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???

[Alex11051]

Same issue here. Repeatedly tried with various forms of payment but every time it has been declined. No help from the "Contact Us" chat or via the airbnbca@launchgiftcards.com email address. Is there any solution?

[Michael-Chestley0]

Same problem here.  Tried multiple times, a couple of different cards.  CC company says it's not their problem.  I ama now giving up and just sending a check to the people I want to send the gift card to.

AirBnB is no help.  "Refresh your page and try again," they tell me.  Then sometimes I get a message saying on the screen, "Something's wrong...try again in a little while."

[Lorina14]

@Michael-Chestley0,

Sorry to hear about your experience! When tech works it’s great and when it doesn’t it is really frustrating. 

@Bhumika @Paula @Rebecca can you send this to the right team? It appears from the thread that this has been an issue here and there. I would think Airbnb would want to fix this ASAP as they are losing potential revenue and guests.

[Paula]

Thanks for looping us in, @Lorina14. I am forwarding Michael's case to the team for review.

Since our Community Center is not a formal branch of the support team, they should contact you directly, @Michael-Chestley0.

[Michael-Chestley0]

Thanks, but I finally gave up and send the recipient a check.  Neither of the two credit card companies had a problem.  They said it was at Airbnb's end.  Frustrating.

[Dan21269]

I had the same problem. The solution I found was to order the Airbnb gift cards from paypal website, and pay through Paypal. It worked!

[Natalia1581]

Thank you SO MUCH, Dan! This is the most helpful tip! I have purchased a card through Amazon.  

[Pam2475]

I have been trying for 3 days and I get the same automated email response even after it says ‘ a live person will help you as soon as possible’, not helpful at all.  I have confirmed with my bank, there are no issues and I have tried multiple cards. Wanting to purchase $750 in gift cards has become frustrating and I guess it’s time to look somewhere else.  Very disappointing after being a supporter of Airbnb for over eight years.

[Robbie164]

Same issue as everyone else. I tried multiple valid cards and it gets declined every time. But I am able to make reservations on AirBnB and pay with the same card, so not sure where the breakdown is. Same resolution as some of the others — I'm just sending cash as a gift and they can decide where to spend it.

[Joan2709]

@Robbie164 

It may be just as well...many have commented here when they try to scratch off the number/pin the whole backing comes off on the Gift Card and they are unable to read the pin. Then when contacting Airbnb they get no where and Airbnb says it's not their problem. 

See this thread (there are others):

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Support-with-your-bookings/PIN-number-unable-to-be-read/m-p/2041...

Gift Card Pin

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3597