Fix for "Credit Card Rejected" / "Can't buy apps" / other CC issues

Question

If you're having problems buying things from iTunes such as:
-- Credit card rejected (even if you're paying by PayPal)
-- Session Timeouts (on a non-Microsoft platform -- there is a different fix for Session Timeout on a Microsoft platform)
-- Credit card information does not match bank information
-- Unable to create a new account or save changes from iTunes to your account
After struggling for 3 days to fix this problem, I finally found something that works EVERY time, at least for me, and people who go through ALL the steps also find it works for them. It's important to follow ALL the steps -- people who skipped steps because "all my information LOOKS right" kept having problems until they followed all of them, and then all the problems cleared up. So, here's what I've found works EVERY time:
-- Sign out of iTunes.
-- Reboot your Mac or whatever device you're using to access the iTunes store (including your iPhone and/or iPad).
-- Open a web browser and go to http://appleid.apple.com (or Google "Apple ID" and choose the "My Apple ID" option).
-- Sign in with your Apple ID and click "Manage your account".
-- Verify ALL of your user information. Seriously, verify and validate EVERYTHING--your name, your e-mail address, your mailing address, your shipping address, your phone number, all of it. Make sure your Primary Address EXACTLY matches the address your bank has as your primary address; if those don't match, your purchase will be refused. If your Primary Address spans 2 lines, change it into 1 line (that is, turn "123 Main Street" and "Apartment 456" into "123 Main Street, Apartment 456") and blank out the second line. Make sure your Apple ID is linked to a valid e-mail address; if not, your purchase will be refused because there will be nowhere to send purchase information and other Apple e-mail. Make sure your date of birth is correct and not missing any part of it (like your birth year; mine had somehow come un-set); otherwise, your age cannot be verified and your purchase may not go through. Click "Save Changes" whenever you change something.
-- Once all that is done, sign into iTunes, then click on the little downward-pointing triangle next to your Apple ID in the upper-right corner of iTunes and choose "Account".
-- Click "Edit Payment Information".
-- Choose "None" as your payment option, make sure all your address and phone number information already listed is correct, fix anything that isn't correct, and click "Done". This will force iTunes to verify your account information as it exists in iTunes with what is registered for your Apple ID at http://appleid.apple.com.
-- You may be asked to verify the county for your billing address (for sales tax purchases); make sure this is correct, or transactions could be refused. Click "Done" when finished.
-- Go back to the "Account" screen and choose "Edit Payment Information" again.
Choose either the credit card logo of the card you want to use or choose "PayPal".
-- If you choose PayPal, follow the directions on the web page that pops up in your browser to verify your PayPal account and link it with your Apple ID. Click "Return to iTunes Store" inside the web browser to return control to iTunes, then click "Done".
-- If you choose to enter a credit card, make sure EVERYTHING is correct on the page--your credit card type, account number, CVV, billing address, etc.--and then click "Done".
I had to do this every time I restarted iTunes to buy something for two days, but as long as I did ALL the steps every time I restarted iTunes, I was able to buy anything I wanted with no problems.
If you're still having problems after all of this, contact iTunes Support via e-mail. This is important -- the more help requests Apple gets about this issue, the more seriously they will have to take it and the more likely it will be that they address the problem with the seriousness it deserves. The link to file a trouble request via e-mail is:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/contact.html?form=account&topic=iTunes%20Sto re%20Account%20and%20Billing&subtopic=Managing%20your%20Account
Good luck!

Answer 1

I believe i can fix this for a some of you out there. The problem is that Apple forces you to have the exact same address the USPS has one file. They do an address verification with the information you submit and they change your city and zip code to match 100 percent.
The problem is that most people do not change their billing zip code on their credit card when their zip code changes. For example, my zip code was 84088 up until about 3 years ago when it was change to 84081. I have never change my zip code or my city name with my credit card company so when i put in my billing address i always put 84088. Apple decided that they want to force people to change their credit card billing address to match EXACTLY what the USPS has.
Most credit card transactions can get a better rate if the billing address of the transaction matches the billing address of the card. That is why they always ask for it. However, it makes no sense for Apple to force you to change it to the USPS address because only the credit card billing address and the credit card transaction billing address need to match.
So, on to my fix. Do not put the whole street address, only put in the first set of numbers. If your address is "1000 Elm Street" then just put in "1000" ino the street address. Then put your proper credit card billing address zip code in. Because apple can't do the USPS database search without the full street address they will not change your city/zip but you credit card validation will work just fine because credit card address validation only cares about the first set of numbers.
SERIOUSLY APPLE?!? Get a clue! There is no need for you to force us to match the USPS address 100%.