WoW using gamecards!

[SLUGFly]

I've gotten mixed responses from this EVERYWHERE! So... please... If ANYONE has personal first hand experience in the US with creating an account using only timecards (and no credit card), please tell me. If anyone has first hand personal experience with trying to use only timecards (without a credit card) and failing, please tell me.

I've gotten mixed responses here on the boards... and my response directly from Blizzard themselves was ambiguous almost to the point of being a mixed response as well.

:embarassed: I'm so confused...

[Kalos]

Technically, you need to input creditcard details first. This is due to validation laws in the US. But after the account is created, you can switch payment to a gamecard without the creditcard being charged, if you don't wait too long. Give it 48 hours between switching the details, don't want to risk confusion and you'd want to give them a chance to process the records properly before you start slapping important amendments on it.

So, if you're American or playing on the US servers, you need a creditcard, it's a legal requirement as it is needed by federal legislation for there to be identity verification of who is making any form of payment online. It was enacted to hinder financial transactions of rogue or self-destructive elements of the global society, they obviously would have a harder time when forced out of anonimity. Why does it stretch to a game? Because the law is widesweeping and has gone unchallenged. Blizzard not wanting to clash with the federal government has complied. This policy of needing creditcards for initial creation does not exist in Europe however; the main reason for there being ambiguity the answers you seek is that the laws and customs change from place to place, no answer is technically wrong.

I think I've gone into enough detail, I hope it shall suffice.

[SLUGFly]

Slug angry!! Slug SMASH!!!!

edit: I'm going to push this a bit... perhaps out of the desperate hope to get the answer I'm looking for. Here is the e-mail I've received from Blizzard (relevant parts only since I'm sure it was a form mail)

------------------------------------start

All accounts are granted a 30 day free trial at the time of account creation (with exception of the 10 day Guest Pass users, of course). During this 30 day period there are no charges placed against any payment method used to create the account, however, you will need to have some form of payment at the time of account creation. It is not necessary to use a credit card if you wish to use pre-paid game cards to pay for your account, however a Guest Pass cannot be created with a game card, a credit card must be used for all Guest Passes.

Our billing system is designed to require payment information when setting up a new account or a guest-pass account. This has been done in order to...

Of course, if you create a retail account, please keep in mind that you are not billed for the first month of the game. Whether you use a credit card or a game card, you will not be billed at all until your initial free month has finished. You can easily change your payment method at any time during your free month, before your paid subscription starts.

...

NOTE: If you initially set up your account using a credit card, but want to switch to use only a prepaid game card...

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I've bolded the areas that seem to imply that a credit card isn't necessary and I've italicized the areas that inject a touch of confusion...

Without first hand personal experience with the matter (first hand success or first hand failed attempts), doesn't it seem that she was telling me (or rather, the form letter was telling me) that I can do it without a credit card?

[Kalos]

Well. There's an easy way to tell, try it off the bat. If it does work, Blizzard, assuming you're in the US, would be in violation of the Patriot Act. Other user accounts suggests this is not the case, plus I doubt Blizzard would win the case. Like I said, a credit card is not necessary if you're not in the US, the Patriot Act does not apply, and transactions can happen without an authentication, to which the credit card is utilised.

But seriously what's the problem? Your credit card isn't billed, you can switch it before it is. It's a routine check now for most online transactions. No amount of screaming is going to get government legislation revoked, unless it's a demonstration by several thousand. It is required by law. If you don't have one, a friend will, and he'll be happy to do so as long as you explain it properly, and show him he won't get billed if you switch it over a few days after the account is made. As insurance, ensure him if there are charges by accident, that you shall cover them, your friendship is worth more to you than the bill and that you're not trying to land him with the bill from your play time. He or she should understand.

It's really not that hard.

[SLUGFly]

The problem is I don't have a credit card and I'm 2000 dollars and about a 30 hour plane trip from the nearest place where I can apply. But if it doesn't count if you're not in the US (I'm Canadian) then maybe it's just for US ISP's? If I actually had a credit card then I'd have been on WoW nonstop for the past year instead of attempting to get back in for the past year.

So is Blizzard being held accountable by the Patriot Act (lmao, biggest load of contradictory tripe ever) in general or only when it applies to US clientelle? What about Canada and New Zealand which are also on US servers and use the same core CDs and gamecards?

Back on point though... does that letter not seem to say that I won't actually need a credit card?

edit: I'm going to risk it... the reason it's a risk is that it's roughly a 200 dollar gamble... but screw it, I've thrown away more cash on slimmer odds.

[Kalos]

It does seem to say that yes, but as they're based in the US, the money flow is into the country, going into US juristiction. The act would apply if you are dealing with an American based business like Blizzard's HQ there. Everyone applying would have to be authenticated still to tell that they're not pretending to be non-American so they could use US services without being identified. You'd have to be confirmed to be outside of the nation.

[Tanitha]

So is Blizzard being held accountable by the Patriot Act (lmao, biggest load of contradictory tripe ever) in general or only when it applies to US clientelle? What about Canada and New Zealand which are also on US servers and use the same core CDs and gamecards?

I'm in New Zealand and needed to enter a credit card number. I switched to Game Cards immediately though (Like 5 minutes) and have had no problems since. This was in October (?) last year, roughly.

[SLUGFly]

hmm...

Well... I'll wait until the credit cards fail (clouds broiling overhead) and then beg my mother to whom I owe assloads of cash and to whom I've been very irresponsible about sending said assloads, to use her credit card to initiate my account.

>.<

[Tanitha]

Hmmm. What about those temporary credit cards? I believe some banks / institutions allow you to deposit cash onto a temporary card that only ever exists online. I'll have a dig and see if I can come up with something for that.

Edit:
Indeed. Google "Temporary Credit Cards" and you'll find a lot of hits on it. It seems that PayPal also offers this service.

[Penny]

my debit card has the ability to be used as a credit card. I don't know how Canada works, but you should be able to do that.

[SLUGFly]

Those are both great ideas except that they have the same fatal flaw that credit cards do, I have to physically go to canada in order to do it (I live in Korea).

s'okay... I'll pull the "I'm your son and you have to love me!" card on my mother to get her to use a cc to help me out... :evil:

[Tanitha]

You could try Paypal - they offer a temporary Mastercard option. I'm not a member myself, but that is what the Google search indicated. Anyway, if your Mom will do it - great.