Unmanned fuel pumps and pre payments

[Ash-69]

Morning all, long time no speak etc but today I have a question for the continental tourers

I'm off to Spain/Portugal end of next month and will be using one of those prepayment cards (Starling) to purchase fuel/grub/booze etc, my question for you lot, is how do you get around the £120 pre authorisation for automated pumps if you have to use multiples of them over a weekend, most of the supermarkets seem to have them rather than a manned kiosk ...

As a backup I'll be carrying a standard debit card, a credit card and a few Euros to cover all bases but would prefer to avoid Lloyds foreign currency charges

Cheers, Ian
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FZ1-S Fazer (licence killer😢) , CRF1000L - Adventure Sport

[MCN]

[Nobby the Bastard]

The other thing you can do is specify the max amount dispensed before you pick up the pump. That'll be the amount you will be precharged for.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[stinkwheel]

[Ash-69]

Mr Stinkwheel's got it ... the Squirel card doesn't have an overdraft facility, so as my other half found out a couple of weeks ago, the pump authorised to whatever was left on card £30 but then declined it as it was less than the preauthorisation amount and wouldn't dispense any fuel ... To add to the buggeration factor I can't access the remaining £30 either until the bank and Carrefour get their shit synced which can take 30 days ......
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FZ1-S Fazer (licence killer😢) , CRF1000L - Adventure Sport

[A100man]

Thanks for teh heads up.. what a bag o' shite.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[Tierbirdy]

To avoid all this hassle I just go looking around for the best 0% fees/charges on foreign transaction credit cards. Barclays did a good platinum travellers credit card or something like that which had 3 years of no fees for use abroad. Just dont forget to pay it off by the end of the following month so it doesnt rack up any interest and its basically the same as a prepay card, just put the money aside to pay the CC off rather than putting it on a prepay card.

[Arfa__]

Also don't forget that Starling disables the mag-strip for security by default. I found a lot of places abroad still relied upon this and had to keep enabling it again in the app to avoid getting declined.

Granted, it's been a couple of years since I was last abroad, but it certainly was a common issue in the US, everything from small food vendors, parking lots to toll booths. So, watch out, this can sometimes be the reason for your Starling card to be declined abroad.
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Beginner Biker Adventures Blog
Yamaha FZ6 S2 2007

[MCN]

The bank exchange is not really a concern for me. For Travel expenses.
The hassle of arranging a prepaid card would bore me to distraction.

I must be too much of a toff.

And everyone knows that Toffs are careless.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Freddyfruitba...]

[MCN]

[Freddyfruitba...]

[MCN]

[Ash-69]

Cash back on the card exactly 31 days later - bastirts !!
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FZ1-S Fazer (licence killer😢) , CRF1000L - Adventure Sport

[c-m]