Originally Posted By bobbelee9 One of my daughters was only paying the minimum each month. Then she finally noticed the interest charge was more than the minimum payment. Took her a long time to get out of that hole, but now except for the 2 cars, she's debt free.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Sorry RoadTrip...I guess I got out of alignment there for a short while. The late 70's and early 80's is exactly the time frame I was referring too. Yes, I could have had other cards but I knew I couldn't afford them and AMEX made me pay each month. It was my way of not having to carry cash and not get further in debt. I understand SuperDry but if I thought about things like a lost card why wouldn't I think about the likelihood that if I lost one of them they might all be gone. One or twenty, if my wallet turned up missing all my cards would go with it. So one was all that was needed, I thought!
Originally Posted By crazycroc Btw everyone, crazycroc loves screwing with the credit card companies so fire away with any questions. And guys, when you are on a trip, you should call the credit card issuer and let them know. Tell where you are going and for how long. Also, tell them the types of things you will using the card for, such as hotel rooms, etc. That way you shouldn't have a hassle. Give them an estimate of how much money you will be spending, so in case the unthinkable happens, they can stop or question payments. Another good tip, is when on a driving road trip, is to mix up what cards you are charging on, as people who steal credit cards, generally like to use them in situations like automated gas stations where you do not have to sign off on anything.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Something I think is amusing...a little over a year ago I took my family to WDW. I used my VISA card mostly because of the rewards thing. Most of the trip had been paid up front but the remainder about $2400.00 was put on in Orlando. Then before I could get home (I drove down that year) my car had a serious malfunction. That cost me $3500.00 that I put on my VISA as well. Not a word was asked it just went on the card. I usually have not more than $1000.00 on it in any given month so almost $6000.00, one would think, would have triggered something. Nothing at all. I paid it the next month, end of story. Two months later I charged a TV to the card a mere $700.00 or so, and I got all kinds of calls asking me if I was aware of the charge and for me to verbally authorize it. Ignore 6K and focus on $700.00. Seemed kind of silly to me.
Originally Posted By crazycroc Yep, these banks and companies are stupid and worthy of our scorn, derision, and usery. Here's an amusing story of how stupid Chase is/was. About two years ago, if you applied for multiple Chase cards at one time, the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, and took several months to catch up and figure out was going on. I applied for 7 Chase cards in one day, was accepted for all of them, received the rewards of free plane tickets with purchases, hotel stays etc, and cancelled the cards shortly thereafter. Only one inquiry was posted on my credit report for all 7 cards and I was able to get two free plane tickets, hotel stays, 500 dollar cash rewards, etc. When the accounts showed up on my credit reports, I was able to have them removed with the exception of one, due to their own inaccurate reporting system. Chase is an evil empire. Crazycroc 1 Chase 0
Originally Posted By beamerdog >>Chase is an evil empire.<< I would agree with you, but I'm afraid that they're monitoring this thread and will reduce my limit ;-)
Originally Posted By Mr X YYikes, crazycroc! Hope they don't bring you up on fraud charges (2 years ago isn't a long time)!
Originally Posted By SuperDry You did: <<< I applied for 7 Chase cards in one day, was accepted for all of them, received the rewards of free plane tickets with purchases, hotel stays etc, and cancelled the cards shortly thereafter. >>> and got: <<< I was able to get two free plane tickets, hotel stays, 500 dollar cash rewards, etc. >>> yet you say: <<< Chase is an evil empire.>>> Indeed Chase was stupid to allow that to happen. But it would seem that Chase was not the party in this case that was trying to game the other (perhaps defraud is bit too strong a term), yet they're the evil ones?
