Posts about Visa
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—>Anthony received a Newegg rebate in the form of a prepaid debit card. When he went to use the $15 card for a $15.93 purchase, he received an unexpected and wonderful surprise. More »
—>Considering the growing amount of credit card fraud, it's not surprising that banks are becoming more and more vigilant about identifying suspicious transactions. It's too bad they haven't been as successful at filtering out false positives or promptly notifying customers, as James Fallows at The Atlantic recently discovered when he got his account frozen for sending files to his Kindle. More »
—>If you want to spread some fiscally sound good cheer this year, consider asking your friends, relatives, and coworkers not to give gift cards backed by the major credit card companies. Why am I making such a sour suggestion? Because a new study from two consumer advocacy groups indicates that most of the population still doesn't recognize what a money trap those little plastic cards can be. More »
—>How are you spending the long weekend? If you're one of 2,000 Arizona Federal Credit Union customers affected in a Visa security breach, we hope you weren't planning a trip out of state. More »
—>The secret of the $23 quadrillion VISA debit errors looks like a specific and not uncommon programming error. Take the insanely large number, if you convert 2314885530818450000 to hexadecimal, you end up with 20 20 20 20 20 20 12 50. In programming, hex20 is a space. Where a binary zero should have been, there were spaces instead. What made this instance special is that it wasn't caught in time. A Slashdot commenter identifying himself as working in the industry explains more about what very likely happened: More »
—>Late last year Verizon started replacing its rebate checks with Visa debit cards. You use them as you would debit cards, only without having to tap in a PIN. Long story short — after using one of these cards I'm convinced they're part of a scam meant to let Verizon and/or Visa skim pennies off the tops of rebates owed to customers because once there's only chump change left on your card, you can apparently no longer use it. More »
—>I hope he cleaned his plate. Jon Seale was another of several VISA customers who were charged $23 quadrillion for mundane purchases. This time it was his July 13th meal a Dallas restaurant, reports KXAS. VISA said a temporary programming error affecting prepaid accounts was responsible for the error . Jon spent the rest of the day calling between Wachovia and VISA to try to clear the $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge. More »
—>UPDATE: The Real Reason Behind The $23 Quadrillion Errors More »
—>Kids these days! Hawkins writes, "My lectures about financial responsibility appear to have failed: yesterday [my teenaged daughter] charged $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 at the drug store." You would think Visa would have caught the error and addressed it, if you were high. What Visa actually did was slap a $20 "negative balance" fee on it, of course. Update: Here's what happened! More »
—>Stephanie bought a $100 Vanilla Visa gift card at her local CVS in Richmond, VA. She went right home and tried to use it to make some purchases online. When the card was declined, she studied the fine print that came with the card: "Funds may not be available for 24 hours after purchase." So she waited the 24 hours and tried it again the next day. Still no luck. When she called the customer service number she was told to go back to CVS. At CVS, a manager told Stephanie (and apparently many others before her) that by using the card within 24 hours she had rendered her card agreement invalid. Bang, there goes $100. More »
—>It turns out that Chun-Li, of Street Fighter fame, does not want to charge you so many onerous fees on your Capcom credit card that attack over and over on your neck like that stupid bitch, Blanka. Just some of them. More »
—>Tired of using a two credit card system to maximize his cash back returns, I did an analysis to determine the single best cash back credit card. Here's what I found: More »
—>Visa has removed Heartland Payment Systems and RBS WorldPay, the two huge payment processors that suffered recent data breaches, from its list of companies that are in compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) rules. It says they can get back on the list when they recertify that they have proper security in place. While this may sound like a significant change in the status of the companies, in reality it does little to change how the three companies do business with each other or with merchants. It's just a way for Visa to protect itself from any upcoming lawsuits by banks and credit unions against the payment processors. More »
—>Video game maker Capcom has partnered with Visa to offer a pre-paid debit card with so many fees that it will shrink your wallet from an E. Honda to a Dhalsim. The hurricane kick of fees, inside. More »
—>Don't be too surprised if you get a letter from your bank or credit union in the next few weeks telling you it's replacing your credit card. If your data was among the latest set compromised, Visa and Mastercard are already alerting financial institutions so they can cancel the account number. More »
