I HATE FRAUD ALERTS!
Sure, they’re supposed to keep us protected from unauthorized use…but how does that explain why I get a fraud alert when I called in earlier and told them EXACTLY what charges to expect? And how about when I’m on the phone with the fraud team at the point-of-sale and it takes them ten minutes to be able to get my charge processed.
Whatever. Just part of life.
Largely, the issue of fraud alerts has to do with manufacturing spend and wouldn’t affect most people. And, without a doubt, different people have different luck with these kinds of things and with banks learning their patterns. It’s possible that it has more to do with history and less to do with one bank over another. Still, I feel some are better than others.
Here’s my Fraud Alert Hit List. It’s the order that I would punch out the banks if they were people and not buildings. (Punching the building is painful and doesn’t help. I tried.)
From worst to best:
- Fidelity/Fia Card Services. Hopeless. Not even worth talking about. They flag EVERYTHING. Calling in at the point-of-sale isn’t too successful. (My story above with spending ten minutes at the point-of-sale…was with Fia). Important to always have a backup card on hand even for ordinary purchases. Verdict: Lost cause.
- Citi They flag most large purchases, even when I’ve made similar such transactions in the past. Eventually, they’ll probably learn your habits, way too slow. Also flags repeat purchases terribly. Usually easy to clear up though. Verdict: Pretty bad.
- Chase Seems to be okay with SINGLE large purchases, even without a significant history of such. With multiple large purchases they’re awful. Even calling in advance doesn’t do much. Being on the phone with the fraud department at point-of-sale could help. Verdict: Mediocre.
- Amex They learn your curve well and won’t make you problems much. Without history, however, they do flag a lot. Fraud team is quick to okay a purchase at point-of-sale. Verdict: Reasonable.
- Discover Most of my history with them is doing $1500 at a time to max out quarterly categories. I usually call/chat in advance and never had a problem. Verdict: Good.
- Barclay Never make me any problems. Almost never got a fraud alert on my Arrival, despite lots of large purchases, including repeat large purchases (hmmm…$1000,$1000,$500 anyone?). The only time I recall getting a fraud alert was when making an online international purchase in foreign currency. Verdict: Great.
I’d be interested in hearing from readers whether their experiences are similar to mine or different. Please let us know in the comments.
While I’m still dreaming about punching out the banks for making problems, Julian on FrequentMiler takes a more productive approach of outlining how to set up text/email alerts. In many cases, you can do a quick reply to a text and swipe your card again without a hitch.
But still…punching out the banks sounds more fun.
