Paoli
Quesnel BC
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Joined: 10/29/2005
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Weird!
I drove all over Europe two years ago and my Visa Card worked everywhere.
Why are things so backwards in North America??
(Crossing the border here is a pain too with the long line ups and all the questions!)
It's getting to the point that I just stay in Canada.
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TKW
Vancouver, BC Canada
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Joined: 05/09/2003
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I called the other 2 major card companies to notify them I am travelling next week and inquire about the zip code problem for Canadian. One said I have to provide them with a temporary US address on record and use the zip code there. I guess my bill will be sent to the hotel I am staying. Hopefully they pay my bill as well. The other card company told me to use the 3 numbers in my postal code and add 00 at the end. This confirms other posters had suggested.
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netjam
Canadian on the road
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Joined: 08/14/2008
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This really bugs me. In 5 years of travels what I have found is that sometimes (not often) entering any valid zip or a digital conversion of your Canadian postal code will work. I suspect that the system is not really connected to anything, it just needs a response. In 90% of the cases, you have no alternative but to pay cash or prepay in the store with your credit card. If you pre-pay you end up getting less than a full tank or going back for a refund if you over estimated your needs. This is a real sales dis-incentive....are you listening BIG OIL???
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Z-Peller
Oceanside BC
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Joined: 07/12/2003
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Chevron seems to be the worst for this (or the best, depending how you look at it) so I have stopped using them, period!!....Shell pumps are usually ok with the hybrid Canadian zip except for some, but I can live with that......
I decided to try a Chevron in Yuma last spring thinking that with all the snowbirds around there they would accept the hybrid zip..... when the pump wouldn't accept my 3 digits plus 2 zeros I put my fuel cap back on and went inside and told them they had just lost a $100+ sale because I was heading for a Shell station.....they told me to write & complain to Chevron head office as they, as the station operators, had no control over it.....however, Chevron in Quartzsite didn't require any zip at all....just swipe my Visa card & pump good to go, so go figure!!
The past couple of years I have been using Pilot as much as possible......never have had a pump not accept my hybrid zip, and their pumps don't shut off at $75 or $100...they always top me off, and usually have good prices to boot.....
PS...and, before someone asks, yes,I did use the Chevron in QZT because they had the same price as Pilot, and the Pilot pump islands were backed up and busy as always!!!
* This post was
edited 08/26/11 11:09pm by Z-Peller *
Bill
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scorpion
Hanmer Ontario Canada
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Joined: 04/10/2001
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To confirm what others here have said, the 3 numbers and 00 from my postal code work most of the time and Chevron seems to be the worst offender in my experience.
Scorp
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Gruffy
monominto mb ca
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Joined: 10/02/2003
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I've been entering the whole code .... for K4P 1N7 I just enter 547167 .... the same as on the credit card bill. Shell is the only one that has given me trouble. If there are only numbers and no letters on the keypad whip out the cell phone to jog your memory.
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FC
Kitchener,Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 12/25/2000
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On our recent trip to South Carolina, a few of the stations required the zip. In some you can just estimate the amount you need and prepay at the desk in advance or you can have your significant other wait at the counter with the credit card.
We were in Charleston SC and one gas station required it, but another across the street did not. These were Master Cards.
Some of the Flying J's that we stopped at required the postal code as well.
I tried the 3 numbers from the postal code plus 3 "0" and it did not work at all for us.
JM2CW
2003 Georgetown 346DS Ford F-53
2008 Pontiac G6 Toad, Blue Ox Aventa LX
Family Campers & RVers--- Come Camp With Us
www.fcrv.org
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n7bsn
Yes
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Joined: 04/11/2004
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This is, of course, a method to reduce credit card theft and fraud.
BTW, in Canada, the Shell card I have doesn't work at the pump, I have to go inside.
It's really not that big a hassle, remember we all used to have to do that.
2008 F350SD V10 with an 2012 Arctic Fox 29-5E
When someone tells you to buy the same rig they own, listen, they might be right. When they tell you to buy a different rig then they own, really pay attention, they probably know something you don't.
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Orion
Pacific South West
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Joined: 10/21/2002
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Quote:I tried the 3 numbers from the postal code plus 3 "0" and it did not work at all for us.
Next time try TWO "0" there are only five numbers in a US Zip! 
I don't believe in astrology. I am a Gemini and
we're very skeptical.
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Lorne&Lorraine
Ottawa, ON
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Joined: 04/14/2003
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I've tried all the so-called "work-arounds" for this zip thing at the pump including the three Postal code numbers followed by two zeros and none worked all the time. Now I just put a US address on my BMO US$ Mastercard and the zip for that always works at the pump. If you don't want your statements sent to the US address just put the account on paperless statements. You can change the address back to your CDN address when you return from your trip. I also use a US address on my account at a US bank and that credit card with zip always works at the pump too. Haven't waited in the slurpee/lottery ticket/cigarette line for a couple of years now.
By the way, the reason why some of the work-arounds work sometimes is probably because the computerized address verification system (AVS) hasn't been fully implemented at the stations in question. But even if you put a US address on a CDN credit card doesn't mean it will work (BMO's does) because I don't think all CDN banks support AVS. Someone tried a TD bank credit card the winter before last and it wouldn't work.
The zip code is not encoded on the card's magnetic stripe. As noted earlier, the zip code entered at the pump must match the zip code on file with your bank.
Lorne Ross
2003 Pleasure-Way Ford Excel TD
Camped the lower 48 states and 9 provinces
Most multiple times and now on the repeat!
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