# Credit Cards



## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

I am down South, two weeks ago my Citicard was cancelled, yesterday my President's Choice one also.

The reason, I am in the States and some one in Card security thought purchases out of character, another because some merchant I had dealt with in the last year had a security problem.

I had no real problem,, just paid cash, but it is a shocker, and for some people it might be a problem when you go to use a card and can't. 

Citi called us, President's choice did not bother.

My Cards are Platinum, I always pay in full, so there was no issue that way.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Did you inform them in advance that you will be traveling?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

It's smart to inform your card issuer that you'll be travelling out of country. Out of country transactions are one of the biggest red flags in their fraud detection algorithm.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

No, we did not, but we have wintered down south for several yars, no problem, next year we will make sure to inform them.

Citi closed the card because of a Merchant problem, they have our Southern adress and did call to let us know.

The Citi card took almost three weeks to deliver, even though they told me they couriered it that day, they did not, and after several phone calls, I now have six cards.


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## Dana (Nov 17, 2009)

I'm Howard said:


> Citi called us, President's choice did not bother.


This happened to me a couple of years ago with my PCF Mastercard as well and they didn't bother to phone me either. I guess they don't phone clients unless they are trying to sell them something? I found out when I tried to make a purchase and my card was rejected. It was replaced within a couple of days, but a phone call would have been nice. 

It has also happened with CIBC visa and BMO MC - they both phoned so I wasn't surprised at a cash register.


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## MikeT (Feb 16, 2010)

I have an American visa credit card (still) issued by a credit union. I once bought a Christmas present at tiffanys, which was at the time my largest ever purchase on the credit card. Transaction was approved, and I stayed in the store for a few minutes looking at other things... Credit union called my cellphone while I was still in the store and asked if I had made the purchase.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

i agree, better to let them know you are travelling, this has always worked for us. cibc visa calls when they think something is up. keeps all of our costs down. I also never sign the back of the credit card, but write 'please see ID' in the space. I always thank them when they ask for my ID.


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## ChrisR (Jul 13, 2009)

This also happened to me once. I was in Europe for work, and RBC canceled my Visa. 

What struck me as most odd is that they did not cancel my card when I first started making purchases in a foreign country. No... instead, they waited 4 MONTHS before canceling it. 

When I later returned home and asked RBC why they had canceled the card after 4 months when the balance was being paid in full at the end of the month anyway. Their reply was that they had tried to reach me at my home number several times to confirm that it was in fact me using the card to make purchases in a foreign country. When they couldn't get a hold of me they canceled the card. Jeez... do you think that maybe the reason I wasn't answering my home phone was because... I was half-way around the world?

Of course RBC also has a "messaging" feature as part of their internet banking, but apparently that is used only to let customers know that the deadline for RRSP contributions is coming up... not to let customers know that their Visa card has been canceled!


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

PCF policy is that they don't phone you, if your card has been cancelled or compromised.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Jungle said:


> PCF policy is that they don't phone you, if your card has been cancelled or compromised.


What an enlightened policy, indeed!
After all, why should you be informed if your card has been stolen, cancelled or being used without authorization 

Many moons ago, I took a driving trip in the US south-east.
On day 1 early morning, I started from Savannah on the eastern coast and target was to get into St. Louis by nightfall.
By 11:00, I had already driven across 3 states and was about to cross the border between Alabama and Mississippi.
I was obviously filling gas at various points and I got a call on my cell phone from the credit card company (it was a Visa) asking what's going on....they naturally assumed that the card's been stolen.
I explained all's ok.

Then I decided to use my other card (a Discover) for the gas purchases.
Sure enough, within the next hour, I got a call from Discover on my cell phone.

It is simply common sense and good customer service.
Something that PCF doesn't possess.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Amex will call the merchant and ask to speak to the cardholder. Works great. No advance notification needed.


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## Kim (Jan 10, 2011)

I think I have had to do this as well - once at Christms while making a purchase at a music store - I had to phone in to get the transaction to go through. I can't remember the details. Guess I had done too much shopping that day!

And I have had them call two other times when I have made internet purchases for stores across the country. The last trip I went on into the states I didn't remember to phone and let them know ( too many other details to look after ) and I had no issues using my card. 

I appreciate them phoning and making sure it's me.


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## Dana (Nov 17, 2009)

Jungle said:


> PCF policy is that they don't phone you, if your card has been cancelled or compromised.


Do you happen to know why, Jungle? It seems like such a simple policy that would avoid phone calls from irate/embarassed clients.

I think I was at Walmart when it happened and the declined just came back "declined", no other reason. I remember thinking the worst until I could get home to call them. I thought maybe my card had been stolen and maxed out or my identity was compromised. In the end I was relieved it was cancelled as a precautionary measure because of suspicious activity at a merchant I deal with - who they will *not* disclose to you, so you can't protect yourself by only using cash there in the future. 

