jazz4cash
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Agree. The folks with a bunch of cards and lousy scores are mis-managing their cards.
Credit Card Conundrum
- Thread starter mitchjav
- Start date
Agree. The folks with a bunch of cards and lousy scores are mis-managing their cards.
Over 20 years, 150+ credit cards I have never had this happen. I often pay them off online before the statement closes. Sometimes I'll make 2 or 3 monthly payments. No real reason why I do so. It's just easy and I like to keep things paid off. Back when interest rates were high, I obviously didn't do this very much.
There have been some reports of people closing cards too early and having points "clawed back" but those are very rare.
Did you contact the credit card company and ask why the points didn't show up?
tenant13
Full time employment: Posting here.
As others pointed this is very unusual, I'd love to know which one did that - to avoid it like a plague, lol. One thing that might be tricky with earning bonuses is making sure that the all the mandatory spending is actually posted before the deadline - and we all know that it takes a few days for the transaction to be posted.
Another tricky part: points only get awarded if the merchant is properly classified by the CC vendor (Visa/Amex/MC). Back when I started this hobby I spent 15k at a travel agent. It did earn me the welcome bonus but only 1pt/$1 because the agent wasn't classified as "travel". So I called them, they contacted Visa, recategorized themselves AND were nice enough to re-charge me while voiding the original payment (long after the trip was over). That earned me 3pts/$1. It wasn't even so much about the points as it was about the principle.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I have one reason why I generally pay off or pay down my credit cards every 2 weeks or do it early, instead of waiting for the last day.
One time I forgot about a CC , it was a paper statement that got lost under other papers.
I got charged a late fee
plus the interest for the month..It was a good lesson, that by paying even a small amount before the actual bill, means they cannot get me for a late fee.
tenant13
Full time employment: Posting here.
I have one reason why I generally pay off or pay down my credit cards every 2 weeks or do it early, instead of waiting for the last day.
One time I forgot about a CC , it was a paper statement that got lost under other papers.
I got charged a late fee
It was a good lesson, that by paying even a small amount before the actual bill, means they cannot get me for a late fee.
All you need is to turn on Auto Pay - your balances (or minimum) will get taken care of on the due date. That would be your insurance against late payments. But you can still pay whatever you want any time you want.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I like to pay all my CC bills from 1 bank, so I can see what was paid.
I admit I have been reluctant to turn on auto-pay, in case someone steals my CC number and makes large purchases, which happened to me and I was notified when the statement was created.
That was Capital One, and it was a CHORE to get them to fix it. I cancelled my Menard card because of that HUGE CHORE. Fortunately for me I had proof I didn't make the purchases in the other State as I was literally on a plane at the time. Later I read Capital One was hacked, which is how my CC number got out..
I do have auto pay turned on for the one CC that pays for subscriptions like netflix, etc... I don't use this card for much else.
ShokWaveRider
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
We only have 4 CC and still have >800 Score. One does not need a lot to get the higher score.
PaunchyPirate
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I just cancelled my CitiCards American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard to avoid the annual fee. I signed up for it almost a year ago to get 60,000 miles for my AAdvantage account. Those miles were used to help book a trip to Ireland in April which was cancelled. I now have another trip booked for April 2021 using the miles and am keeping my fingers crossed things are somewhat back to normal by then. If not, oh well.
I'll keep my eyes open for another card to cycle through for a bonus of some sort.
I keep 3 other cards full time. None have annual fees. I mostly use 2 of them, each for specific things to targeted specific bonuses. The third is for international travel, whenever that happens again. I pay them all off every month.
I'll keep my eyes open for another card to cycle through for a bonus of some sort.
I keep 3 other cards full time. None have annual fees. I mostly use 2 of them, each for specific things to targeted specific bonuses. The third is for international travel, whenever that happens again. I pay them all off every month.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Messages
- 10,735
As others have commented, I haven't had this happen to me, but one thing that I think does happen if you pay off (to zero) before the bill comes to the closing date is that the card doesn't show up on your credit report as being "in play". So if you do what Clark Howard suggests and use your "back of wallet" cards once every 6 months so they don't get cancelled, you probably should wait until the statement closing date before paying.
