Have you noticed that there are times when you can't fill up your whole gas tank with certain credit cards?  There is a security feature in place with Visa & MasterCard and other cards which limits the dollar amount on pay-at-the-pump transactions.  This has been in place for some time but only in recent times have people begin to notice it since gas prices have risen so high.  It is not all gas stations and probably those driving SUVs would be the ones to experience this.  This is good information to have in case you do experience this and can't figure out what is going on…

As the price of gasoline rises, rules to limit credit card fraud at the nation's pumps are confusing consumers who just want a full tank of gas.

Caps on transaction amounts — or the total dollar amount of gas a customer can pump into their car — are limiting some drivers.

Credit card companies have established a protective layer by setting transaction caps on how much gas a consumer can pump at any one given time.

For MasterCard customers, it's $75. Visa and Discover users have a $50 pay-at-the-pump limit. Transaction limits vary for corporate card holders and American Express users.

Not all gas stations have to abide by the cap. And there are no limits if a customer goes inside and pays with their credit card at the counter.

The caps have gone unnoticed as gasoline prices remained relatively low.

“We get more calls, questions, when gas prices increase,” said Visa spokeswoman Rhonda Bentz.

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline increased from $1.50 a gallon at the start of the decade to $2.28 a gallon in 2005, according to the American Automobile Association.

Today, gasoline prices are topping $3 a gallon.

To learn more on this subject, read the complete article below from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-06-15-gas-cutoff_N.htm?csp=34

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