It could have been much more embarassing - like if we were out for an evening with friends or my husband were entertaining clients for example.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

Dana said:


> Do you happen to know why, Jungle? It seems like such a simple policy that would avoid phone calls from irate/embarassed clients.
> 
> I think I was at Walmart when it happened and the declined just came back "declined", no other reason. I remember thinking the worst until I could get home to call them. I thought maybe my card had been stolen and maxed out or my identity was compromised. In the end I was relieved it was cancelled as a precautionary measure because of suspicious activity at a merchant I deal with - who they will *not* disclose to you, so you can't protect yourself by only using cash there in the future.
> 
> It could have been much more embarassing - like if we were out for an evening with friends or my husband were entertaining clients for example.


too funny, it has nothing to do with the feelings of the clients. one thing, bottom line...


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## Pigzfly (Dec 2, 2010)

Ahhh credit cards.

When I was in Europe, my parents would get phone calls all the time, even though the credit card company knew I was there. If a charge was over about $200 they would call.

Buying gas and then sporting goods can also trip the algorithm. I once filled up and then bought new skate blades, they phoned about 4 hours later, after turning my card off.

When my mom came with me to university in Ontario, we were stuck on the phone in Walmart for quite awhile as they needed to call for authorization. Apparently going on a house-stocking shopping spree on the other side of the country is a reason to trip... which was fine with us.

When I was in Argentina, a Canadian couple I met had their credit card turned off, without notifying them, and then the company refused to send another card to them, and required branch pick up of a new card. They were even having issues with a power of attorney picking up the new card... talk about a major PITA! They still had about 3 months down there too.


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## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

Well, it's a good reason to have multiple credit cards ... with similar limits.


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## Kim (Jan 10, 2011)

Hate to hijack the post BUT .....on the topic of credit cards I would like to ask which option you would go for:

Option 1: having a MBNA Smart Cash back credit card ( I think your familiar with the benefits of this type of card ) Would have to change all my current auto billing over ( "all" being 4 places ). 

Option 2: a TD 1% cash back credit card, that if I get through opening a certain type of fancy chqing acct ( offers free small safety dep box, roadside assistance, unlimited bank transactions, don't have to change anything over ) but they charge $25.00 / mth! unless I keep a min bal of $5000 in acct ( which is currently way more than I keep in my chq acct that I use to pay household bills and small misc purchases). Other than the free bank transactions I am not sure I would use the other extras.

I use my credit cards to get the cash back ( yes I know this hurts the retailer and I am sorry about that ) and 99% of the time they are paid off in full every couple weeks to avoid paying interest.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

My personal preference is to use a card that provides maximum cash back, with no strings attached.
I don't like the blended credit cards that have several other service/products contingent upon it.
I also do not like cash back cards that have lots of IFs and BUTs for the % of cash back.

Just give me the cold, hard cash and I'll decide what to do with it.


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## Banker4008 (Feb 3, 2011)

The issue Harold is that credit card fraud rings have a concentration of operations in the state you vacation in. When a transaction originating in your state comes through on your account (issued in Canada) it trips fraud detection flags for Canadian banks. Whoever suggested calling the bank in advance is 100% right - it works quite well! Unfortunately, that's the best prevention tool at their disposal. Another unfortunate outcome is that good customers get caught, or inconvenienced, by this activity. But the banks are taking prudent actions most of the time. I hope your replacement cards work out.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

well said Harold


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## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

Kim said:


> Hate to hijack the post BUT .....on the topic of credit cards I would like to ask which option you would go for:
> 
> Option 1: having a MBNA Smart Cash back credit card ( I think your familiar with the benefits of this type of card ) Would have to change all my current auto billing over ( "all" being 4 places ).
> 
> ...


MBNA Smart Card by far ... best return rate, (3% on groceries/gas) and no annual fee. I switched because the benefits were large.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

kcowan said:


> Amex will call the merchant and ask to speak to the cardholder. Works great. No advance notification needed.


Yes. This has happened to us several times. No big problem. I have found that AMEX seems to offer better service than Visa or MC in most cases. Makes sense I guess as their cards usually carry a pretty big fee.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

GeniusBoy27 said:


> MBNA Smart Card by far ... best return rate, (3% on groceries/gas) and no annual fee. I switched because the benefits were large.


Ya too bad they only give these kind of rebates on things that are difficult to spend too much on.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

HaroldCrump said:


> My personal preference is to use a card that provides maximum cash back, with no strings attached.
> I don't like the blended credit cards that have several other service/products contingent upon it.
> I also do not like cash back cards that have lots of IFs and BUTs for the % of cash back.
> 
> Just give me the cold, hard cash and I'll decide what to do with it.


I think this is a good general stategy. The one exception would be using aeroplan reward cards(points) to buy business class travel. With enough advanced planning you can get business class tickets to Europe or Asia that would normally cost thousands. Obviously this option doesn't appeal to evryone but we booked 3 business class trips this year with our points (2 to Asia and one to Italy) that would have cost over $40k Taxes etc cost about $4k for us. I figure this works out to about 10% of charges on the card.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Square Root said:


> The one exception would be using aeroplan reward cards(points) to buy business class travel. With enough advanced planning you can get business class tickets to Europe or Asia that would normally cost thousands. Obviously this option doesn't appeal to evryone but we booked 3 business class trips this year with our points (2 to Asia and one to Italy) that would have cost over $40k Taxes etc cost about $4k for us. I figure this works out to about 10% of charges on the card.


