Credit Tips: Is It Good to Have a Backup Credit Card?

Posted On: October 1, 2006

Author: Charley
Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 7:47 am
Post subject: Always have a backup card

You should always have a backup credit card. Especially when travelling.

An article ran in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago highlighting the problem
with automatic fraud prevention computer programs. Anything out of the ordinary and
they will shut you down. It even happened to the CEO of MasterCard! If I recall
correctly, he started charging a lot to a card he hadn’t used in a few months. The
story also mentioned a few other patterns that have gotten people blocked.
Obviously, they wouldn’t reveal everything.

I was a victim of the NextCard shutdown. Could only shop at places that took
Discover or Amex for a while.

If you have the credit rating to do it, get a few cards to keep yourself covered.
At least a Visa and/or Mastercard since they are the most widely accepted cards.

Author: Cathy
Posted: Sat May 17, 2003 2:32 am
Post subject: Is It Good to Have a Backup Credit Card?

As someone who works at a gas/service station in a small tourist town I wholeheartedly agree. I advise all people to CALL YOUR CARD ISSUER if you plan on going on any travel away from where you normally go, especially if it is out of state, before you go (this includes atm/debit cards). And bring more then one card with you, because i’ve seen it happen where the only card a traveler has brought with them (and the only way they can pay for an expensive work order) has been flagged and shut down and can not be used. Depending on what message is prompted on their termanal, if the card is flagged they may or may not be able to override it (and more often then not, they can’t). Also if you are traveling, and you come across a merchant and the merchant informs you it has been flagged as a “”frequent use”" card (translation, unusual activity outside normal pattern), please call the bank or card issuer because if you don’t they may decide to shut down the card next time when you really need to use it. Banks and card companies computers keep track of preauths (which they may tell you is a “”Use”"), the $$ of charges, and the types of businesses uses or attempted uses are made at, and the # of times a card is used (commonly used as an exposure limit) plus any “”transaction limits”" that the bank may or may not have told you about for “”security reasons”" (atm/debit/checkcards are notorious for this, and preauths count twords this exposure limit). I am sorry this is so long, but I do try to get the word out whenever I can when the subject comes up.

Author: papoose
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 3:04 pm
Post subject:

I will roger the comments on having a back-up card. I was on a tour once with a guy who had his pocket picked including his Credit card. He spent the rest of the trip going to the local bank to see if his replacement card had arrived. It was a distraction for the tour leader, also.

So when you lose your card, especially overseas, just call in and cancel it, and come home on the other one.

A parallel suggestion involves a birth certificate. Take a copy with you. Even though you have a photo copy of your passport, if it is lost, they want a birth certificate to issue a new one. I have seen this happen twice, so get a copy of your pass port to keep with your back-up credit card.

Also, before you go, strip your wallet of everything you will not need. Friend of muine had his wallet lifted, and one of the things that cost him money for replacement was his locar right to carry a firearm permit. Leave that stuff at home and do not risk its loss.