and they have no recourse since they dont have my information. Like the netspend ones at my grocery store, you can register your name and address online and change either whenever you want.

I told you this happened when i tiped my hairdresser.

my question is then, is it the fact that perpaid visas and regular visas are indistinguishable then and so if you have a $25 PRE-PAID VISA but go to a restaurant and they authorize say $20 for youre dinner bill, could u actually tip the waitress $100 and that late authorization definatley gets approved and the merchant paid for $100 even though it was only a $25 pre-paid visa. I think the answer is YES but im not sure. does anyone know? I think im one of the few that havent noticed this so maybe no one here knows.

Who knows about late authorizations here for bars and restaurants that do tips, do they always get that second approval?

[nancesit]

Pls Doesnt Anyone Know?????

[ecmst12]

I'm pretty sure the pre paid cards work the same as regular cards. If you go over the limit (prepaid balance), the credit card company will come after you to pay the overage plus any applicable fees. It could go on your credit report if you don't pay, just like any other bill. However I don't know if there is a limit to the amount a business can go over the pre-authorized amount, when running the final charge authorization. I suspect there is, but I don't know what that limit would be or how to find out, other then calling the credit card company and asking them.

[nancesit]

ecmst12 said "If you go over the limit (prepaid balance), the credit card company will come after you to pay the overage plus any applicable fees. It could go on your credit report if you don't pay"

WRONG! Pre-Paid cards, alot of them you DONT even have to register your name or address to use them! You can buy them in grocery stores and malls.

So if anyone knows anything, please help!

[ecmst12]

That doesn't mean they can't find you. You still have to activate the card. If they didn't have a way of tracking you down in case of an overage, they wouldn't offer the cards.

[nancesit]

ecmst12 said "If they didn't have a way of tracking you down in case of an overage, they wouldn't offer the cards."

WRONG AGAIN! go to PA and buy an ALL ACCESS PREPAID VISA (they are from netspend)
only if you want to purchase something by phone or online do you have to activate it online with your name and address. Its already ready to go after you just buy it. funny thing is though that you can change you name or address at any time!!! go to allaccessgift.com . thats proof!

So yes they do issue pre paid vias that u can go over the limit and not know who the heck you are!

I even told you i went 4 dollars over the limit from tiping my hair dresser and this is how i found out!

anyone know other than this uninfomrd l ecmst12????

Ive tried to email visa but they wont tell me. i guess ill just have to take a $25 dollar prepaid one , eat for a $20 tab where a friend waiters or bartends, then tip like $50 and see if the late authorization goes thru right?

[ecmst12]

Go ahead and try it. See what happens.

[JustAPal00]

They can do a charge back against the merchant.

[Daniel_Multson]

why dont you try it...?