Using Hotwire from Canada...

[Bonn]

Hi,

Found out some interesting information today that I thought I should share for my Canadian friends...

I've been looking for a deal on a 4-5 star hotel in Orlando for April 30 - May 2nd.

After much looking I found that Hotwire had a 4.5 star in Universal - Wet'n Wild area... It was probably the Hard Rock, which is PERFECT for me.

I went through the entire billing process and got a message that "Hotwire cannot accept credit cards from your bank, please use another card."

I use CIBC, which is a HUGE Canadian bank... I called both the bank and Hotwire, and there is nothing that can be done. The lady at Hotwire said "It's common for the Canadian Banks to have this problem." CIBC of course blamed it on the "merchant." which didn't sit well with me, and I let him know it.

I hope this isn't a situation that will worsen as time goes on, CIBC Visa needs to get their act together. (Not sure how many other banks have that problem.)

-Mike

 

[CJK]

Thanks for the info. I've never used hotwire and had considered it. I think priceline has the same problem with Canadian visa cards. I've only used MC and Amex at priceline and they work fine. You're right - I hope CIBC visa does something about it. Thanks for posting.

 

[jaysue]

I doubt it is entirely CIBC's fault - both parties are probably culpable in this case - quite often US based firms (especially!) do not want to take "foreign" credit cards or take them slower. For example on Paypal, they take longer to verify that your card is ok as opposed to US residents.

What I would do is call the CIBC banking centre (not Visa) and ask their policy regarding foreign located merchants and explain what happened - you may need to speak to a manager.

If that does not work out then call the CIBC ombudsperson and go that route.

Thanks
Jason

 

[rcomputer]

CIBC cannot force foreign banks to accept their card for online transactions.

The culprit - if someone has to be blamed - is Hotwire's accepting bank. They set the rules about what level of risk they will accept when the card is not present. Hotwire accept the situation so are obviously not too unhappy about it.