It might be upsetting and aggravating when you cannot use the credit card you brought with you. In addition, if you are attempting to make a purchase online with your credit or debit card and it is declined, it might not be easy to understand why this is happening and what you should do next.

Credit card transactions that fail to go through in person generally fail for the same reasons they fail to go through online, and in most cases, calling the credit card company that issued your card will resolve the problem.

The following is an explanation of why your credit card may not be accepted when you try to make an online purchase, as well as advice on what to do in that case and how to avoid certain rejections from occurring in the first place.

A Fraudulent Transaction Is Suspected

One of the most common reasons your credit card may be declined is concerns about possible fraudulent usage. Credit card issuers are notoriously watchful when detecting fraudulent behavior, such as making huge, out-of-character purchases or doing business in a place vastly different from your norm.

While fraud detection may assist in the catching and stopping of instances of fraudulent card activity, it also has the potential to sometimes lead to genuine transactions being flagged by credit card issuers. You may contact the credit card provider to check that you have approved the online transaction in question if your card has been frozen due to an error in identifying possible fraudulent activity.

Unauthorized Activity Is Detected

Certain credit card issuers limit purchases that may be paid for with their customers' plastic. Your credit card may not be accepted if any of the following apply:

You're trying to charge a gambling deposit

Because many payment systems and card issuers do not permit the purchase of gambling-related products, it is possible that any transaction involving gambling that you attempt to make, whether it be online or in person, may be denied. If you want to find out whether or not your credit card may be used to make charges that are associated with gambling, you can contact the customer service number that is printed on the back of the card. When placing a wager on a game played online, there are certain instances in which you can utilize a digital wallet as a form of payment.

You're buying cryptocurrency

As with gambling, most major credit card providers in the United States do not let their customers use their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies. And issuers that do allow it may charge you a fee for doing so, and that price may be rather high if they do. On the other hand, some cryptocurrencies do not allow using credit cards as a form of payment either.

You're using non-compatible or unauthorized payment service

The transaction may be denied if you attempt to use your card to make an online purchase with an external service that your card's issuer does not permit. For instance, American Express users are not permitted to utilize Plastiq, a third-party bill payment service, to pay their mortgage or utilities using their American Express card. Any attempted transaction that is found to violate this limitation will be declined.

Your card has a hold placed on it

The ability to use your credit card for purchases may be limited if a retailer places a hold on your account. This generally happens for expenses associated with travel, such as when a hotel or rental car firm, for example, may charge more than is owed to your card until you check out of the hotel or return a vehicle that you have rented until you return the vehicle. Certain retailers will go to this length to safeguard themselves against the possibility of losing money and to ensure that you have sufficient available credit to carry out the transaction.

The hold will be withdrawn from your account once the last transaction has been processed and paid for in full. But while this hold is in place, your available credit may be smaller than anticipated, and if you try to charge more than what's available on your card, it could be declined.

If you cannot use your card because of a hold, you may contact the retailer to find out how much of a hold there is and when it will be removed. When you make a reservation with a business that may impose a holding fee, you should make sure you are aware of the rules of both the business and the company that issued your credit card, and you should also think about leaving some additional cash in case you need them.