Error c101a249 occurs when adding a credit card or making a purchase on Xbox Live

You see the following error code when you try to make a purchase or add a credit card on Xbox Live:

• c101a249

This means one of the following:

• Your credit card could not be authorized.
• We have detected suspicious activity and are preventing charges on the card.

Solution 1: Verify the information in your Microsoft account

To verify the information for your Microsoft account, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account.

Note If you forgot your password or can’t sign in with your password, reset your password.

2. Note any error messages that are displayed.
3. After you resolve any errors, verify the information in your Microsoft account. Verify that the billing address for your Xbox Live account matches the billing address used by your credit card company. Also make sure that your Xbox Live account payment information, including capitalization, matches the information that is used by your credit card company.
4. Sign out of your Microsoft account, and then sign in again.
5. Sign in to Xbox Live and try again to make a purchase or add a credit card.

Solution 2: Check the card details

Re-type the credit card number without any spaces, commas, or other non-numeric characters. Verify that the expiration date, card security code, and name that you entered are correct and match what is shown on the card.

Solution 3: Confirm that you are using an approved payment method

You can use Visa, MasterCard, or American Express cards as long as they allow international purchases. Even if your card displays a Visa or MasterCard logo, it may not be approved by your bank or financial institution for international purchases.

Note Pre-paid cards, debit cards, and gift cards (even those with a Visa or MasterCard logo) do not qualify as international cards and are not currently accepted.

If your credit card is an approved form of payment, try the next solution.

Solution 4: Contact your bank or financial institution

The purchase might have failed for the following reasons:

• The credit card has not been activated.
• The credit card was declined because of insufficient funds.
• The credit card cannot accept online purchases or automatic billing.
• The credit card company is preventing the card from being used.

Contact your credit card company or bank and make sure that the payment option that you’re using was activated, that it has available funds, and that the transaction is not being blocked for some reason.

If your bank or financial institution is not blocking the transaction, try the next solution.

Solution 5: Try your purchase again later

The purchase might be blocked for one of the following reasons:

• Too many recent declined purchase attempts.
• The payment option is being used from a not-valid location.
• The payment option has a violation for non-payment that’s preventing it from being used for new purchases.

Wait and try the transaction again in 24 to 48 hours. When lots of purchase failures occur, this can prevent transactions from being processed until no purchase attempts have been made for a while (usually 24 to 48 hours).

If the problem still occurs after you’ve waited 48 hours, try the next solution.

Solution 6: Try a different payment method

If you’re still having trouble, try using a different payment method. For example, try using PayPal or try a different credit card.

For information about how to change your payment method, see Change an Xbox Live payment option.