Did you know you can use Zip for travel and live event purchases? However, hotels and travel sites have varying policies about how they process payments. Following a few best practices will help ensure you're able to successfully Zip your travel and entertainment.
Understanding the Virtual Card
The Zip virtual card is only designed to be open for 14 days. This means that when you create a virtual card online or in the app, the card will remain available for a merchant to charge and process your payment for 14 days. When shopping for goods at most merchants, they will typically charge your card within a few days of placing your order. However, when making reservations such as at a hotel, they may not charge your card until the end of your stay. If the time between when you make your reservation and the end of your stay exceeds 14 days, your virtual card will no longer be active and your purchase may fail. Understanding when a merchant will be charging your card is the key to a successful purchase!
Hotel Reservation(s)
Hotels have varying policies on when they'll charge a card during a stay, but in most cases they will charge your card at the end of a stay. If a hotel requests a payment method to have on file when booking a reservation, then it is best to provide a personal card. This is because your virtual card may become inactive before the hotel attempts to charge it at the end of your stay. When you've completed your stay at the hotel, you can then create a purchase request for the invoice total and pay for the hotel with your Zip virtual card.
Airline and Train purchase(s)
Airlines and train operators typically charge you the day you purchase the tickets, so you should be able to use the traditional in-store or online flow. It should be noted, however, that merchants may have their own restrictions in place regarding payment methods accepted that can prevent a successful transaction.
Third-Party Travel Booking Sites
We support the use of third-party travel booking sites, such as Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com and Hotels.com. Similar to hotels, it is best to check when these sites will be charging your card and plan accordingly. If you're paying the full price up-front, then you can use your Zip virtual card at the time of the reservation. If they'll be charging your card at the end of the stay or travel, then it's best to use a personal card and pay the final invoice with the virtual card. While third-party travel booking sites accept Zip as payment method, individual airlines, hotels and rental companies can have restrictions that can prevent a successful transaction through these sites.
Live Events
When it comes to purchasing tickets for live events, you should be able to use the regular in-store or online flow to purchase tickets. Live events typically charge you the day you purchase the tickets so using your Zip virtual card should lead to a successful transaction.