So I finally became a 360 owner last week.:D (Sale on Dell) I'm thinking about getting Braid, due to the sale. But I don't have any point cards.:( Should I give Microsoft my credit card # to buy some points and get Braid?

I've heard forum members complain before that once you give Microsoft your credit card #, they won't let you delete it later. It's there forever.:mad: Is this the only problem with giving Microsoft your credit card, or are there other problems?:confused:

I gave them mine (before I read about the issues) but I have never had problems. Well, other than MS occassionally subscribes to p0rn sites with my card.

If I ever need to quit live and they give me trouble, I'll just cancel the card. No biggie to me (YMMV).

It hink what most people complain about is when you sign up for XBL Gold with your CC they will automatically renew your subscription each year without asking (I'm sure its in the EULA). That's the only issue I've ever heard about.

The major issue people complain about is that you can't remove your CC from the system once you enter it; although I'm not sure if they have changed this to allow removal of the CC number.

Also, as stated above XBL would auto renew unless you tell it not to.

Another thing I've heard people complain about (not a problem) is that people on your console can buy more points unless you setup parental locks, alt profiles etc, but this is more User Error and trusting the people who are playing under your profile more than anything else

Myself personally, I never gave MS my CC info, rather I use points cards and subscription cards purchased from stores. More than anything the main draw for me is I find it cheaper to go this route -- For example, XBL 13 month cards have been on sale for $30 at many retailers lately; whereas if you buy through MS it costs $50 -- same with point cards; MS never offers sales but many retailers do, or worst case you can get from ebay. I figure I save a bit of money by going with the retailer route.

Ya, I think the main issue has been the in-ability to delete the card. Ther ehave been extremely sporadic reports of people calling MS and cancelling their re-occuring subscription, only to find out month slatter that it was not cancelled. similarly, their have been people who were paying for renewals etc, with their creditcard, and then decided to buy stuff through retailers, and apply them to their account only to find out that they were not able to for whatever reason.

At the end, apart from the 'convienence' of having the credit card on file, there is no benifit. You can buy points almost everywhere including 7-11, and many times you will find it cheaper (like places like Amazon, and Buy.com). There is only potention for more aggrivation, thus most of us recommend not usuing the credit card for points/gold accounts etc.

Buy point cards and subscription cards online (Amazon) for less...there's really no need to give you cc info.

Yeah I added my credit card back before I even knew point cards existed. There's no option in the xbox live menu to remove your card. You can go to account setup on xbox.com and you can try and remove your credit card, but more than likely you'll get an error like me and others. I bought 2 years of live cards so I'm trying to get my card off the account now.

All I did was change the billing info to a fake address and name and I also changed the experation date on it. That way it'll get declined if they ever try to charge something without me knowing.

Thanks for all the responses!:) I've decided to buy some cards off Amazon instead of giving Microsoft my credit card #.

Yeah, I bought a month of Live for a relative so that we could play versus each other for a little while, and stupidly did it with my credit card, which means I had to call up Microsoft and tell them that I wanted it only for the month, which was a 15-minute or so process, that'd have been much easier to do on the website but they don't let you.

All I did was change the billing info to a fake address and name and I also changed the experation date on it. That way it'll get declined if they ever try to charge something without me knowing.

If your card gets declined when they try to charge for Live service you'll get reverted back to silver and when you try to restart your Live service they'll make you pay for any amount that it's been dormant due to a declined CC. That is, if it got declined and 6 months later you try to restart, they'll hit you with 6 months (at the $7.99 month-to-month rate) of back charges. This is the complaint I've read the most on places like Kotaku or Consumerist.

Also, they have indeed put a place on Xbox.com where you can now easily delete a CC. Sign in to your account, click "My Account", choose "Manage Payment Options", and look for a small "Delete" link next to each CC in the system.

The only problem I have is that I'll buy non-discounted points on the spot when new Rock Band DLC I want comes out.

If your card gets declined when they try to charge for Live service you'll get reverted back to silver and when you try to restart your Live service they'll make you pay for any amount that it's been dormant due to a declined CC. That is, if it got declined and 6 months later you try to restart, they'll hit you with 6 months (at the $7.99 month-to-month rate) of back charges. This is the complaint I've read the most on places like Kotaku or Consumerist.

Also, they have indeed put a place on Xbox.com where you can now easily delete a CC. Sign in to your account, click "My Account", choose "Manage Payment Options", and look for a small "Delete" link next to each CC in the system.


Except you get an error when you try to delete your credit card. So it's a big farce.

Except you get an error when you try to delete your credit card. So it's a big farce.

There's something strange about it, I guess. It worked fine for me to delete my card.

I thought it would only let you delete a card if there was another one already entered. As an example you could have 5 cards on your account and delete 4 of them no problem.

I cannot delete old cards off my profile on either the Xbox or the website. It shows as not being used but never deleted. It's an old account though that's no longer in service but still, it's annoying.

If your card gets declined when they try to charge for Live service you'll get reverted back to silver and when you try to restart your Live service they'll make you pay for any amount that it's been dormant due to a declined CC. That is, if it got declined and 6 months later you try to restart, they'll hit you with 6 months (at the $7.99 month-to-month rate) of back charges. This is the complaint I've read the most on places like Kotaku or Consumerist.

