Originally Posted by
Smaug1
Sharing a little frustration with the purchase: I charged it to my credit card. My credit card company, seeing that I don't often charge expensive things like this on it, declined the transaction. I got a text from the credit card company wanting me to confirm I was trying to buy it. I confirmed. I called REI and had them run it again, success. Now, 4 days later, the charge is still "Pending" with the credit card. I called the credit card company, they said it is on hold from REI and there is nothing to do but wait.
I hope they are shipping the bike to REI and will charge me at some point soon, rather than waiting on something else.
New Bike Day will be delayed awhile, it looks like.
I get it, they're trying to make sure I'm not getting scammed, but I sure don't feel like it was a convenient way to make a purchase, like I did 10 years ago.
On the other hand, I get $350 REI to spend there at the end of the year and a 2% kickback ($7) to spend at Amazon from the credit card. It costs time to save money, it seems...
Charging with a credit card is a big plus; First, that verfication to prevent fraud is good, with all the fraud going on, and second, if something you buy is not as advertised and the retail seller refuses to remedy, you can dispute the charge with your charge card company, and lemme tell ya, that is a big plus, they have more horsepower and leverage, at least if backed by a large bank with dispute department. Fortunately, that shouldn't be an issue with REI, they are famous for good customer service, at least in my past experience.