Paying utility bills with a non Argentine credit card.

[glasgowjohn]

One of the things that annoy many expats is that some utility providers do not accept foreign based credit cards.

Fibertel say that they cannot do it but every month I pay my bill with my UK based AMEX card . Occasionally they ask me if the card was issued in Argentina . If I reply no, they say they cannot accept it but if I say yes, the payment is processed . They get their cash, I pay my invoice and my little white lie disappears from my soul…..

Recently I started using the Rapipago telephone payment system for my other services and so far I have paid Telecom and Metrogas with no problems.

The web site with instructions in Spanish is
http://www.rapipago.com.ar/SiteController.php?action=ViewPage&shortname=I_RAPI_POR_TEL

 

[Nicole_Ramirez]

I pay for both my Personnel & Movistar acounts with my US credit card. They bill it automatically. We pay our electric bill with cash though & we attempted to pay Direct TV with the credit card but they were retards & ended up charging us $800 to the card that they say they don't know how to refund so we have to dispute it with my card who is having problems because it took place in Argentina.

 

[Sleuth]

Good to know. If you have a bank account, look into http://www.pagomiscuentas.com too. I use that all the time...

 

[ndcj]

I pay for both my Personnel & Movistar acounts with my US credit card. They bill it automatically. We pay our electric bill with cash though & we attempted to pay Direct TV with the credit card but they were retards & ended up charging us $800 to the card that they say they don't know how to refund so we have to dispute it with my card who is having problems because it took place in Argentina.

I just got done involved in a protracted dispute with those morons at DirecTV. In case you were not aware, if you charge-back a single credit card payment to DirecTV, you can never, ever pay by credit card again with them, even if you change the account holder.

Aside from that, it seems that a foreign-issued Amex card can be used for almost anything that requires a domestic card -- maybe they can't tell the difference like they can with Visa or Mastercard.