<p>We recently started using a Bank of America “Worldpoints” Visa card that’s been giving us difficulty. Multiple times now the card has been refused, and more frustrating, several online purchases (Walmart, Amazon) have been cancelled. Each time it means a call to BOA, who tells us that the purchases were indicative of spending patterns of a stolen card (i.e. an online purchase followed by use at a gas station). Huh? In another case I decided to try a trial month at Ancestry.com. The card was canceled again. The BOA rep said they automatically cancel after ANY transaction on Ancestry.com, as it’s often targeted by credit card hackers. Each time the BOA rep recommends I set BOA “dummy” accounts for separate websites to foil such actions. I have enough to keep track of already. :(</p>
<p>The most frustrating thing is that there is NEVER any phone call or notification that they think the card may be stolen. We never had this with our old Visa card, and never had any problems with security either. I appreciate BOA’s vigilance, but it means a half-hour or more of wasted time on the phone with them each time, not to mention the canceled orders. Our credit card history is excellent, and our buying “patterns” are no different than before.</p>
<p>In any case, we plan to cancel the BOA card. We have American Express, but were wondering if CC parents had any recommendations for Visa or Mastercards with points or benefits of some sort. I know some give a percentage of each purchase to charity, but we already donate to the groups we support. At this point in life we don’t travel much, so not looking for airline cards, and we don’t usually frequent one gas station over another. This Worldpoints Visa was sent us automatically when they took over the old LLBean Visa accounts. We used the Bean card occasionally for the mens’ tall sizes, but not all that often. Any suggestions out there?
Thanks.</p>
<p>I had a MBNA MC which became a BOA MC after the merger. I’ve never had any problems with it.
I don’t use it as often because it only has 20 days grace period. I now use a Capital One Visa more often. It has 25 days grace period. It does give you money back or points for travel.</p>
<p>I have not had problems with authorization with Bank of America. We have multiple cards we use for business and personal use. </p>
<p>I did have a US Banks card refused recently for a double-swipe at a gas station. When the pump shut off at $75 the tank was not yet full, so I ran the card again. Refused. Had to call the 800 number on the bank to reinstate.</p>
<p>Since my husband and I run an internet business, I will tell you that these things are signals of a stolen card: overnight shipping to an address that is not the cardholder’s address (especially for pricey items); shipping anything overnight to Miami; overnight shipping to a new customer… overnight shipping in general.</p>
<p>Gas stations are often used to test new cards because they are unattended. If the card is refused, no one is there to care. If the card works, it’s on to Best Buy to buy computers. My husband bought two computers a few days ago after buying gas… he said the security guys were standing behind him within seconds after his card got swiped. Once he verified his identity, no problem.</p>
<p>^ agree. I doubt that any one bank wishes to assume someones entire debt. Its better for the bank to take part of the risk rather than all of the debt.</p>
<p>I have a cash back Costco Amex that they pay me over $500 per year to use. I also have a cash back Discover for places that don’t take AmEx although some of them don’t take Discover either.</p>
<p>The big CC issuing places, Capital One, Citi, BOA, etc. actually have a variety of CC types/plans available such as low interest rates, cash back, airline miles, no annual fee, etc. depending on what appeas to you. Personally, I don’t ever pay annual fees for CCs, don’t care about the interest rate since I always pay it off, and prefer cash back to airline miles or other perks.</p>
<p>I have the Capital One and love it because I can get cash instead of useless mileage points that I get with my American Airlines advantage card. It is getting harder and harder to use the points. I also have the Amex Costco and I use it solely for business. I get so much cash back on it that I would be embarassed to post the total. I have several vendors that take Amex now so it is easy to rack up the points. </p>
<p>That said, I never carry a balance so I know nothing about the interest rates.
