Well! So much for dinner…

I am currently stranded at the airport in Las Vegas with no money. Actually, that’s a lie. I have lots of money, but none that I can access. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I won’t be home until 2am at the earliest.

None of my credit cards will work here. One has given me a headache all week, the other has a mystery PIN. My debit cards don’t work at the till in the States, and the ATM keeps declining all FOUR cards! I have so much available, but not a single dollar that’s accessible.

It started Monday: I went to check in to my hotel with my business MasterCard and it was

declined

. I have a low limit (on purpose), but I’d over-paid it by $1500 specifically for this trip so that a) I wouldn’t need to get to the bank, and b) so that I wouldn’t have to worry about receipts for my accounting. My phone wouldn’t process the toll-free number, and I couldn’t check in without a credit card for the deposit. I finally got ahold of MasterCard, and they told me that, despit over paying, I still wasn’t allowed to use more than my credit limit in any given month.

Um, WTF?

Thankfully, they overrode it and I was able to check in. I didn’t have a single problem all week. I charged everything from the hotel to Starbucks, from drinks to cab rides. Then I tried to spend $8.64 on dinner at Carl’s Jr and it was declined. I went to the ATM. Declined. I tried both my personal and business debit cards. Declined. I even tried my personal MasterCard with a totally different bank. Declined.

Then I tried all four cards at a different machine. Declined. My online banking shows positive balances for every single account but I can’t get dinner. I am starving. My cell reception won’t let me call the toll free number – they can’t hear me, and it breaks up. I tried using a pay phone, and as soon as the automated machine picked up, the pay phone would scream in my ear and disconnect.

I know that there are far worse situations to be in, but I’m so frustrated right now! I haven’t eaten in 7 hours, and was outside walking all day. The next food I get will be when I get through customs at the Edmonton airport at 1am.

Sigh…not the best end to an incredible week.