Reasons Your Credit Card Might be Declined
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Its happened to the best of us – where we’ll use our credit cards and get an unexpected decline. If this just happened to you for the first time – and you’ve been a good customer, you need not worry over this. Just give your credit card company a call and inquire about your credit card account. More than likely, your card company put a stop on your credit card as a safety measure to prevent credit card theft from happening. Credit card companies closely monitor the shopping activities of their cardholders. If they notice any unusual activities like excessive spending or a purchase of items that do not appear to be consistent with your past behavior, they will put a temporary deactivation on your card preventing any further transactions. If that is the case for your decline, the situation can quickly be reversed with a quick phone call to them verifying your personal information. Your card will be reactivated in a matter of seconds.
There are other scenarios for credit card declines as well. Perhaps you went on a holiday and reserved a hotel room with a particular credit card. The cost of the room may be blocked by the merchant to ensure you have enough available credit left to pay that charge upon you check out. If the block pushing your available credit line is close to the total available limit, there is a good possibility your credit card will be declined. The block typically disappears in about 15 days, restoring the natural order of your credit limit.
Other small but important reasons for declined credit cards are attempting to purchase with an expired credit card, trying to use a credit card that is damaged, or even forgetting to mail your payment in. Usually there is always a reason for a declined credit card and by calling your credit card provider you can usually find out the reasons quickly.