(Pretty much ditto ucsd…) </p>
<p>I buy stuff and ship to DS in Boston a lot and definitely do get some calls questioning charges, especially because I’m shipping to a completely different address than on the card. I think they finally put a note in my file and now it has been fine.</p>
<p>I have a similar problem with my bank debit card. If the transaction is over 150-200 it is declined (regardless of the actual balance in the account) even though the theoretical limit on the debit card is 5000 or more dollars. No call etc. from the bank. I just use it for small amounts.</p>
<p>As to a good credit card, American Express does give good service(actually I think the best), and I think they have some no fee cards with rewards or the like. One thing to remember with regular visa and mastercards, is that generally they don’t have the same agreement with merchants as Amex. If you have a problem with a merchant, Amex is very good at resolving it and crediting you. Visa/Mastercard chargebacks are not so liberal, and a problem with a merchant that Amex probably would have reversed, was not really investigated and reversed in the same manner.</p>
<p>Ancestry.com probably triggers cancellation because their internal security has not been approved by the bank. As a credit card processor, Bank of America (which owns VISA) requires that we do daily security checks on our data. If those are found inadequate, we lose the privilege of making charges. To verify that a web site is properly secure, look for the LOCK symbol on the lower right hand corner of the window, but also check that the address is HTTPS – that S stands for SECURE and it’s hard to come by. Don’t give your credit card number to a site that doesn’t have it.</p>
<p>As for AMEX, I haven’t carried an AMEX card in years. Their fees are high on both sides, for the card and to credit card processors. Most companies won’t accept them any more, because VISA/MC charge about 2.5 to 3% of the sale but AMEX charges as much as 5%.</p>
<p>As for chargebacks and problems, believe me, it is MUCH easier to straighten those out BEFORE the card is used rather than AFTER. That is true whether you are a merchant or a user.</p>
<p>As for the OP’s problems using his credit card, he might want to have a serious discussion with the bank. I would expect the multiple purchases that were canceled all come from the same single cancellation of his card. It’s easy enough to set up a logon so that you can see your credit card charges, and then he can check daily what the status of his card is.</p>
<p>dmd77, you are probably right about the security level on the Ancestry.com site being an auto-trigger for cancellation.</p>
<p>It occurs to me, though, that Ancestry.com might be a good source of information on a person’s mother’s maiden name (which is often used as a security question). While they seem to be reliable about leaving out information about living people, they are not so good about leaving out information about living people’s deceased parents . . . it’s probably perfectly safe if your last name is Smith–but if you happen to be one of the few “Living Schwarzenellenbogengesundheits” around, there might be a risk.</p>
<p>I just checked. If I click on the “my account” button for ancestry, I get a lock symbol. I use my credit card there, and have never had an issue with it.</p>
<p>The “mother’s maiden name” idea has occurred to me, too. But certain portions of ancestry don’t require a membership, as well as other sites, such as the one run by LDS. So that security is not limited to just the membership portions.</p>
<p>Great, binx, between the two of us, we’ve probably made it even easier for identity thieves to operate . . . although CC is even less likely to be one of their favorite haunts.</p>
<p>Oh dear. Maybe we should start planting some made up ancestors? </p>
<p>But you’re right, the programs do generally weed out living persons. I have super research skills and haven’t been able to find any trace of myself on the site at all!</p>
<p>as someone who just experienced credit card fraud on innocent looking purchases, I was glad the bank cancelled my card. Newport News, a subsidiary of Spiegel (I’ll name names bcos they’ve been obnoxious to deal with) even continued to ship product AFTER the card was cancelled. Moreover, they continued to invoice ME for thier lack of internal controls. Thus, be thankful that the banks are looking out for YOU.</p>
<p>Good Grief! Here I thought I was reasonably “savvy” about the tricks and what-not that underhanded people may come up with to trip up us honest folk…but the mother’s maiden name search via the internet has never crossed my mind! </p>
<p>BofA has called a time or two regarding H’s activity to inquire if a purchase was legit (no automatic refusals). Let’s just say my suspected anniversary gift was confirmed by one such call, though to her credit, the BofA rep was being as thoughtfully discreet as she could be while still trying to determine if this was a legitimate charge.</p>
<p>‘Mother’s maiden name’ should NEVER be a security question, IMO. Too many of us boomer females have some form of our maiden names as part of our legal name, both in marriage and divorce. What are the banks thinking? Our kids will pay the price if they don’t drop this practice.</p>
<p>I recently purchased tickets for a concert here in the US directly from a British band’s web site. I called my credit card company in advance and told them I would be doing this. The tickets were expensive and I was buying four sets. I had no problem with the transaction. It is quick and easy to give your bank card holder a heads up before you make a large purchase.</p>
. . . although CC is even less likely to be one of their favorite haunts.</p>
</p>