—>Visa has revealed a darling new feature that will let consumers authorize debit transactions via song. It's all part of Visa's revised but always-exciting operating regulation 6.2.A.7.b, which now lets you "choose to sing to authorize a debit transaction." Don't worry if the merchant gives you an awkward look, they're just sheepish about their cruddy singing skills. Sing louder to encourage them to join in the transaction-approving fun! (Thanks to Barbara!) More »
—>Remember that guy with the PS3 Sony said was too dusty to repair? The saga continues. More »
—>USAToday says that panic by the credit card industry is squeezing customers who ordinarily would be able to pay their bills — pushing them toward financial ruin and foreclosure. More »
—>Companies love rebates because they are difficult to redeem and easy to forget. But you clever shoppers are getting too good at their game, so instead of paying out your rebate in cash, you'll get something different altogether. Take, for example, Buy.com's supposed "$26 mail in rebate..." More »
- Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
- Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
- Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8
- Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
- Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men's Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
- Sears: Seven7 Women's Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more
- Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
- Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
- BestBuy: Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping
- Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
- Vann's: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
- Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books
—>JD Power and Associates ranked American Express at the top of their 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Customers gave the company high marks in interaction, billing and payment processes, reward programs, fees and rates, and benefits and services, with the first three factors standing out in particular. Capital One and HSBC, which target revolvers with lower credit scores, received the worst marks. Oddly, Discover got second place. People must really like their two-cycle billing (see "Two-Cycle Billing And Why It's Evil"). Full rankings inside... More »
—> Once upon a time, Peter Finch won an Oscar for telling us to go to our window, open it, and yell, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!" Now thousands and thousands of consumers are doing just that, but instead of yelling out their windows, they're yelling at the Federal Reserve in the form of a record breaking number of public comments about some proposed credit card reforms. Not as sexy as yelling like a madman, but far, far more effective. More »
—>Reader Nancy says that Target rejected the 10% coupon she received for being a Target Visa card holder. When she asked why, the cashier told her it had probably been used, but had no more information.
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—>One of the tricks that seasoned travelers know is to always deny the insurance when renting a car. Why? Because the credit card that they are using already comes with insurance that they are familiar with, and because you are required to deny coverage from the rental car company in order to take advantage of your credit card's insurance. But how do you pick a credit card that has good rental insurance? More »
—>We've posted a lot of stories of businesses requiring customers who pay with a credit card to make minimum purchases, or pay a surcharge, or show ID. And as we've repeatedly said, the businesses' merchant agreements with the credit card companies forbids these practices. A reader wrote in to argue that this might not be true, as many businesses contract with third-party credit card processors, and are not bound by the merchant agreement. So we did some investigating. More »
—>Like countless others, reader Ryan is in debt. His debt is to the tune of $1,364. He received an interesting offer from the debt collector who is offering "debt reduction" in the form of a pre-approved Visa card in which his $1,364 debt would be reduced to a $1,200 balance if he accepts the card. He would need only to to pay off the balance under the terms of the credit card to eliminate his debt. Ryan wisely wrote to us to ask if this is a good idea. Actually Ryan, it's a really really really bad idea. His letter and our advice, inside... More »
—>Reader Brandon sent us this picture of a McDonald's violating its merchant agreement by charging a fee for using a credit or debit card. The text reads, "FEE ASSOCIATED WITH CREDIT/DEBIT CARD OF 25¢ WILL BE APPLIED TO CARD TOTAL." More »
—>Yechial wants to know why his Chase BP Visa card, which offers 5% rebates on gas purchases, costs him more to use at BP stations than if he pays with cash. He asked a BP station owner in Pennsylvania about this and the station owner told him it was because credit transaction fees had gone up—"When I told him that I would report his station to BP and to Chase Bank, he said, 'Screw you! I don't care, report me. They are the ones charging us more money for the transactions.'" More »