How in the world is this acceptable? Would this only apply if you have your account set up to auto-renew? I mean, how can they back bill me for a service that I'm not using (obviously, if I dont have an active gold account, I'm not benefiting from the features).

How in the world is this acceptable? Would this only apply if you have your account set up to auto-renew? I mean, how can they back bill me for a service that I'm not using (obviously, if I dont have an active gold account, I'm not benefiting from the features).

I think it's absolutely ridiculous, and I'm not sure anybody that's complained has ever gotten a real explanation. Some have been able to get the amount reduced or waived, but it sounds like that's rare. I don't know if the way MS handles this has changed recently, either, as the last time I read a story on this was a few months ago. And yeah, I think it only happens if your account is set to auto-renew.

You guys are making me regret having my credit card on file haha. I buy the 13 month xbox live gold subscription elsewhere, but I have a card on file to make buying points convenient. I'm strongly considering cancelling that card and buying points through Amazon from now on.

Apparently you can have the credit card removed from the service, but it's a hassle. You have to call them, and explain to them you'd like the credit card removed from the account.

I found this out from the following page...

http://www.theaveragegamer.com/2007/12/15/how-to-remove-credit-card-details-from-xbox-live/

Apparently you can have the credit card removed from the service, but it's a hassle. You have to call them, and explain to them you'd like the credit card removed from the account.

I found this out from the following page...

http://www.theaveragegamer.com/2007/12/15/how-to-remove-credit-card-details-from-xbox-live/

Well I read quickly through the link and it pretty much sums up my experience removing two credit cards from my 20gig 360 that I was looking to sell. Talk about a P.I.T.A.!

Well I gave them my card back before there were cards. I have never had a problem. Then again I have never tried taking it off. The only down side to having the card on there is they never give you any discount on points or gold renewals. So I buy my cards elsewhere to get a better deal. I don't know what some are talking about getting charged and not knowing it cuz I always would get a email a month before it was about to expire telling me so. I have since made sure I have at least 2+ years on XBL so I don't get the emails anymore. I would take my card off buy MS has it many other places so I really don't see the point for me. (shrug)

Well I gave them my card back before there were cards. I have never had a problem. Then again I have never tried taking it off. The only down side to having the card on there is they never give you any discount on points or gold renewals. So I buy my cards elsewhere to get a better deal. I don't know what some are talking about getting charged and not knowing it cuz I always would get a email a month before it was about to expire telling me so. I have since made sure I have at least 2+ years on XBL so I don't get the emails anymore. I would take my card off buy MS has it many other places so I really don't see the point for me. (shrug)

I had a similar experience when I jumped on LIVE when it first came out with the original Xbox. I would be given notice of when it was auto-renewing. I just buy cards online now, but they do have my CC "on file."

Its seems to be hit or miss for people. I was able to log into xbox.com and remove the only credit card I had on file with them just be clicking the remove button. Some people get an error message when trying to remove their card. Its really strange.

I actually called last night, my xbox was transferring from one 120g to another that took 3 hours, so I had a little time...

I tried first to remove mine on the webpage. Did not work(actually 2nd time I tried, first time was a month or more back), it tells me to call support. I didn't have a secondary option setup so maybe that's why?

It probably took 20-30 minutes on the phone to complete this. They gave me stipulations that now I don't remember...I know one was not to use the card to buy anything with the account.

I went from the first person I talked to, non-cancellation option. He said he has to get me to billing area. Talk to the billing guy, he has to send me to the supervisor as they are the ones that do these things. Supervisor says she has to submit the request to microsoft. It's going to take 20 days are so to complete... They will cancel my gold account which then converts me to silver. They will email me a redemption code for the remainder of my current subscription.

What a pain in the ass.

I went from the first person I talked to, non-cancellation option. He said he has to get me to billing area. Talk to the billing guy, he has to send me to the supervisor as they are the ones that do these things. Supervisor says she has to submit the request to microsoft. It's going to take 20 days are so to complete... They will cancel my gold account which then converts me to silver. They will email me a redemption code for the remainder of my current subscription.

Thanks for posting this Yrd -- that's a valuable heads-up for others.

I haven't had any problems with Microsoft, but I've heard others with stories like what you experienceed. So when my credit card's expiration date came up, I never updated it and just use points/subscription cards from Amazon.

Microsoft isnt the only ones that make you call to cancel.
I cant tell you how many services I signed up for only to have to jump through hoops to cancel.

There should be a law that if you can sign up online, you should be able to cancel online. They make it frustrating as possible to cancel these services so that a small percentage will decide its not worth it to try and cancel.

Microsoft isnt the only ones that make you call to cancel.
I cant tell you how many services I signed up for only to have to jump through hoops to cancel.

There should be a law that if you can sign up online, you should be able to cancel online. They make it frustrating as possible to cancel these services so that a small percentage will decide its not worth it to try and cancel.

There should be a law! If they can make it easy for people to sign up online, they should also easily make it available to cancel online instead of making you wait and waste your valuable time on the phone with them. I went through this ordeal 4 years ago with them. NEVER AGAIN!!

microsoft isnt the only ones that make you call to cancel.
I cant tell you how many services i signed up for only to have to jump through hoops to cancel.

There should be a law that if you can sign up online, you should be able to cancel online. They make it frustrating as possible to cancel these services so that a small percentage will decide its not worth it to try and cancel.

+1