I'm afraid it's a fairly common tale of woe. We used one of those "rent my apartment" businesses and the place was horrible. This is not the place to detail the experience, but we were left on the sidewalk in Covent Garden.
In desperation we schlepped our bags to the chain coffee shop near the train station, and used the free wifi. My wife internetted a hotel room near Victoria station, and entered her credit card info to hold the room. We lugged to the tube station and made our way.
About two hours later, she had an email from AMEX about transactions taking place in California!!!!!
All we can think of is that the transaction at the coffee shop was intercepted somehow. AMEX cancelled her card, and denied the Cali usage. Lesson learned, call the hotel and talk to a human.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
yes - NEVER enter your financial info on a public wifi
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
I try to minimize credit card use when in Europe for exactly this reason. I particularly wouldn't give out the number or let the card out of my sight.
Posted by
Seattle
544 posts
Are you sure the booking system you used doesn't process payments in California?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5329 posts
There is a reason why half the fraudulent credit card transactions in the world happen in the USA ... and it isn't the volume.
Posted by
Tigard, OR, USA
1068 posts
I use my card all of the time in Europe without problems (unlike the times my card has been stolen here in the US.) However, as stated, it is generally unwise to use you card (or send any very personal information) over public WiFi. It is my understanding that even in some public WiFi areas which offer "secured" transmission, your keystrokes can be read by the cafe owners. So I am cautious about transmitting my numbers over WiFi.
Posted by
Seattle
287 posts
Use a VPN when transmitting financial data over an unsecured WiFi connection. I even use it for secured WiFi in my hotels.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5836 posts
... let the card out of my sight.
The extra security of the Chip cards even if it's a signature card is that European restaurants in my experience use portable card readers that are brought to you. The card does not disappear as is the practice with most American restaurants. Card goes into the machine. You are asked to approve the charge and in the case of a signature card, you sign one copy and get your card back without it leaving your sight.
While not an Amex, Capital One issues separate numbered cards for spouses even if it is one account. If one card is compromised, only that card is locked.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
transactions taking place in California
How did you make the hotel reservation? If it was via a site like Expedia, or Travelocity it's not surprising a charge or hold would be from that part of the world as a lot of e-commecre sites are located there.... especially if it's last minute pre-paid.
Posted by
Freedonia
15063 posts
For last minute bookings, always call the hotel. Not just for security reasons but you may be able to get a better deal.
When it's happened to me, I call the hotel, explain the predicament and say I see online your hotel is $X. Could you possibly do better than that?
If a hotel room isn't sold for the night, it's a loss. So as long as they can get someone into the room at a profit, they've won. I've always gotten a better rate by doing this. (And hotels have told me to call to see if they can lower the rate--which they usually can.)
And get yourself a VPN. There are many that are free. Use it for anything online that you want to keep safe when away from home.