Credit card experience/advice

[Another Reader]

Right now, I'm not too happy with Elan. My card was compromised and a small charge made on October 31. I noticed it immediately on the morning of November 1st. I called immediately, and it took awhile to get to a person to dispute the charge. At first she did not understand what I was saying and implied I made the charge. No, I did not make a small donation of an odd amount to a European charity. I finally had to say, look someone is setting you up to commit a large fraud on this account. I'm reporting the problem now so you can deactivate the card and send me another one. She then trotted out the fraud speech and said I would get a new card overnighted to me. Haven't seen the new card yet. Chase and others are more proactive than these folks are when fraud is reported and I always got the card on the promised delivery date. So, not exactly happy with Elan right now.

In today's mail were two letters from Elan. One said they were provisionally reversed the $3.XX charge. The other was three pages of forms for me to fill out describing what happened, asking if the card was in my possession, asking for the name of the suspect and and asking if I filed a police report. If I don't fill out the forms and sign in all the right boxes, they will reverse the credit. Excuse me? I proactively called Elan so they could deactivate the card and save themselves a lot of money from a bigger fraud.

I have no idea of the identity of the "suspect." Someone no doubt got the card information through a card reader or by hacking a database somewhere. File a police report for a $3.XX charge? The police can't do their job as it is. They don't need a lot of reports on small fraudulent charges clogging things up more.

The impression I get is that they want to put fraud back on the customer. I'm beginning to wonder if the 2 percent cash back is worth the risk of having to absorb the cost of a major fraud.

 

[gwraigty]

In today's mail were two letters from Elan. One said they were provisionally reversed the $3.XX charge. The other was three pages of forms for me to fill out describing what happened, asking if the card was in my possession, asking for the name of the suspect and and asking if I filed a police report. If I don't fill out the forms and sign in all the right boxes, they will reverse the credit. Excuse me? I proactively called Elan so they could deactivate the card and save themselves a lot of money from a bigger fraud.

I have no idea of the identity of the "suspect." Someone no doubt got the card information through a card reader or by hacking a database somewhere. File a police report for a $3.XX charge? The police can't do their job as it is. They don't need a lot of reports on small fraudulent charges clogging things up more.

The impression I get is that they want to put fraud back on the customer. I'm beginning to wonder if the 2 percent cash back is worth the risk of having to absorb the cost of a major fraud.

I don't understand this. I've had my Fidelity VISA compromised 3 times, once with FIA Card Services, twice with Elan. In all cases, they reversed the fraudulent charges with no hassles. I received no paperwork to fill out.

 

[audreyh1]

Fido, Costco, and a Bank of America Cash Rewards card. I get extra cash back from B of A because I have other accounts there.

Right now, I'm not too happy with Elan. My card was compromised and a small charge made on October 31. I noticed it immediately on the morning of November 1st. I called immediately, and it took awhile to get to a person to dispute the charge. At first she did not understand what I was saying and implied I made the charge. No, I did not make a small donation of an odd amount to a European charity. I finally had to say, look someone is setting you up to commit a large fraud on this account. I'm reporting the problem now so you can deactivate the card and send me another one. She then trotted out the fraud speech and said I would get a new card overnighted to me. Haven't seen the new card yet. Chase and others are more proactive than these folks are when fraud is reported and I always got the card on the promised delivery date. So, not exactly happy with Elan right now.

I speak directly with Elan Fraud department. I've had two instances of fraudulent charges over the past 3 years (since the switch to VISA), and have had no problems with immediate handling of the fraudulent charge.

I had a new card within 2 days.

I get texted whenever there is a charge, and so can immediately contact Elan.

In today's mail were two letters from Elan. One said they were provisionally reversed the $3.XX charge. The other was three pages of forms for me to fill out describing what happened, asking if the card was in my possession, asking for the name of the suspect and and asking if I filed a police report. If I don't fill out the forms and sign in all the right boxes, they will reverse the credit. Excuse me? I proactively called Elan so they could deactivate the card and save themselves a lot of money from a bigger fraud.

