This is a must read article if you use a credit card to pay for your gas.
Did you know about this? First of all I didn’t even know they used to hold up to $125.00 if you ‘charge’ your credit card to pay for gas in an auto. Now, apparently, they can hold up to $175.00. This based upon the individual gas station owners decision on what it now takes to fill up the average gas tank, and their exposure. Fortunately, there are federal limits at $175.00 maximum hold.
So, basically you now pay for your gas, and the difference of what you pumped in your tank, vs. the unused amount held (up to $175.00) is now held by your bank, until the fund hold is released. This sometimes can happen immediately (though rarely), or could take days until the remaining unused funds are released to your account.
What makes this more complex, is many (most) need those funds immediately to purchase other items, or pay bills. So, when those funds are on hold, items that could be paid for, may in fact may not get paid on time, thus incurring late fees. Or worse, payments get returned, so then you have return fees, and late fee, and possibly affect your credit report.
I also wonder if this applies to putting fuel in your boat or plane, as they usually have stations at their locations such as airports, or marinas, or docks. Also, if there is some policy that applies there as well. If so, what the hell are the limits.
What are your thoughts about this? Did you know about this? Feel free to share this information. Also, feel free to leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section.
Read the highlighted link below to read the detailed original article in full.
Open SmartNews and read “PSA: Gas Stations Charging $175 to Cards When Swiping at the Pump” here:
https://share.smartnews.com/3cZuY
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