We are lucky enough to have our finances in order and use credit cards purely because they’re convenient and we get some usage benefits. However we only use a couple of cards that we carry all the time and that we also use for some auto-payments such as EZ-PASS, phone bills, and others like these. We just had a problem where one of the companies felt there were improper transactions and locked it, putting all of our auto-pays in jeopardy.
So my question is do those of you who have cards that are used for autopays have these separate in order to keep them “clean” from suspicious transactions? I think this is the way I want to go in order to avoid such incidents especially if I’m overseas and it’s inconvenient to make several lengthy calls. So I’m looking for some suggestions - we always pay off in full, so the interest rates aren’t important, but good benefits would help, and no annual fees either. Anyone have opinions on the Barclay card 1.5% or the citi double cash card that seems to give back 2%? Any others you would recommend?
Thank you.
I agree that it’s annoying when a card is compromised that is used for autopays - by the way, this can happen randomly (happened to a card we literally never used) but is of course more likely for one used all the time. I like Chase as far as customer service, but their rewards aren’t as wonderful. Bank of America recently took over one of my travel reward cards and they are super annoying to deal with. Barclay has a great reputation for customer service (and I think they run the LLBean card too?). Discover has of course the best cash back and customer service, but they’re not accepted everywhere, particularly overseas. All of these are no AF.
I have had my credit card changed three times in the last 18 moths due to suspicious transactions. My issuer (Chase) has been great - they have always flagged the items before I even had a chance to call them. But it is a royal pain dealing with the auto pays. I always forget one, until a month later I get a call from our newspaper or something saying we are late because the autopay bounced.
I love Clark Howard’s site for anything related to good deals, and he has a couple of 2015 postings about best credit cards. Like you, we use our credit cards for the benefits (cash back) and pay them all off every month. I have a Capital One account that offers 1.5% cash back - I got it because it offers no foreign exchange fees when we travel. We also have a Citi rewards, a couple of AmEx travel cards (Delta and Hilton), and yes, I have one card (Barclay’s LL Bean) that I use only for online purchases/auto pays, with the added benefit that I get free monogramming on anything I order from LLBean and receive $10 coupons regularly based on what I spend. I keep it in a drawer at home so if it is compromised when I’m traveling, it’s not the one I am relying on to pay for hotels, etc.
Here are links to Clark Howard:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/clarks-5-favorite-credit-cards
http://www.clarkhoward.com/best-cash-back-reward-credit-cards-2015
I’ve been very happy with my CapitolOne business visa called the Spark credit card. I get back 2% on EVERYTHING, with no annual maximum but a $59 annual fee. There is no foreign exchange fee.
I have a bunch of Chase credit cards, which I’ve mostly been pretty happy with. I’m not sure what I have tied to our autopay. Guess I’ll have to investigate that before I cancel them. One of the Chase cards gave us a ton of points as a signing bonus but charged $95/year. We will cancel before the year is up and transfer the points to a card we keep.
I have heard good things about the Citi double-cash master card which has no annual fee. We have a Barclay’s SallieMae mastercard that has no annual fee and gives us 5% back on groceries, gas and Amazon.
We rarely have had anyone cancel or flag any of our cards or transactions, but I do recall it happening once on a taxi to the airport. We would have had to switch to a different credit card or pay cash–cash was more convenient, so we paid cash.
I don’t actually have that much on autopay, other than utilities and I think those are linked to our checking account, which we have never changed in decades. Sometimes we prepay a bunch of charges we know that will be coming up (like phone bill) or I pay by phone when I have a chance to review the paper statement (I am not trusting of having everything online).
I think it’s a very good idea to put the auto-pay accounts on a card that you don’t carry with you or use for anything else. Thanks for that thought. I’m kind of half way there, but not intentionally, and I think you’ve persuaded me to go for it. My favorite card is the Capital One [no foreign transaction fees].
I have one credit card. Period. The only thing on autopay is easy pass. That’s it.
Well, then, your “autopsy” should be paid for with no problems. Sorry. I had to laugh at that one. Live long and prosper, @thumper1
Corrected!
^^ Oh. You’re no fun. X_X
I have a no-fee card I just use for autopays and don’t carry it with me.
@Dadof3 , I also have thought of doing the separate for autopay card but I get cash back on the ones that are already registered. I have a list at home of the ones on auto pay - 4 main ones and I agree it is a hassel, Next go around I may change to my other card, but we got it for european travel. no good answer to this.
So even the separate autopay card can have changes – I was sent a chip card to replace it recently, and had to do all the setups again. But I also like to have that extra card in case my main card is compromised or stolen, it is good to have a card to use while waiting for the replacement.
@intparent or while traveling it is good to have a second card
Yes, we always travel with at least one Visa and one MCard. We also always pack our Costco card because you never know?!!?!? When I’m going abroad, I also bring a debit card, just in case I need it and it has been useful. I did double-check and our autopay bills are utilitites that only let us charge against our checking account, so that is what they are charged against. We don’t have anything else on autopay because it’s too easy for me not to review the statement and I think it’s important to review. Calling and paying by phone once I’ve reviewed the physical statement is easy enough for me and that’s what I do.
I’d argue that some of the credit card companies are hyper-vigilant about fraud detection. It can get annoying some times. After all, they are protecting themselves and their risk really more than you the cardholder.
I actually carry 2 cards normally, and keep the extra (autopay & fill-in) at home in a drawer.
@doschicos, your liability in a fraud situation is only $50 with a credit card in most cases, so it is understandable that the card company is concerned about their higher level of exposure.
Exactly, @intparent. That’s why I sometimes find it frustrating because we’ve experienced them locking our cards for charges that seem pretty mundane. It can be annoying and inconveniencing. Their level of vigilance seems to have ramped up in the past few years where it borders on overkill. They are protecting themselves, but they also make it difficult for their customers at times.
I have an Amazon cc that I use for on-line purchases and auto pay. It does not leave the house. It’s been hacked at least twice (in about 15 years) but it wasn’t that big a deal to change the info to a new card. We have a Capital One card that we use for most other purchases. Every once in awhile I’ll see that I have some Amazon point money to spend so will use it for an amazon.com purchase.
It’s my understanding that credit card fraudsters often start by making charges of very small amounts and then if those charges go through, they’ll continue and make much larger purchases.