I have no idea of the identity of the "suspect." Someone no doubt got the card information through a card reader or by hacking a database somewhere. File a police report for a $3.XX charge? The police can't do their job as it is. They don't need a lot of reports on small fraudulent charges clogging things up more.

The impression I get is that they want to put fraud back on the customer. I'm beginning to wonder if the 2 percent cash back is worth the risk of having to absorb the cost of a major fraud.

I have never had to deal with this. I have gotten the first letter, and a month later a follow up saying case closed and charge permanently reversed, but never gotten the other forms you described.

 

[skipro33]

I have a COSTCO card and an Amazon card. I use the Amazon card on everything except stuff I buy at COSTCO. The rewards are better for my spending habits.
Amazon has contacted me on a few occasions to see if a particular charge was something I made or not. They were on it faster than I could have noticed; within hours. Never had to stop my card, they fixed everything without any further adieu. I had to dispute a charge once, again no problem.

 

[Scuba]

We had to fill out similar paperwork for Capital One when our card was stolen. It’s just a formality. At no time were we at any risk of having to cover fraudulent charges. I can understand why they want the documentation. They know that most of the time, people don’t know the suspect and didn’t file a police report.

 

[Golden sunsets]

If you have 100k with BOA/ML, then the rewards are quite good with their Premier and Cash Rewards cards.

+++1


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Camellia]

We use Capital One Savor card for 4% cashback on restaurants and “entertainment “ (show tickets, etc), 2% at grocery stores, no AF (grandfathered in). I also have the Chase Amazon for 5% back on Amzn and Whole Foods stuff. Finally, the Chase Sapphire reserve for travel. They just switched to Expedia instead of their own travel portal for bookings, and it seems much better so far. I like that the CSR travel booking receipts show a dollar value so when I tally things up I don’t have to mentally convert CSR points. Otoh, my CPA didn’t want me to deduct business travel booked with CSR points because he thinks that triggers the points to be declared income.

The Capital One website and customer service beat Chase hands down.

I have some old cards too, a Discover and a Citi that I keep for credit history. I put a very small recurring charges on each of them so they don’t get canceled and I remember they exist.

 

[Scuba]

We use Capital One Savor card for 4% cashback on restaurants and “entertainment “ (show tickets, etc), 2% at grocery stores, no AF (grandfathered in). I also have the Chase Amazon for 5% back on Amzn and Whole Foods stuff. Finally, the Chase Sapphire reserve for travel. They just switched to Expedia instead of their own travel portal for bookings, and it seems much better so far. I like that the CSR travel booking receipts show a dollar value so when I tally things up I don’t have to mentally convert CSR points. Otoh, my CPA didn’t want me to deduct business travel booked with CSR points because he thinks that triggers the points to be declared income.

The Capital One website and customer service beat Chase hands down.

I have some old cards too, a Discover and a Citi that I keep for credit history. I put a very small recurring charges on each of them so they don’t get canceled and I remember they exist.

Do you have to book travel through Expedia to use the Chase Sapphire benefits?

 

[kgtest]

It's funny you mention Citi, because I was gonna pick that double cash card up...but instead just submitted an app for the Chase Freedom Unlimited.


$150 bonus after you spend $500, free money.
Then 1.5% unlimited cash back and accepted almost anywhere.
I also Rotate my DiscoverIT, Chase Freedom and Amazon as well as DWs Chase Freedom.


I added it up and I think all in all in 2019 earn:

$125 from the Amazon
$150 from the Freedom Unlimited SignUp Bonus
$450-550 in 5% category bonuses between Freedom, and DiscoverIT
$300-400 in 1.5% rewards from the Unlimited


That's over $1000 in free money for just using the right card at the right opportunity. DO this for a decade and you have an extra $10,000 in your pocket.

