LNER flags overseas card payment as fraud review

[miklcct]

I booked some train tickets with LNER in the past and used an overseas card, but it flagged my payment as potential fraud and held it for review, which the ticket was only released after hours.

I now use another overseas card to make another booking and it again flags my payment as potential fraud as well.

This problem also exists in some other merchants as well such as some leisure centres, no matter which overseas card (I tried more than 5 cards) I use it got rejected as potential fraud.

How can I fix the problem, as some of my overseas card is offering 4% cashback on my purchases so I want to use it as often as I can.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I doubt there's a quick fix. In person transactions shouldn't be an issue, but online will often require further confirmation. Particularly if several cards in your name have been presented for similar transactions. You can try asking the card issuers, but they'll blame the retailers. You can try asking the retailers, but they'll blame the card issuers.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are the forex fees on the card not rather overshadowing the gain?

 

[zero]

Hong Kong cards usually have 1-2% forex fee, but HKD is pegged to USD and it barely registers when the USD is so strong that any HKD balance would have appreciated in GBP by 15% over the past 1-2 years (and inflation is happening everywhere).

The latest promotions on some HSBC Hong Kong credit cards yield roughly 11.5 avios per £ equivalent, which becomes 11.2 avios with a 2% fee.

The HSBC Hong Kong debit card has no forex fee and 0.4% cashback.

Anyway I would think all overseas cards are slightly more risky for retailers than UK cards, but if they are used with that retailer for a long time with no chargebacks then they may stop needing to be flagged.

 

[James H]

When buying several batches of tickets in quick succession for a group using the LNER app, I had my transaction flagged for fraud review too.

It was released after a couple of hours.

Bit nerve-wracking as I needed the e-tickets asap

 

[hkstudent]

T

Hong Kong cards usually have 1-2% forex fee, but HKD is pegged to USD and it barely registers when the USD is so strong that any HKD balance would have appreciated in GBP by 15% over the past 1-2 years (and inflation is happening everywhere).

The latest promotions on some HSBC Hong Kong credit cards yield roughly 11.5 avios per £ equivalent, which becomes 11.2 avios with a 2% fee.

The HSBC Hong Kong debit card has no forex fee and 0.4% cashback.

Anyway I would think all overseas cards are slightly more risky for retailers than UK cards, but if they are used with that retailer for a long time with no chargebacks then they may stop needing to be flagged.

Yeah HSBC HK card are often the king in overseas spending rewards. There are also other cards having cashback exceeding the forex fee.

Hong Kong is really a good place to game with credit cards, unlike the UK / EU, which are hindered by the cap of merchants fee and thus lower rewards rate.

 

[smsm1]

When buying several batches of tickets in quick succession for a group using the LNER app, I had my transaction flagged for fraud review too.

It was released after a couple of hours.

Bit nerve-wracking as I needed the e-tickets asap

Next time might be easier using the web browser as then you would be able to put all the tickets into a single transaction. Each person gets separate tickets anyway as PDF issued (though I'd like the option to be more like the German system where there's a single barcode for everyone).