So this card must be providing status miles, right?
Not just regular miles.
Is there an annual fee?
Or a min. balance requirement?
There must be _some_ strings...
If not, which one is it, please tell.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> So this card must be providing status miles, right?
> Not just regular miles.
> Is there an annual fee?
> Or a min. balance requirement?
> ...


Aeroplan is not as good as it used to be. It also depends how much you use it. For a big spender like Square Root, it's probably perfect.

Here's why I got rid of mine:

http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/i-got-rid-of-my-visa-aerogold-card/


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Four Pillars said:


> Aeroplan is not as good as it used to be. It also depends how much you use it. For a big spender like Square Root, it's probably perfect.
> 
> Here's why I got rid of mine:
> 
> http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/i-got-rid-of-my-visa-aerogold-card/


Ah, a $170 annual fee.
No, thank you very much.
It doesn't meet my policy of not paying annual fee for a credit card.
I don't spend time painstakingly comparing cards feature by feature, so I have some "idiot" rules, such as - no annual fee, at least 1% cash back, no strings attached for cash back such as min. balance, free companion card, etc.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

HaroldCrump said:


> Ah, a $170 annual fee.
> No, thank you very much.
> It doesn't meet my policy of not paying annual fee for a credit card.
> I don't spend time painstakingly comparing cards feature by feature, so I have some "idiot" rules, such as - no annual fee, at least 1% cash back, no strings attached for cash back such as min. balance, free companion card, etc.


Exactly. That $170 number is a couple of years old FYI.

We just don't spend enough. I'd say our annual credit card purchases are about $10,000. We do benefit a little bit from cash-back programs, but not enough to spend time comparing/switching etc.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

HaroldCrump said:


> So this card must be providing status miles, right?
> Not just regular miles.
> Is there an annual fee?
> Or a min. balance requirement?
> ...


It's the Aeroplan Platinum Amex card. Fee is very high ($750 I think). Not status miles( if i understand the term)I think we get about 1.5 miles for every dollar spent. Anoher perk is it gets us into most airport exec lounges for free. No disclosed limit as it is not a credit card but rather a charge card. Must pay balance every month. This would only make sense if you put a lot of purchases on it (we do)


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I've had phone calls about my debit card before, and my mastercard. 

I use debit at a lot of locations, my card was compremized several times last year and I got to replace it. One thing that made TD call me was using the card almost simultaneously in Montreal and in Toronto. Kind of hard to justify that. 

Can't say I blame them for flagging this type of behavior. Believe me I will call them if I go somewhere because they will turn your card off. 

On the other hand if you drove to Montreal their system might be smart enough to figure it out if you got gas en route.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

_" Believe me I will call them if I go somewhere because they will turn your card off.

" On the other hand if you drove to Montreal their system might be smart enough to figure it out if you got gas en route."
_

couldn't their system figure it out if you purchased an airline ticket tto-mtl ?

the amount of personal/private info in data systems is scary. I have a friend who data mines for banks & telcos. She likes to shake people up by mentioning that the bank officer approving a mortgage or loan for a female client already knows the colour of the underwear the client is wearing.

my friend says folks are surprised when she makes this statement. But i for one was not surprised. Maybe the bank officers don't know exactly which pair she's wearing, but they sure do know what colour choices milady saw when she looked into her underwear drawer that morning.

on the same wave, the outgoing CEO of google told listeners not to worry about goog's privacy-invading data-storing capabilities. It's not the new softwares that show what you are thinking that are to worry about, the goog ex-chieftain said. Because "we already know what you are thinking," he added.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you. Being able to do something and actually doing it are two different things. They can't seem to do the obvious to improve service I really doubt they would care about the colour of your underwear.


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## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

The other card I carry is the AMEX 2% Cash Card. They instituted a $99 annual fee this year, but it still works out for us, giving how much we spend.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

GeniusBoy27 said:


> The other card I carry is the AMEX 2% Cash Card. They instituted a $99 annual fee this year, but it still works out for us, giving how much we spend.


I thought that card was now dead?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

square root the data base miner for banks, telcos & ad agencies knows perfectly well that a bank lender isn't thinking about a client's underwear. At least, not usually.

it's a metaphor. She uses the expression to shake people up to the fact that a staggering, unbelievable, terrifying amount of personal & private information about each one of us is already out there, has already been captured, interpreted, profiled & stored away forever.


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## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

I don't know ... I've had it for a while, but maybe they're reinstituting it with a fee?


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> square root the data base miner for banks, telcos & ad agencies knows perfectly well that a bank lender isn't thinking about a client's underwear. At least, not usually.
> 
> it's a metaphor. She uses the expression to shake people up to the fact that a staggering, unbelievable, terrifying amount of personal & private information about each one of us is already out there, has already been captured, interpreted, profiled & stored away forever.


OK Got it. A little too sophisticated for me I guess. In general though I'm not too concerned about this issue especially if it helps companies better serve their customers.


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