U.S. Pilot shops online

[H Ferguson]

hello,

I'm looking for a U.S. pilot shop online that will except a Laser card, Maestro, Link, Cirrus. Exchange rate between the Euro and the the Dollar is very good at moment.

I've looked up a few but they only except Visa / MasterCard .

regards

Tony

[SNS3Guppy]

The back of my company issued mastercard says cirrus. Whatever you've got may work. Have you called the company?

[On the Spot]

a lot of US retailers stopped accepting foreign cards due to tightening of money laundering rules after 9/11.
Good luck though

[gfunc]

I'm no expert in such things, but I think the Cirrus & Maestro things you are on about are ATM networks rather than credit card networks. I think it just means you can use your card in another banks ATM with no probs. All my (US bank issued) mastercard and visa cards have the cirrus logo on them.

malc4d I'm surprised that a US retailer would take your card. When my folks back home buy stuff from US sites and have it sent to me (in NY) they've had no isuues. Sounds a bit strange that a US company doesn't want to take your money......

Gareth.

[H Ferguson]

Best bet would to get yourself a prepaid mastercard such as cards (http://www.perfectcard.com/). Give them a ring, or in Dundrum customer service.


are you talking about apay.com ?

[On the Spot]

not sure if these pre-paid cards are actually credit cards or debit cards. But be wary of losing the protection of the "credit" card when paying abroad. It has saved me a couple of times when stuff went astray.

I keep a US bank account to simply US purchases. I get frustrated at not being able to pay for gas on my UK credit card without walking backward and forward to the kiosk and often finding that they would even then not process it manually.

[pilotms]

For the Shop:
Have you tried Sporty's Home Page (http://www.sportys.com) ?

[172driver]

Could it be that some of yo guys here are confusing debit cards with credit cards? The former normally won't work internationally, the latter certainly do. I use mine (both UK and continental Europe issued) credit cards regularly for purchases in the US, both online and local when there. Never a problem.

[IO540]

Some U.S. outlets no longer accept CCs and require bank transfers.

They give various silly cover stories but the real reason is that some of them were taken for a ride by the usual Nigerian fraudsters, ordering 10 x of everything on the company's price list. You do have to be dumb to fall for one of these (we get them weekly at my business) because they are so obvious from the way they order but most U.S. pilot shops have monkeys working in their shipping departments who will not realise that somebody ordering a totally implausible list of items must be a crook.

The stuff is shipped out to the customer in Bongo Bongo Land and a bit later the merchant gets a chargeback because the card was stolen. A credit card payment is not "cleared funds" - well not for about a year following the transaction, according to a Barclays Visa rep I spoke to.

I once got stuff sent from the USA to my correct UK address but instead of UK they put Hong Kong on the label. When it arrived at my house ( some 3 months later, having been to HK first...) I phoned up their export dept manageress and she said "I thought the UK was in Hong Kong".

I do buy stuff from the USA but a lot of places cannot be used for this reason.

Excellent outlets include this avionics (http://www.seaerospace.com)shop. Aircraft Spruce are also OK but with apes who sometimes get things wrong, and they charge extra for an 8130-3.

I normally email a number of shops out there and those who don't reply to the email are not worth dealing with. But some are good.

The smaller firms are often excellent, for engine parts, hoses, etc.

There are no regs in the USA preventing foreign credit cards being accepted. It's really just like the UK - you have to take an intelligent look at the way the customer is conducting himself, and remember that a CC is not a cleared payment - it is just like a cheque which can bounce. You do need intelligent people in sales order processing, unfortunately.

Debit cards work internationally. Mine does.

[SNS3Guppy]

Debit cards do work international depending on there brand.


Mine works globally, but I do need to let the bank know. They'll release it for 17 days, after which it gets flagged again.

I haven't ever had a problem ordering overseas. I occasionally buy books from an aviation seller in England. It may be more difficult going the other way; I haven't tried to buy much from the US when outside the country...just usually get what I need locally.

[englishal]

Some take PayPal too.

I buy from Sportys and have it shipped to the UK. Mind you I use my Bank of America visa debit card which is registered in California - but they still ship to the UK. I did ask them about liferafts but didn't get a response, I guess they are dangerous goods.....

FTR I use the BofA visa debit card worldwide and use my UK debit cards worldwide and have never had a problem....