 

[Chuckanut]

That's over $1000 in free money for just using the right card at the right opportunity. DO this for a decade and you have an extra $10,000 in your pocket.

kgtest, I bet you are also the kind of person who pays off the credit cards every month to avoid high interest charges. Hmmm..... I may add you to the list of Dangerous Radicals who infest this site.

 

[kgtest]

kgtest, I bet you are also the kind of person who pays off the credit cards every month to avoid high interest charges. Hmmm..... I may add you to the list of Dangerous Radicals who infest this site.

I pay my bills the last possible day possible. DW likes to pay people early. As for interest I treat it like taxes abd pay as little as humanly possble. Unavoidable with my mortgage but still paying that sucker off as fast as it makes sense.
.credit card interest.. Forget about it.

 

[Sunset]

.I like that the CSR travel booking receipts show a dollar value so when I tally things up I don’t have to mentally convert CSR points. Otoh, my CPA didn’t want me to deduct business travel booked with CSR points because he thinks that triggers the points to be declared income.

....

I'm pretty sure the IRS has already ruled points are not income, otherwise everyone who gets points (used or not) has income value from it.

IRS has never questioned me on it, (provide receipt for travel expense that happens to use points).

I do try to pay cash for business travel, and just use points for personal travel, avoiding the entire issue as much as possible.

 

[Sunset]

If you have 100k with BOA/ML, then the rewards are quite good with their Premier and Cash Rewards cards.

+++++
Yes, and just so folks know, it is 2.62% on everything, plus free trades for you DMT types.

 

[Cobra9777]

...Right now, I'm not too happy with Elan. My card was compromised and a small charge made on October 31. I noticed it immediately on the morning of November 1st. I called immediately, and it took awhile to get to a person to dispute the charge. At first she did not understand what I was saying and implied I made the charge. No, I did not make a small donation of an odd amount to a European charity. I finally had to say, look someone is setting you up to commit a large fraud on this account. I'm reporting the problem now so you can deactivate the card and send me another one. She then trotted out the fraud speech and said I would get a new card overnighted to me. Haven't seen the new card yet. Chase and others are more proactive than these folks are when fraud is reported and I always got the card on the promised delivery date. So, not exactly happy with Elan right now.

In today's mail were two letters from Elan. One said they were provisionally reversed the $3.XX charge. The other was three pages of forms for me to fill out describing what happened, asking if the card was in my possession, asking for the name of the suspect and and asking if I filed a police report. If I don't fill out the forms and sign in all the right boxes, they will reverse the credit. Excuse me? I proactively called Elan so they could deactivate the card and save themselves a lot of money from a bigger fraud.

I have no idea of the identity of the "suspect." Someone no doubt got the card information through a card reader or by hacking a database somewhere. File a police report for a $3.XX charge? The police can't do their job as it is. They don't need a lot of reports on small fraudulent charges clogging things up more.

The impression I get is that they want to put fraud back on the customer. I'm beginning to wonder if the 2 percent cash back is worth the risk of having to absorb the cost of a major fraud.

In my experience, they send paperwork like that when you are disputing a charge. Not for obvious fraud. Based on your description (esp. the part I bolded), I'd guess they are confused about what you communicated. I'd suggest you call back and try to get the situation clarified. It's unclear, but it seems like they think you are disputing a charge, or reporting a stolen card, or maybe both... rather than reporting fraud.

Like others, I've never had any problem when the Elan card gets compromised... it's a two-minute phone call to the fraud dept and then new cards arrive 2 days later.

 

[GrayHare]

I've not has a card compromised since I scratched out that 3-digit code on the back, after copying that number to a safe place of course.

 

[Dtail]

I've not has a card compromised since I scratched out that 3-digit code on the back, after copying that number to a safe place of course.

That is an interesting thought. On my main credit card the 3 digit code was naturally scratched out (too much usage?), so let's see.

 

[kgtest]

+++++
Yes, and just so folks know, it is 2.62% on everything, plus free trades for you DMT types.

