US gas pump wants zip code

[foggy182]

I am travelling in the USA using my Cdn VISA in the card readers at the gas pump. Once in a while I am asked for my zip code, and I have not been able to bypass the request or to satisfy it by just entering any old zip code. Sometimes I am asked to see the cashier but annoyed, I just move on to another gas station, as the pump will not allow me to get gas. Does anyone have any solutions?

[dogbolter]

Nope, you have to go see the attendant before pumping.

If its any consolation, Americans can't pay at the pump at many stations here either.

[asif9t9]

My wife claims she's gotten away with typing in 90210. But last time we were in Tampa, and that didn't work. And then I had to go through this conversation with the attendant. Frustrating. Oh, and they wanted to know how much gas I wanted to put in, because I had to pre-pay. So I guessed $40 (I needed to fill up the rental car). Luckily the car took about $38 to fill.

Hmm, thinking back to my wife, could it have been a company card she was using?

[57]

This happens to me occasionally, but I believe that stations with newer pumps do not have the issue. I've gassed up hundreds of times and had to go inside to "pre-pay" probably less then 5 times. I tell them I wish to fill up and they "start" the pump, or they hold the card and I go back in when I'm finished in either case. I usually purchase Shell, but sometimes have gone to other stations. The attendant is usually aware of this issue with Canadians.

[spensar]

I've locked out at some but last time it happened in Tampa I put in 13669 (Ogdesnsburg) and it worked. Very hit and miss.

[cooper83]

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Not sure why it riles me up so much, but it just irks me.

My wife claims she's gotten away with typing in 90210.

I do this every single time and it's never worked - not even in Los Angeles!!!

[tux]

Why would a gas station need you to enter your zip code? Is it for marketing/tracking purposes, or is it some sort of credit card verification scheme?

[gobisbay]

If you gas up at the Ambassador Duty Free store in Detroit (at the bridge), you must enter your plate #, zip/postal code, and state code.

It's akin to buying booze at the duty free store and them asking your plate info because the items are for export only (including the gas - the bridge doesn't even pay Michigan sales tax on their gas because it's for export only yet they only charge about 5 cents a gallon less than other stations - they make a mint off gas there).

As for other places, a lot of times foreign credit cards are a concern as they might be stolen/fraudulent. Some places just take extra precautions and force you to pre-pay so you don't fill & flee on them.

[foggy182]

If it asks for a zip I now just cancel and drive on to the next station. No way am I going to give my business to someone who is making my life unnecessarily complicated. I have yet to learn a pattern to the zip code demand. If I can deduce one, I will let everyone know so you can avoid those stations.

[North_of_Calgary]

It's done to verify the card. Enter the 3 numerical digits from your postal code plus 00. So for example, if your Postal code is T2M 5X7 (I just made that one up) then punch in 25700 as the zip code.

Trust me people, I'm not BS-ing here - it really does work. I've done it that way from coast to coast. Several dozen times and only once did it not work. I can think of at least 5 states over the last 3 years off of the top of my head where I've done that with my Visa and it's worked fine.

I was amazed when after being told about this by a colleague at work and I tried it down at LAX and it worked. Especially since my particular postal code makes for a zip code that's not actually valid. I don't want to go into more detail than that but I was recently filling up in a very major US city and the attendant came over just as I was punching the zip code in: he saw the numbers I was entering and was about to say "what the heck are you doing?" and as the words came out of his mouth, the pump authorized.

Give it a try people: I swear this has worked for me on many occasions (with my Visa) and only ever failed me once. And sorry I don't remember the city, state, or chain where it did not work even though I was quite surprised at the time.

[Nuje]

Nice tip! Gotta try that next time I'm in the US.

I find that I can easily find no-ZIP-required pumps near the border, but by the time I get to Sacramento (driving south on I-5), they become more frequent. By the time I'm in the LA area, there's just no getting around it (or 3" of Lexan separating me and the station attendant).

[North_of_Calgary]

Tux: it's not for marketing - it's done as an extra level of security. Although I don't know how much security it really adds as if you've stolen someone's credit card there's a good chance you have their whole wallet or can easily work out their zip code from their name.

asif9t9: just using a random zip code like 92010 won't work (even in LA) even if you had those digits in your postal code as the last two digits to use are always 0 - 0.

foggy182: If you're still in the US and reading this, give my trick a try and report back with your results?

Nuje: it's definitely worked for me in LA. The first time actually was at the Chevron I believe (or possibly a Mobil) on Supulveda Blvd just south of LAX. It's worked for me in many other places in S.Cal as well.

I'm not sure if it's all Canadian cards or just some. All I can say is that it works for me but I've only ever attempted using my Visa card issued by one of the big national Canadian banks. Can't speak for MC or Amex or even other banks.

Good luck folks

P.S. If you look on Wikipedia under "list of zip code prefixes" there are many combinations that are listed as "not in use" - my postal code numerics work out to one of those. So it's not like I'm just coincidently stumbling across a valid zip that just happens to work.

[MarcP]

90210 is not a random zip code, though.

[becks]

Enter the 3 numerical digits from your postal code plus 00. So for example, if your Postal code is T2M 5X7 (I just made that one up) then punch in 25700 as the zip code.

Yep that's always worked for me too

[North_of_Calgary]

Originally Posted by MarcP

90210 is not a random zip code, though.

No duh - you really think I didn't know where that zip code is? I mean that it probably has no correlation to you personally unless your credit card is issued from there in which case this conversation would be a moot point to you.