Hulu now rejecting OneSmart card?

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mortal

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#191457 4-Feb-2016 23:52

Hello,

I'm an occasional lurker who has really appreciated the technical tips in this forum regarding accessing geo-blocked streaming sites, Netflix and Hulu specifically.

I've been using the OneSmart card to pay for Hulu for 3 years very happily. My new OneSmart card arrived in January 2016 as the old one was due to expire, so I dutifully went to change my payment details in Hulu and it rejected my new card!

I've tried exhaustively to get Hulu to authorise it, but I get the impression that they have closed whatever loophole allowed OneSmart to be accepted 3 years ago.

Without resorting to purchasing gift cards from a reseller or actually physically moving to the USA, does anybody have any recommendations on a way to reactivate my Hulu account?

I read about a workaround where you open a US iTunes account and use NZ funds to buy Hulu gift cards through that, but I failed to get through the account signup process. First it rejected my OneSmart, then it started telling me I didn't meet the minimum age requirements to have an account. I'm just about to turn 40 so either Apple had a glitch or they're really heading towards the senior market. :-)

Any suggestions welcome.

Michael

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meow
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#1485496 5-Feb-2016 00:10

I just use my visa debit card (ANZ) - works well. ASB works well too.

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littleheaven

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#1485506 5-Feb-2016 01:22

If you have a US iTunes account, that should accept your OneSmart card. You can then use the iTunes account to subscribe to Hulu. Hulu will bill iTunes which will charge your OneSmart card. Make sure to put your address as a state that has no sales tax, like Oregon. I use my YouShop address for it.

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sbiddle

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#1485520 5-Feb-2016 07:23

Is the BIN range on the new cards the same? Have you tried a virtual card number to see if that works?

dclegg

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#1485622 5-Feb-2016 09:03

We use our BNZ Visa to pay for Hulu. The only services we use our OneSmart card for are renting movies from the US iTunes store and HBO Now.

BlinkyBill

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#1485641 5-Feb-2016 09:19

The OP is changing his card. The current card still works. The process here is registering a new card.

mortal

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1485681 5-Feb-2016 10:05

Thanks for the comments guys. I've tried ASB Visa Debit, ASB Visa, the new OneSmart and a virtual card created with the OneSmart iOS app without success. The new OneSmart starts with 5314 but unfortunately I was a bit gung ho in deactivating and destroying the old card before testing the new one, so I don't have the old number.

When trying to open a US iTunes account (on my Mac Mini) it appeared to require a payment method to be accepted before the account would be created, and the OneSmart wasn rejected.

I'm wondering if anyone's tried updating card details in Hulu recently? From reading other posts it looks like NZ people have been successful up to about November last year but I'd like to know about luck in 2016.

I suspect that if you've already got a card being billed monthly then it will just continue to work until it expires - if Hulu's policy/processes have changed they may only be scrutinizing new card details.

Sadface.

dclegg

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#1485690 5-Feb-2016 10:15

mortal:

When trying to open a US iTunes account (on my Mac Mini) it appeared to require a payment method to be accepted before the account would be created, and the OneSmart wasn rejected.

What billing address do you provide them with? I have to verify my payment method in my US iTunes account all the time now (ever since I got our ATV4, but may be co-incidence). I've had no issues with specifying my OneSmart account there. I use a US based billing address, which may explain the discrepancy.

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littleheaven

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#1485691 5-Feb-2016 10:16

My OneSmart got replaced in November last year, from memory. Hulu accepted it fine, though I then bought a dodgy Hulu gift card off of eBay and miraculously it's still working, so we'll see what happens once that expires and they need to start charging my card again. Since your OneSmart is now successfully accepted by your US iTunes account, you can subscribe to Hulu via your iTunes subscription service, meaning you don't need to register a card with Hulu, and iTunes will bill your OneSmart card for the subscription. Best work-around I can think of.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

mortal

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1485695 5-Feb-2016 10:19

Whoops, I made a typo - the OneSmart was rejected by iTunes. I used my US YouShop address when trying unsuccessfully to open US iTunes account.

littleheaven

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#1486731 7-Feb-2016 02:36

mortal:
Whoops, I made a typo - the OneSmart was rejected by iTunes. I used my US YouShop address when trying unsuccessfully to open US iTunes account.

How odd. I can't explain why mine works and yours does not.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

PhantomNVD

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#1486763 7-Feb-2016 08:44

Maybe Hulu joining Netflix with some sort of DNS test at auth stage?

Dunnersfella

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#1486785 7-Feb-2016 09:32

I've been using my ANZ Visa without an issue... I have an American iTunes account + a NZ iTunes account linked to the card too.

Hopefully it doesn't become an issue in a few years when I need to get the card replaced!

andrewNZ

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#1486818 7-Feb-2016 09:59

BlinkyBill: The OP is changing his card. The current card still works. The process here is registering a new card.

I expect this is actually the answer.

Have you actually activated the card?
Have you tested it somehow to prove that it is activated?

mortal

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1486839 7-Feb-2016 11:26

Yes I have activated the card, and tested it to the extent that it works in an ATM to withdraw cash.

I'm doing all this via Unblock-Us.

What I haven't done is tried punching the CC number into a domestic website to order something locally to prove that it actually works as a MasterCard. I'd be surprised if it was non-functional, but it might be worth a test.

littleheaven

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#1486925 7-Feb-2016 12:47

I know this is probably a silly question, but have you set up a USD wallet on it and put some funds in? I am assuming Hulu will try to put an authorisation of $1.00 on it to validate it, and maybe that doesn't work if no US funds are available?

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

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