Unable to buy gift card due to false CC declines

[Reece23]

I've tried 5 times to by a gift card through Airbnb and my card is declined every time. My bank says the problem is all on Airbnb's side. Has anyone else come across this? And how the heck to do you contact customer service for gift cards???

[Emiel1]

@Reece23 

You can contact Airbnb like this:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact-us

Choose "I don't need help with a reservation".

then topic "payments, refunds",

then "payments"

then "It’s something else"

the "i still need help"

and you will end up in a live chat-session

Other options:

Contact Airbnb - Community Guide [Updated]

[Sarah4356]

I tried the above suggestion, and it was not helpful. The agent told me they can only assist with REDEEMING cards, not purchasing them. It looks like launchgiftcards sends an auto email regarding this issue. You can reply to the initial email asking for help purchasing the card. Fingers crossed launchgiftcards reply to my query!

[Sarah4356]

Emailing the AirBnB reps at Launch Gift Cards (airbnb@launchgiftcards.com) was not helpful. They just repeated the auto-reply text (yes, I called my bank to confirm they didn’t block charge; yes, I checked that my info was entered correctly). See pic below for their reply. 

Only custom text was basically, sorry, we don’t know why purchase didn’t work and there’s nothing we can do! I have given up  and won’t be buying a $500 card from AirBnb. Looking for a gift somewhere else.

 

[Nicole2854]

I'm having this same problem. ABB keeps saying it's on my end but my banks have said that ABB is declining the transaction. 

[Lynette175]

I’ve also had this problem. Has anyone found a resolution?

[Emilie]

Hi @Lynette175, 

Sorry to hear you're having a similar issue! Have you tried checking in with the Support teams to see if they can help you identify what's going on? 

Thanks, 

Emilie 

[Lynette175]

They said it was a problem with my credit card. The bank said it’s not a problem with the card and I tried it with multiple cards.

[Phil5241]

I've just encountered this same problem at the end of 2024, so it seems nothing has moved on. Banking systems flag the airbnb gift card transaction and block. I imagine airbnb is losing a lot of business through this.

[Emilie]

Hi @Phil5241, 

I'm sorry to hear you're also having some trouble purchasing a gift card! Have you tried contacting the support teams as well to have them look into it? As we have no access to your account on the Community Center, they are best placed to investigate: www.airbnb.com/help/contact-us/ 🙂

Additionally, as this post is from 2022, if you need any more advice, I'd suggest starting a new conversation so your message is more visible and other hosts can jump in with other suggestions - 👉 start a new conversation

I hope this helps!

Emilie

[Phil5241]

I’ve kind of resolved this problem for myself, Emilie, by purchasing through another bank. But it’s clear that Lloyds block transactions on this platform and then block the user’s card. Airbnb needs to stop treating it as an individual customer service issue and flag it as a major system problem. My guess is that it’s costing you tens of thousands a year.

[Emilie]

That's good to hear, thank you for coming back so quickly to update us! I'm glad you found a workaround this time, @Phil5241. 🙂

[Tina12472]

I have tried two different cards 4 times. So yes, this must me a system problem not ours because this cost them a sale today. I don't have time for customer service so VRBO I go! 

listen to your clients and take them seriously especially when there's a known issue. 4 years later and you're still having problems? 

[Margie137]

I am also having this problem.  My credit card company also says it is on AirBNB's side, that they authorize the transaction, and then AirBNB rejects the authorization.  I have tried many times, with no success.  I even tried a different credit card (my husband's), though same email address and same account (but different cc number), and had the same result.

I give up.  I guess I won't be buying any more AirBNB gift cards

[Philip3049]

I am now having this exact same issue, except I'm having it while trying to pay for a booking up front.

I'm trying to book a 31-day stay, paid up front. My bank says the money is available. AirBnB is telling me that my payment is being declined, and specifically declined by my bank.

The issue is clearly on AirBnB's end. Not only are they saying that my bank is the one declining while my bank says the funds are available, but after the decline they sent me an official notification stating (redacted for privacy, emphasis mine):

"Action required. Your payment failed. Please pay [amount] by Jan 2 to keep your [location] reservation."

It's currently May. I'm trying to book for May through June. Yet they want me to pay "by Jan 2." It's clear that something on their end is borked, yet they refuse to admit it. They keep saying that the issue is on my bank's end, and whenever I ask about the incorrect dates they're sending me in notifications they ignore the query. (Notably, they don't claim it's a nonissue or that it's not indicative of broader problems. They just don't acknowledge it at all.)

It should be noted that the host has been as helpful as humanly possible, and has even agreed to take the listing down for a few days so it doesn't get sniped while I try to address this issue. That's above and beyond, as far as I'm concerned - so massive respect for the host. It's just that AirBnB themselves are not being helpful about this.