My Credit Card # was Stolen! [Pro Tips for Less Stress!]

So there I was, sitting at the table, with a cup of coffee ready to pay my bills.  Much to my surprise there were four charges on my credit card app for about $450 that I did not make. My credit card # was stolen!

Lucky for me, I worked at a Community Bank in a previous life and knew everything was going to be just fine. It was only going to be time consuming having to spend time contacting the credit card company and inform them of the unauthorized charges. I also need to remember all the places that have stored my credit card # for authorized monthly charges and make the changes.

So, I contacted customer service right away and they closed the credit card.

The representative reassured me, my account would be credited for the unauthorized charges and I would receive a new card in the mail within 1-2 days. The good news is they were expediting my card. I was very happy.

The Benefits of 2 cards

My favorite credit card is the Citi Double Cash credit card. My second favorite credit card is my bank credit card card. I do not receive any referral bonus by mentioning the Citi Double Cash credit card.

I use my favorite card (the Citi Double Cash credit card) so that I can get cash back. They pay me 1% for purchases and 1% for making payments. My bank credit card is used for my itunes monthly fee of $1.00 just to show I use it and pay it off each month.

Make sure you have 2 credit cards is so that if something happens to your favorite, first-choice credit card you have a back-up. 

For more information on how a credit card works for beginners, click here.

Debit Card Pro Tips

It is wise to use your debit card sparingly. As a matter of fact I only use it to get cash from the ATM machine, at my local bank, so that I don’t get charged a fee to get cash.

Never use your debit card # for online purchases. The reason for this is that it could easily be compromised. If I would have used my debit card that is attached to my checking account for online purchases and random purchases everywhere it would have made it much more difficult for me in many ways. The disadvantages are:

1. Your debit card will be declined while checking out at a store. That is embarrassing!
2. Your checking account will be overdrawn. (The bank will refund the unauthorized charges)
   1. You will not be able to get cash at an ATM. Imagine if it were in the evening, the banks are not open, this would escalate to very stressful really quick. You will have to wait until the bank is open in the morning, or worse if it’s the weekend, you have to wait until Monday!
   2. Most importantly, it will be impossible to buy gas, groceries and necessities.
3. Ultimately, you will need to be really patient to get your new debit card. It typically takes 7 – 10 business days to receive a new debit card in the mail.

I open my credit card app every 2-3 days to review my transactions and authorizations. I use my credit card like a checking account so I always know the balance.

Traveling Tips

Be prepared when traveling  I always travel with 2 credit cards just in case my favorite credit card information gets stolen. Whenever I leave town, I only use my favorite credit card. I never use my debit card.

Just think of all the places you use your credit card when traveling:

• Restaurants
• Gas stations
• Hotels
• Tourism hot spots

If you would like more information on how to repair your credit click here.

Enjoy you vacation!

It’s easy to keep calm and continue enjoying your vacation when you have a second credit card to rely on. You can shut down your favorite credit card by contacting the customer service phone number on the back. Before I travel, I make a photo copy of my credit card # and information. This helps when contacting customer service in the event that my credit card was lost or stolen. Having my credit card number and phone number for customer service to shut the card down is helpful. 

I never use my debit card while on vacation. If your information were to get stolen, it would be much more difficult to get cash. The thieves could drain your checking account and potentially overdraw it making it very stressful while on vacation. Being prepared allows you to enjoy your vacation!

One Final Point

I highly recommend two credit cards to make your life easy. Make sure both are always active and not expired. I say not expired because that happened to me once! I thought I had updated my bank credit card but somehow it slipped through the cracks and it was expired.

That’s another reason I pay my monthly itunes storage fee on my bank credit card. That way when I get the credit card in the mail, I have to activate it in order for my itunes account to continue charging my credit card. If I did not do this, itunes would reach out to me and let me know my card on file was expired.

Check out the Citi Double Cash credit card here.

Having two credit cards makes life easier and reduces stress! Have your favorite credit that is your first choice and a second credit card as a backup. Put one small recurring payment on your 2^nd choice credit card.