Good to know. I saw the Amex Plum gives 3.5% on the first $30,000 but that's in 3 months. no way I blow that kinda dough in three months.


Maybe if I knew I had a big medical bill coming up or if I could put the purchase of a vehicle on it down the road.


Some people get into the manufactured spending but I don't bother, I just rack the points I use spending as I would otherwise.

 

[Dtail]

Good to know. I saw the Amex Plum gives 3.5% on the first $30,000 but that's in 3 months. no way I blow that kinda dough in three months.


Maybe if I knew I had a big medical bill coming up or if I could put the purchase of a vehicle on it down the road.


Some people get into the manufactured spending but I don't bother, I just rack the points I use spending as I would otherwise.

The 2 BOA cards have ranges from 2.625 - 5.25% depending on the purchase.
If you want more info, let me know.

 

[sengsational]

I've got a little square of the sticky portion of a Post-It note over the 3 digit code on the back of the card I use at restaurants. Not impossible to peek under there without tearing it up, but more effort for the criminal, so might just put her onto some other victim. But scratching it out is a good idea. Every once in a while I'll lay the entire contents of my wallet on the scanner, so I would have that as a record. And I could add it to LastPass.

 

[kgtest]

The 2 BOA cards have ranges from 2.625 - 5.25% depending on the purchase.
If you want more info, let me know.

Clearly BofA is scanning my MS emails. I literally just got the BofA Cash Rewards card offer in my email after you replied and it showed up that you did in the email inbox. Suspect at best. Looks like they have some premier rewards multiplier interesting.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

My preferred cards are:

-Amazon 5% on Prime products
-Amex Blue Preferred 6% on Groceries and 3% on Gas
-Chase Freedom 5% on Quarterly Categories (isn't a huge pain to sign up each quarter, can do it through the "reminder" email they send out)
-USAA Unlimited 2% for everything else.

Used to do quite a bit of card churning, but the last year has been very, VERY busy so haven't had the time to devote to it. Perhaps I should start a poll asking if churning cards is passive or active income generation?

Edit: Last year, my cash rewards was worth $3646 which was my best year. Won't come close to that this year.

 

[Chopper]

I use Airline Credit cards because I travel. Watch for offers and get 60,000-70,000 offers or more informative 5-7 one way trips. I have 7 cards and have not paid for travel in years and with tons of perks/upgrades.
If you spend lots on consumer good maybe cash back is good.

 

[Dtail]

Clearly BofA is scanning my MS emails. I literally just got the BofA Cash Rewards card offer in my email after you replied and it showed up that you did in the email inbox. Suspect at best. Looks like they have some premier rewards multiplier interesting.

Big brother watching us.
Cash rewards - with the 100k in ML/BOA, one gets 5.25% on gas and 3.5% on groceries.
Premier rewards - 3.5% on dining and travel. 2.625% on everything else.

 

[Cobra9777]

My preferred cards are:

-Amazon 5% on Prime products
-Amex Blue Preferred 6% on Groceries and 3% on Gas
-Chase Freedom 5% on Quarterly Categories (isn't a huge pain to sign up each quarter, can do it through the "reminder" email they send out)
-USAA Unlimited 2% for everything else...

Our setup is similar, but using 3 cash-back cards with no annual fees:

1. AMEX Blue Cash... 5% on gas, groceries, and drug stores (grandfathered version... no caps, no annual fee).
2. Amazon/Chase VISA... 5% on all Amazon purchases (growing fast).
3. Fidelity/Elan VISA... 2% on everything else.

Based on our spending pattern, this works out to be a little over 3% cash back with no annual fee.

The only expenses with no CC option (or no cost-effective option) are federal taxes, property taxes, health insurance premiums, and the occasional contractor who wants to be paid by check.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The only expenses with no CC option (or no cost-effective option) are federal taxes, property taxes, health insurance premiums, and the occasional contractor who wants to be paid by check.

Our restrictions are similar: No on prop taxes, electricity and natural gas. Everything else...and I mean EVERYTHING goes on a card.