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Jun. 22nd, 2017 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljYou know how frustrating it can be to navigate through all those menus when you're trying to get through to a real person on the phone? It's "press 1 or say ONE" "enter your birth month and year or say the two digit month and two digit year", that sort of thing. I tried to get my automatic reload set up on Starbucks for my Starbucks card/app and it kept kicking out my credit card. Just got one with a new expiry date, you see. It would accept it but then send an email when it tried to reload and say it couldn't authorize it. I noticed a "start" date on the card as well as the expiry so i wondered if that was the problem. So I decided to call up. I had activated the card yesterday so i knew that was ok. The number I called yesterday put me straight through to a warm body. Not so, tonight.
All I wanted was a real person to ask a question. Was there a start date that meant I couldn't actually use it until then? (next weekend). I obediently tapped my way through all the things it wanted to know. But I still couldn't get an option that would give me a real person. I muttered "oh fuck off", the recorded response came back with something like "this is not a valid response" ... I navigated a bit more and finally shouted the same thing. Got the same huffy come back but then the recording said to make sure I had my paperwork and they'd connect me to an operator. So there you have it folks, swearing at the recording menu options really does work!
And the problem? I had entered my billing address the same way I always do on every website. I didn't change it from before on the Starbucks site, it was still "apt#-civic# street name Dr." but the woman at the call centre said the card account was set up as "civic# street name Dr. Apt xxx" . The apartment number was separated out. Mind you, that first format is one that Canada Post always recognizes and it's the one I use all the time. Even Starbucks never minded it before. But as soon as I changed it to the one that matched the card account, it went through. Well then. I suppose either the bank or Starbucks has changed their authorization method. I know it's for my own good but I'll have to remember that for other sites, and not be surprised if it kicks back at me. At least I'll know why.
I've changed over my other Visa card at another bank to a Mastercard that will get WestJet (airline) dollars. Air Canada is dropping Aeroplan and will have their own points plan. They actually separated themselves from it a few years ago but were still associated with it as a partner. They're dum,ping that partnership altogether. They *say* they'll still accept aeroplan points for flights after they change to their own but I am not so confident. And if that's the case, I want to have something else in hand for travel points. Westjet dollars can also be used with Delta airlines and American Airlines, I think as they are partners with Westjet. Westjet is now flying to Gatwick and Glasgow, too, so they're a viable replacement for Air Canada. Possibly at least. Anyway, it's done now. I always had a second credit card as a backup. I've got Aeroplan points enough for a short haul flight already, I may end up with enough for a long haul North America flight by next year. You can use Aeroplan points for other things like hotels and cars and merchandise so I can always use it for that, too but I find the points they want for a night in a hotel is quite high when you can often get a pretty decent price on a hotel if you're patient. I think gradually I'll shift over to the new mastercard as my main one. The Aeroplan card, the bank that deals with it also has a lower version, not a premium type card and I could always switch it to that one. The yearly fee is far lower.
High finances.
All I wanted was a real person to ask a question. Was there a start date that meant I couldn't actually use it until then? (next weekend). I obediently tapped my way through all the things it wanted to know. But I still couldn't get an option that would give me a real person. I muttered "oh fuck off", the recorded response came back with something like "this is not a valid response" ... I navigated a bit more and finally shouted the same thing. Got the same huffy come back but then the recording said to make sure I had my paperwork and they'd connect me to an operator. So there you have it folks, swearing at the recording menu options really does work!
And the problem? I had entered my billing address the same way I always do on every website. I didn't change it from before on the Starbucks site, it was still "apt#-civic# street name Dr." but the woman at the call centre said the card account was set up as "civic# street name Dr. Apt xxx" . The apartment number was separated out. Mind you, that first format is one that Canada Post always recognizes and it's the one I use all the time. Even Starbucks never minded it before. But as soon as I changed it to the one that matched the card account, it went through. Well then. I suppose either the bank or Starbucks has changed their authorization method. I know it's for my own good but I'll have to remember that for other sites, and not be surprised if it kicks back at me. At least I'll know why.
I've changed over my other Visa card at another bank to a Mastercard that will get WestJet (airline) dollars. Air Canada is dropping Aeroplan and will have their own points plan. They actually separated themselves from it a few years ago but were still associated with it as a partner. They're dum,ping that partnership altogether. They *say* they'll still accept aeroplan points for flights after they change to their own but I am not so confident. And if that's the case, I want to have something else in hand for travel points. Westjet dollars can also be used with Delta airlines and American Airlines, I think as they are partners with Westjet. Westjet is now flying to Gatwick and Glasgow, too, so they're a viable replacement for Air Canada. Possibly at least. Anyway, it's done now. I always had a second credit card as a backup. I've got Aeroplan points enough for a short haul flight already, I may end up with enough for a long haul North America flight by next year. You can use Aeroplan points for other things like hotels and cars and merchandise so I can always use it for that, too but I find the points they want for a night in a hotel is quite high when you can often get a pretty decent price on a hotel if you're patient. I think gradually I'll shift over to the new mastercard as my main one. The Aeroplan card, the bank that deals with it also has a lower version, not a premium type card and I could always switch it to that one. The yearly fee is far lower.
High finances.
