“The IVR Cheat Sheet is a free service from Paul English of Kayak.com.

Here are the secret numbers and tips to bypass IVRs to get to a human. Do you know a new cheat? Tell me.

Finance phone steps to find a human
American Express 800-528-4800 0
ATT Universal 800-950-5114 ###
Bank of America 800-900-9000 1 loan; 2 account; 3 investing; 4 info; or 00 to human
Bank One 877-226-5663 0,0
Capital One Visa 800-867-0904 ignore prompts and invalid entry warnings; press #0 four times
Charles Schwab 800-435-9050 3 then 0
Chase 800-CHASE24 5 pause 1 4
CitiBank 800-374-9700 1 online support; 2 billpay; 3 non-online; 4 credit card; or 0 to human
Discover 800-347-2683 ****
E-Trade 800-387-2331 ####
Fidelity 800-544-6666 ignore prompt for social security number, just enter ###
MasterCard 800-MC-ASSIST 000 on each menu
MBNA 800-421-2110 00# when menu starts
Paypal 650 864-8000 cf http://paypalsucks.com/PayPalPhoneNumbers.shtml
Sovereign Bank 800-SOV-BANK 1 english; 1 personal; 3 then social#; passcode, #; then 0 (1-3x)
Sun Trust Banks 404-588-7815 Yes
US Bank 800-US BANKS 0000
Visa 800-847-2911 000 (ignore prompts saying that it’s an invalid entry) ”

government phone steps to find a human
INS 800-375-5283 After selecting English, (with a 2 second delay between) 2 6 2 4
Social Security 800-772-1213 00 will confuse computer and send you to an agent
Veterans Affairs 800-827-1000 1,0
insurance phone steps to find a human
Aetna 800-537-9384 “2, then say “”operator”" (check this)”
Aetna 800-680-3566 * then 0 anytime
AFLAC 800-99-AFLAC ***
Ameritas 800-745-1112 0,0,0
CIGNA 800-516-2898 REGARDING A BILL
Cigna 800-849-9000 ##
GEICO 800-841-3000 Wait for prompt then 6, 1, 5
Humana 800-4-HUMANA After entering insurance number and details, 0.
Medicare 800-633-4227 “After the opening prompt say “”agent”".”
Principal Life 800-247-4695 1 for english, 2, then 0 several times until it redirects you to an operator.
pharmacy phone steps to find a human
CVS local listing dial local store, after promt. press 6 will connect to store manager
Eckerd 800-eckerds 0 for pharmacy, 8* for manager
Rite Aid Local Store Press 3 to speak to the pharmacy
Walgreens local store 0 for a pharmacy employee
products phone steps to find a human
Bose 800-444-2673 Direct to human!
Sonos 800-680-2345 1 sales; 2 support
Sony 800-222-7669 “When prompted by the automated voice system to answer ANY questions, just say “”Agent”"”
retail phone steps to find a human
Advance Auto 800-314-4243 0 when the automated message begins
Amazon.com 800-201-7575 see http://clicheideas.com/amazon.htm
Best Buy 800-365-0292 00*
Best Buy local store wait for extension prompt (sometimes must 4), then ext. 2021
Circuit City local store 0 for customer service or 218 for store manager
eBay 800-322-9266 0,0
Home Depot 800 677-0232 “When asked for account number, keep hitting “”#”". After 5 or 6 times, a human appears!”
Home Shopping Net 800-284-3100 0
Ikea 800 434-IKEA “0000000 (hit “”0″” many times fast, if you do it once, or too slow, it will merely repeat the menu)”
K-Mart local store 0
Kohl’s 800 5645740 After providing account info, press 0 three times
Lowes local store 0 for customer service or #450 for commercial sales
Old Navy 800-OLD-NAVY 0
Overstock.com 800-843-2446 At the main menu, 0 three to four times to bypass the menu
QVC 800-367-9444 0
Safeway local store As soon as voice prompt starts type 1200 to get human
Sears 800-4-MY-HOME Silence don’t push numbers just sit there and you will be placed at front of queue.
Target local store 0 during greeting.
“Toys “”R”" Us” local store 0
Wal-Mart 800-925-6278 1 for directory
shipping phone steps to find a human
DHL 800-225-5345 press 1, press 5, press 0, enter your phone number.
FedEx 888-GO-FEDEX “At message say “”Representative”"”
UPS 800-pick-ups 0,0
USPS 800-275-8777 7-3-2-0-0 or send them some junk mail
technology phone steps to find a human
AOL 800-827-6364 0
Apple 800-275-2273 “000; if virtual rep answers, say “”operator”"”
Compaq 800-652-6672 No easy escape
Dell 888-560-8324 2 order; 3 support; 4 purchase help; or 00 to human
Dell Service 800-624-9897 option 1, xt 7266966, option 1, option 4, option 4
Earthlink 888-earthlink 1 find a dialin number; 2 billing; 3 sales; 4 support
Epson 800-922-8911 yes
Gateway 800-846-2301 00#
HP 800-474-6836 “Say “”agent”".”
HP 888-560-8324 00
IBM 800-IBM-4YOU You go into a hold queue immediately
Microsoft 800-936-5700 Always 0. This is true for just about any MS number.
QuickBooks 888-729-1996 1 purchase; 2 billing; 3 registration; 4 tech support or 0 to human
Symantec 800-441-7234 00
telco phone steps to find a human
AT&T 800-222-0300 #### then 1 if for current phone, else 2 to enter other, else 3
AT&T Wireless 800-888-7600 No easy escape
BellSouth 877-678-2355 *0
Cellular One 888-910-9191 “4, say “”agent”", then #”
Cingular 800-331-0500 For faster service, the option that you are looking to close your account, You get the same ppl but an immediate answer
Nextel 800-639-6111 0 five times
SBC 800-585-7928 Again, an (intelligent, this time) IVR wants YOUR phone number first.
Sprint PCS 888-788-5001 “If live person does not answer, 00, then say “”agent”"”
T-Mobile 800-TMOBILE “Say “”representative”" at any time.”
Verizon DSL 800 567 6789 “Say “”I don’t know it”" then “”technician”"”
Verizon Wireless 800-922-0204 #00 or enter phone # then 0 then 4
travel phone steps to find a human
American Airlines 800-433-7300 “00, then say “”agent”"”
Amtrak 800-872-7245 “0 or say “”agent”"”
Delta 800-221-1212 “say “”agent”" four times – every time it asks for a response from you”
jetBlue 800 JET-BLUE 1 flight status; 2 reservations; 3 vacation packages
Kayak.com 203 899-3120 0
Northwest 800-225-2525 Star, 0,0 after initial greeting
Southwest 800-435-9792 Calls answered by operator; during busy times you might have to hold
United 800-864-8331 Do nothing, wait for human.
US Airways 800-428-4322 4, wait, 1
Walt Disney World 407-824-4521 Direct line to Magic Kingdom Guest Relations
tv/satellite phone steps to find a human
Comcast 800-266-2278 Customer service, but an IVR wants your number first.
Direct TV 800-347-3288 0 repeatedly
Dish Network 800-333-3474 0 during menu
Sirius 888 539-7474 0
TiVo 877-367-8486 “Say “”Live Agent”"”
Xm Radio 800-998-7900 Direct to human!

108 companies as of Sat 26-Nov-2005 11:58 AM. Copyright 2005 by Paul English of Kayak.com.

See more information. Know a new cheat? Tell me.