Credit card issue date required?

Just buy the ticket from another Train Operator (TOC) such as LNER. They all sell each other’s tickets.

All UK credit and debit cards have the issue date embossed on them, but I haven't heard of this before. Possibly a new security measure to ensure that it is actually you with the card.

PS- Just tried it, even buying in the UK you do now need the issue date, but you can also select to use Pay Pal. And if your CC is registered on your Pay Pal account that gives 2 ways round it- use Pay Pal funds or your CC via PayPal.

We ran into this in 2023 in Conwy Wales. The hotel had no parking and we had to park in a municipal lot a few blocks away where you had to pay by machine. We eventually got around it but I don't remember how

I recall the British Airways website asks for the credit card issue date, but you don’t have to fill it in to proceed with the payment. It must recognize that it is a U.S. card, or at least not a UK one.

Are they asking for when the card you have in hand was issued , or when the account was opened?

Thanks for the warning. I have no idea when my cards were issued. It’s now on my To-Do list to call the banks.
Did you need the issue date for any other credit card purchases?
Good question Joe. Card issued vs account opened, two entirely different dates (unless it’s a newly opened account).

Just buy the ticket from another Train Operator (TOC) such as LNER. They all sell each other’s tickets.

They may require the same info, or there may be a different type of purchase that doesn't have alternatives.

use Pay Pal funds or your CC via PayPal

I didn't have quite enough PayPal funds to cover the tickets, and it didn't occur to me until afterward that I could use my CC through Paypal. I was a little perturbed -- we had to check out of our hotel and were scheduled in Oxford within a few hours -- and not thinking clearly enough.

Although not all websites take Paypal so that may not always be a possible solution.

Are they asking for when the card you have in hand was issued , or when the account was opened?

When the card in hand was issued.

Thanks for the warning. I have no idea when my cards were issued. It’s now on my To-Do list to call the banks.
Did you need the issue date for any other credit card purchases?

I don't think it would matter even if you knew the issue date. I'm speculating, but I suspect the purchase process checks the CC information -- number, expiry, CCV -- and if the issue date isn't on the card they wouldn't have any way to verify it. So even if you filled it in on the form, the program couldn't confirm it.

I used the card for dozens of other purchases and never needed the issue date.

A Google search turned up a few other instances of this but not as many as I'd have thought, considering that no U.S. credit card that I've ever heard of includes issue date. And what's the point -- the expiration date specifies how long it's good for; what does it matter when it was issued?

My U.K. debit card doesn’t have an issue date and I’ve never needed to use one.

I think it’s only certain payment methods that do require issue date and maybe your card uses one of them. I would try a different card in future and see if that does not require issue date. Often it is on the payment form but you can just leave it blank.

a few of my cards (all UK issue) have an issue date but most don't, and as far as embossed several are not embossed at all, and one doesn't have any writing on either side except the bank name and my name -the number is only visible online. And it has no issue date.

Only going so far with a dummy booking, but yeah it does appear that GWR does ask for "valid from" when entering card details.

On the otherhand LNER, Avanti, Southern, Southeastern, West Midlands do not ask for a card issue date.

I've booked tickets recently on the GWR site with my non-UK card - you can just click past the request for the issue date. Same with otgwr operating companies - never had a problem with a foreign card.

Jim,

You could try Trainline as they sell tickets for the UK as well as many other places in Europe. As I recall, users have to register on the site, including payment information. Once that's done it's easy to buy tickets. I've always found their customer service to be good.

I suspect the requirement for an "issue date" will be dropped in the future, as people from outside the UK aren't provided with that information. I haven't got a clue what the issue date of. my cards is, although if I had to guess I'd say it's the first day after the expiration of my previous card. It's possible that if I call the credit card customer service, they could also provide that information.

Issue date is only relevant if it's printed on your card - if not you should be able to skip it.

Nothing wrong with Trainline per se, but as a ticket reseller it charges a fee. You can book a UK train ticket with any of the train operating companies, so if for some reason you can't get past this issue with the GWR site, you can just book the same ticket on one of the other train company sites, without a fee.

The other thing here is that this was an on the day ticket purchase. Just purchase physical tickets from the clerk or the machines at the originating station. They are the same price.

All cards are accepted, all machines are tap as well as insert the card.

Also buying from a Clerk you can also pay in Cash.

Issue date is only relevant if it's printed on your card - if not you should be able to skip it.

I tried a few times -- left it blank, filled out a date in different formats, etc. It wouldn't let me past it.

The other thing here is that this was an on the day ticket purchase. Just purchase physical tickets from the clerk or the machines at the originating station. They are the same price.
All cards are accepted, all machines are tap as well as insert the card.

