Just to push the point home I've tried three payment methods, none worked. Authorization checks have showed up so clearly my bank is not the issue.

The whole "try another payment method" line is invalid. As for the ultimate game cards I'm not jumping through hoops to pay these people. If I have to make another phone call to get this game sub paid for it'll be to my bank to see what I can do about getting my money back from SE on a fraud/charge back basis.

We're clearly not getting what we paid for.