How To Get Your Personal AVS Info Updated

Did you just have your credit card declined because your Address Verification System (AVS) information didn't match your new address? You’re not alone. This is a pretty common problem at auto dealerships (and everywhere else).

We'll help you fix the issue by walking you through the process of getting your personal AVS information updated so you'll never have to experience this problem again.

What Is AVS?

AVS is a feature used by credit card companies to compare the address you give to the dealership against the billing address your issuing bank has on hand. This feature exists to:

• Prevent fraud (by confirming that you, the cardholder, are the person making the large purchase)
• Prevent chargebacks (by verifying your identity)

AVS is a feature that’s used by all major U.S., Canadian, and U.K. credit card companies.

How To Get Your Credit Card Company To Update Your AVS Profile For You

Even if you did everything by the book when it comes to updating your billing address with your credit card company, your credit card can still get declined. It’s because credit card companies often fail to change the AVS information along with the billing information. A lot of people aren’t aware that they need to specifically ask their credit card company to update their AVS information along with the billing address.

The good news is it’s not too late to ask your credit card company to update your AVS profile. The best way to do this is to contact the credit card company and ask them to update your AVS profile for you.

How To Contact Your Credit Card Company

If you're not sure how to contact your credit card company, you can try calling them, emailing them, or reaching out to them via live chat. Here's a list of some of the major credit card companies and several ways to reach them:

• American Express:
  • Call them at 1 (800) 528-4800
  • Sign in to your American Express account to reach them via live chat
• Bank of America
  • Call them at (800) 432-1000
  • Sign in to your Bank of America account to reach them via live chat
• Capital One
  • Call them at 1 (877) 383-4802
• Discover
  • Call them at (800) 347-2683
  • Visit this link and then click on "message an agent" to reach them via live chat
• MasterCard
  • Call them at (800) 307-7309
• Visa
  • Call them at (800) 847-2911
  • Visit this link and then click on "Live chat" or "Send us an email"

A Few Tips

To make sure that the process went as smoothly as possible without any issues, take the following actions before using your credit card again:

• Ask the credit card company to confirm that they’ve updated your AVS profile by repeating the updated address back to you.
• Verify with your bank that your AVS profile has been updated with the correct address.

If you have any questions about getting your credit card company to update your AVS information, we'll be more than happy to answer them if you reach out to us.