I didn't know that; I had thought it was cheaper to buy online than in person, plus wanting to avoid a line. It was a weekend so I figured there would be a lot of travelers. (There were, as it turned out -- the train was quite full.)

This must be a new thing, as I bought several tickets online at Great Western earlier this year and it did not ask me for an issue date.

"wanting to avoid a line."

Most people will have bought their tickets online, so not likely to be an issue.

Unfortunately I don't have any other suggestions- I bought tickets recently on GWR with my non-UK credit card and didn't have a problem.

I don’t think people need to worry about this. British cards do not have the issue date on them either. I’m not sure what happened to the OP but this should not be a problem usually.

Helen's cards may not have an issue date on them, but all of mine do- month and year. So 11/22 for instance (November 2022).

I can't imagine that GWR would not have introduced that added security feature to their website if the majority of cards did not have the issue date on them, but clearly some don't. As I only use my GWR account normally to reserve seats for anywhere on the UK rail system it wasn't a matter I was aware of, nor have I seen a news release about it,

I believe some payment methods require a card issue date and it will be on those cards, eg Maestro and in the old days Switch. So maybe the OP’s card was running on Maestro although I think that’s only debit cards. I don’t know. But in general this should not be a problem.

Does this mean that an American in London is going to have trouble using his card?

It sounds like a glitch. See this post from 5 years ago on Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k12603083-o10-Strange_problem_booking_ticket_on_GWR_website-London_England.html

Does this mean that an American in London is going to have trouble using his card?

In a store, no, as the start date is something you never get asked for. Even in telephone transactions it is never asked for. And this is the first website that I have come across to ask for the date. On the form the 'date valid to' field is marked as mandatory, but not the 'date valid from'.

I've just made a successful transaction on GWR leaving the 'date from' field blank. I wasn't expecting it to go through (it was a ticket I didn't need)- I should have been prompted for a pin code from my bank by text as always, always happens- but it went through. Glad I chose the cheapest possible ticket from my station. Oops.

So what may have stopped the OP was the CV number on the back of the card (bottom right field of the screen) or the OP's bank was suspicious.

The only time I ever look at that date is when a replacement card for a time expired card arrives early.

PS- None of my cards are Maestro or Switch, just normal cards.

Does this mean that an American in London is going to have trouble using his card?

Not in general. I used the same card in hotels, restaurants, stores, tourist attractions, taxis and buses, etc. with no problem, both before and after the train incident.

In a store, no, as the start date is something you never get asked for. Even in telephone transactions it is never asked for. And this is the first website that I have come across to ask for the date. On the form the 'date valid to' field is marked as mandatory, but not the 'date valid from'.

Both fields were shown as mandatory, if I recall correctly. Regardless of how they were marked, it wouldn't let me proceed without the issue date field. It specifically flagged it as "missing".

I've just made a successful transaction on GWR leaving the 'date from' field blank. I wasn't expecting it to go through (it was a ticket I didn't need)- I should have been prompted for a pin code from my bank by text as always, always happens- but it went through. Glad I chose the cheapest possible ticket from my station.

Sorry if my post caused you to waste some money. I don't understand how you got it to work though, unless they've revised the process. Maybe they had some complaints about this very issue and reconsidered?

So what may have stopped the OP was the CV number on the back of the card (bottom right field of the screen) or the OP's bank was suspicious.

Nope. I checked everything four times, and my wife went over it two more. I also doubt it was the bank because I used the same card uneventfully for a week before and after.

PS- None of my cards are Maestro or Switch, just normal cards.

Mine was a standard CapitalOne Mastercard. I've been using it for over a decade, including twice in the UK and last year in Italy, with no problem.

Alas, a mystery probably never to be solved. Thanks all for weighing in!

I have just returned from my unexpected train journey, having collected my on line ordered ticket from the machine at the station, because that is how I personally travel (with physical tickets), rather than with a mobile ticket. I figured as I had bought the ticket I should collect it and use it. My town only has 25,000 residents but 2 railway stations, so just travel from one side of town to the other.

So there we are. The field is there, but it seems not to be required to use it. If anyone else has a repetition of the problem then use another train company website or buy at the station.

The image of you traveling from one station to the next in order to use your accidental ticket made me smile, so thank you for that!

I suspect that if you just made up a reasonable “issue date”, say about 3 years before the expiry date, it would be fine.

I suspect that if you just made up a reasonable “issue date”, say about 3 years before the expiry date, it would be fine.

I tried that a couple times but the transaction was rejected. I suspect the system attempts to confirm all the fields -- card #, expiry, CVV, and issue date -- with the credit card company. Since CapitalOne doesn't include that field, the transaction data couldn't be confirmed so they rejected it.