A few weeks ago, I went out and put gas in my car and used 5 different credit cards
I went right home and scheduled my billpay service for each of the cards. I could do this easily because I keep a spreadsheet that includes the closing dates and the pay-by dates for each card.
JustCurious
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,396
Four.
As others have commented, I haven't had this happen to me, but one thing that I think does happen if you pay off (to zero) before the bill comes to the closing date is that the card doesn't show up on your credit report as being "in play". So if you do what Clark Howard suggests and use your "back of wallet" cards once every 6 months so they don't get cancelled, you probably should wait until the statement closing date before paying.
A few weeks ago, I went out and put gas in my car and used 5 different credit cards
I went right home and scheduled my billpay service for each of the cards. I could do this easily because I keep a spreadsheet that includes the closing dates and the pay-by dates for each card.
I hadn't thought of this. I recently used a couple of credit cards for the first time in months and then immediately paid them off. I probably should have waited for the statement to close first.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
.
A few weeks ago, I went out and put gas in my car and used 5 different credit cards
..
Clever idea I'm going to use.
I do find it annoying to use a lousy "old" card that has little rewards, but I keep a couple of them as they are 20 yrs old so contribute to the score.
FANOFJESUS
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Very true at one time I had an 800 score with only one credit card.
rk911
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
how many of you actually reconcile your credit card statement(s)? i do and then sit back. all of our cards are on automatic pay from a bank account on the due date.
Last edited:
ShokWaveRider
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I do.
Chuckanut
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I do.
Scamsters may test a CC to see if a person notices very small charges. If they don't, the scamsters have found a very nice ongoing source of money.
Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I and DW get a text of any charge over $.01 (I think, may be $1).
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I look at my account approximately every 2 weeks to be sure all the charges are places I've bought from, but I don't check the amount unless it's a strange entry.
I also get alerts for any purchase over $1.00, so I know before the statement if anything fishy goes on.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Messages
- 10,735
I don't have alerts. Not my job. If the CC companies want security, they need to upgrade their systems. I enter each receipt as I get them and check them off once a month when the statement comes. Paper statements, as email mixes important things with complete trash and scams. Again, if they ever came up with a messaging system that showed me who sent it, that could not be spoofed AND give me a guarantee that the institution wouldn't spam me or sell my info to someone who will start spamming me, then maybe I'll opt in. But based on historical behavior, I'll be getting paper until the cows come home.
I am in an online motorcycle club which just celebrated our 20th anniversary. We were scheduled to have a "ride in/meeting" in Ky. last week. It didn't happen because of Covid. Anyway we were supposed to use a new Marriott as our base to stay in. As I was checking out the hotel info they had a "special" deal going on. Apply and approved for a Bonvoy card and use it for 1 purchase within 1st 30 days and receive $250.00 credit. DW said no way it is some scam. I did it anyway,when I got card 2 days later I used it for a $10.56 purchase. When the statement came in It showed the purchase and the credit for a -$239.44 card balance. I called and ask for the balance to be sent to me. When the Bonvoy card comes up for renewal next year I will call and get it lowered to a free card,and I'm still a little richer.
I never do. But DW goes over them like a hawk. How do I know this? When she sees something she doesn't recognize she's all over me. It's rough cause then I have to think about what it is & sometimes sheepishly have to justify.
ShokWaveRider
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
We do.... Religiously.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
How could we not?
Of course I do. Plus, with the info being available to me online, I reconcile that info with my records several times/week, not just when the statement is provided. I do the same for my checking account which also is available online.OK, I only have one CC so it's easier for me than for those who have a fistful of card to reconcile. Like yours, mine is paid in full automatically on the due date.
Similar threads