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Ignore 6K and focus on $700.00. Seemed kind of silly to me. >>> Lots of factors go into fraud detection. Gas station charges on the way to WDW along with a WDW stay, and car repairs on the way back, may not be that unusual, especially if they're accompanied by a sudden lack of your normal charges back home. Historically, these types of charges may have a very small incidence of them being fraudulent. However, an electronics purchase at a local big box store may have a very high degree of fraud associated with it. It's not just the amount of the charges, but the pattern of charges, and what the historical record is with different types of merchants and individual merchants. Try this the next time you're in the market to buy some large electronic item. Go to a gas station near the store that you never go to regularly and buy 1 gallon of gas and pay at the pump, then go into the store and see what happens when you try to make the large purchase.
Originally Posted By crazycroc I didn't defraud anyone. What I did was perfectly legal. Just like Chase jacking people's rates is perfectly legal.
Originally Posted By Mr X If you read the fine print, I'm pretty sure that what you did is not "perfectly legal", though you might get away with it. On the flip side, that same fine print will explain why jacking peoples' rates IS legal (if unethical).
Originally Posted By crazycroc What I did was considered abuse of the rewards system. Not illegal. Same fine print.
Originally Posted By Mr X Reminds me of the time I was hanging outside the Orlando arena before an Aerosmith concert because I heard a radio station was giving away front row tickets (I was broke back then, no cash for a ticket but I went anyway just to take my chances). There was a booth where you filled out your name and addy and stuffed it into a box, and I slyly noticed that there was no sign indicating "only 1 entry per person". So I proceeded to stuff the box for 20 minutes or so (I'd guess I filled out 25-30 or so entries lol). They finally noticed what I was doing, and quickly put up a handwritten "one entry per person" sign so I stopped. Anyway, I won the front row tickets (AND backstage passes to boot). It was "fair", but still..I did "kinda" cheat.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I applied for 7 Chase cards in one day, was accepted for all of them, received the rewards of free plane tickets with purchases, hotel stays etc, and cancelled the cards shortly thereafter. >>> Here's what could have been (and should have been ) the outcome: As each application is processed, it does another "hard pull" of your credit file. The first 2 or 3 accounts get approved, but then ones after that get denied because you have "too many inquiries" on your credit file. Then at some point shortly thereafter, the accounts initially approved get cancelled because of a material change to your credit score (because you had so many inquiries).
Originally Posted By Mr X I never understood why that "too many inquiries" part should be so damaging. I understand the potential for abuse, but on the other hand lots of people like to shop around (for cars, for example), and might ask many dealerships in one day what kind of financing they can get...which ends up hurting them though most folks aren't even aware of the issue!
Originally Posted By crazycroc Generally, in inquiries like that Mr. X, they can be consolidated into one after talking to the three credit bureaus. And SuperDry, that would definitely be the outcome now, I'm talking about the days of "EZ credit, EZ living". Now that we don't live in Bizarro World anymore, those kinds of things are hard to come by. Back in the day, as long as you were under 10 inquiries, you were good to go. But, I'm always looking. Don't get me started in the evil ways people have used to get the inquiries removed... The joys of the world in which decisions are made by computers and not humans.
Originally Posted By crazycroc <a href="http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168113" target="_blank">http://creditboards.com/forums...c=168113</a> Here's someone who really gamed the system... Warning: It's pretty shocking.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I understand the potential for abuse, but on the other hand lots of people like to shop around (for cars, for example), and might ask many dealerships in one day what kind of financing they can get...which ends up hurting them though most folks aren't even aware of the issue! >>> My understanding is that there are special cases for car and mortgage shopping. Specifically, such as all inquiries for auto loans within a 14-day period being considered a single inquiry. The "too many inquiries" is one way that banks can protect themselves from becoming part of a run-away freight train. Let's say someone is in serious financial trouble, but it's not yet reflected on their credit report. After applying for a credit card, it generally takes a few weeks (such as when the first statement closes) for an approved new account to appear on a credit report. If too many inquiries were not a problem, then there would be nothing stopping someone from, say, applying for 100 credit cards, each from a different bank, and each bank granting a new account without knowing that any other bank was doing the same.
