Why does shell only charge $1 on my card when I get gas?

Question

Why does Shell only charge a $1 hold on my debit card and then a couple days later the rest when I use my debit card to pay gas with?

Answer 1

The debit card $1 fee is from it being a debit card-  like when you withdraw money from an ATM that isn't your bank and they charge an extra fee. Very often when you chose debit card as the method retailers will charge your card a processing fee.

It is better to choose to use it as a credit card and either sign inside the gas station or enter your ZIP at the pump and they won't charge your card the fee. You can only do that if it has a Visa or Mastercard symbol on it.

Answer 2

The $1 charge you are experiencing is just done so the vendor (Shell) can verify that your card is valid and not maxed out.  You're not being charged $1 -- it's just the amount they are using to "test" the validity of your card.  After your fuel is pumped and the bill is known, the $1 will be credited to your total bill.  If you pumped less than $1 of fuel, the difference will be refunded to your card.

FYI it's advisable to use CREDIT instead of debit when purchasing fuel.  The reason for this is some fuel stations do not charge $1, but they pre-charge $50 or even $100.  If you put $20 of fuel in your car 3 times a week, it's possible that your card will show you have spent $300 and if your CC limit is low you won't be able to use your card until the debits clear.

Answer 3

It's just an authorization. Some companies will charge the full amount. Also I went to a restaurant in New York who put a charge $40 over the bill price.

Over charging is something that occurs a lot though with debit cards. Consider the $1 a blessing. Because what happened in New York had me cringing when I checked my account online. I had to call my bank to make sure I wasn't being ripped off. The final charge ending up being correct.

Oh and the $1 is not a charge, it's just authorization. You are only charged for the bill amount.

Answer 4

Its the gas station checking to see if the card is valid.

Answer 5

The gas station will charge that dollar to assure them that the account is in good standing and that the money will be there when they eventually run their credit card reports and charge you the full amount.  Be careful when you use your debit card, often times the bank will hold more than you bought in order to assure that the amount is covered.  For example, if you buy $20 in gas the bank may hold $30 for a couple of days.  The bank will put the money back, but if your not careful you can overdraw your account and not realize it.