Buy from U.S. online stores even if your U.S. billing and shipping address don't match
Combine US purchases and save more on international shipping costs
Many US online stores don’t accept international credit cards because they view them as “risky” payment methods. But even when stores do accept international credit cards, there is another obstacle that often makes it impossible for you to complete your purchase when using a US package forwarding address: your card’s non-U.S. billing address.
Even if a US store thinks an international card is safe, trying to make a purchase when the shipping address and billing address are in different countries is a big red flag to most stores. So if you want to ship your purchase to your US forwarding address, but your card’s billing address is in another country, there’s a strong chance that your order will get canceled.
Use Your International Credit Card through PayPal if a U.S. Billing Address is Required
An easy way to get around this problem is to use PayPal to buy from US online stores. You can register for a PayPal account using your international credit card, then use PayPal to purchase from any US store that accepts PayPal payments.
PayPal started as a secure way for individuals to send and accept payments for services such as eBay, but nowadays many larger US online stores also accept PayPal. You can usually find out quickly whether or not a store accepts PayPal payments by looking for the PayPal logo at the bottom of their website:
When you pay for a purchase using PayPal, the cost is simply charged to your PayPal account, which is then charged to whatever international credit card (or bank account) you used to register for PayPal.
Other Ways to Use International Credit Cards with a US Shipping Address?
Have you had trouble ordering from US stores using your international credit card with a US shipping address? What other ways have you found to get around this problem? Share your tips in the comments section to help other package forwarding shoppers.