This afternoon I visited the Kohl's store in Moline, Illinois. When I was checking out I elected to pay with my Visa card. After sliding my card through the card reader I signed the screen when prompted. My cashier asked to see the card, which I handed over to her. She handed my card back to me and then asked to see my identification, to which I respectfully declined. She said I had to show my ID or I could not leave the store with my purchases... More »
I went to IHOP(INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES) on March 30th with my wife to eat. After our meal I went to the counter to pay and presented my Visa as payment. I was asked for photo ID, and kindly declined. I was then told that they were not going to be able to accept my card without photo ID.More »
This last evening I was hungry and decided that I wanted Jack In the Box. So I went to the Manhattan Beach, CA store on Sepulveda Ave. When I pulled up and was beginning to determine what I wanted for dinner I noticed a sign on the order board. It stated that in order to use a credit card it required a 30 dollar purchase, ID and a signature. While I have seen minimum payment requirements before at various liquor stores and restaurants I have never seen one so high especially for a drive thru window...More »
—>Erica writes:
Recently, my husband and I got two new Chase credit cards in the mail. I didn't look closely, assuming that this was a new card for our never-used Chase Mastercard account. This account has been around for seven years, but we prefer another card with a rewards system; the Mastercard account is open only to benefit our credit rating. Therefore, no urgency in activating it — I dropped it in the bill pile to deal with later.More »
—>Thomas writes:
If you don't use your Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA (issued by Barclay's) for an entire year, they close the card and report to the credit agencies that you requested to close it. I've learned that when I called to inquire about a lower rate on 2/26, the agent canceled my account.More »
—>When you get a new or replacement credit card in the mail, you have to call the number on the back to activate it, or else you can't use it, right? Wrong. Despite the sticker on the back that says, "For security purposes, this card is not active," credit card companies are mailing out cards that can be used without phone activation. This is a problem if the letter containing your credit card is intercepted by an identity thief, like what happened to reader PC Guy. The kicker? He didn't even request the card, it was a forcible reissue when his store-branded card switched from Visa to Mastercard. His story, inside. More »
—>Reader W writes in in response to the so-called "retail manager" who said that credit card companies require video proof of cashiers checking ID. More »
—>Andrew writes: I've been having a huge problem with Visa. On November 28th, my wife ordered a $150 giftcard for me as a Christmas present, and we were told it would take up to a week to be delivered. Since we hadn't received it by the 7th of the December, We called and asked a support representative about the card. The rep was nice and reordered another card for us that day, and agreed to have it sent to us via Fedex NextDay Air. On the 15th of December, we received the first card. We contacted Visa support again to see if we would be able to use the initial card, however it had been deactivated. More »
—>Reid, the guy with the Playstation that Sony said was too dusty to repair, is getting his system replaced through his Visa card's extended warranty protection. More »
—>Stores are violating their contract with the credit card companies if they set minimum or maximum charges, or force you to show ID in addition to your credit card (with the obvious exception being for age-limited purchases). Depending on your state and your card issuer, surcharges or "convenience fees" may be banned as well. The best way to straighten these guys out is to report them to the credit card company. People who have done so on the Credit Boards message board say that when they report a merchant, they get a letter from the credit card company and when they go back to the store, the shenanigans have stopped. Here's all the contact infos for the credit card companies to file a merchant complaint, as well as links to merchant agreements, in case you feel like standing up for your consumer rights. Someone better warn Amy's Ice Cream! More »
—>Here's an interesting fact in this Red Tape Chronicles post about how to protect your private data bits from retailers who don't know any better: by the terms of their merchant agreement with credit card issuers, stores are not allowed to force you to present ID in addition to your credit card. More »
—>Here's a different kind of rewards card, instead furthering more material consumption, the Brighter Planet Visa card lets you earn "EarthSmart" points. These points are automatically used every month to fund renewable energy projects. Every 1,000 points funds about 1 ton of carbon offsets. (Carbon offsets are a way of breaking the cost of planting trees, reclaiming methane, building windmills, etc, into purchasable units). There's a 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months, 9.99% or 15.99% APR thereafter, depending on your credit score. You get to feel good, renewable energy gets funded, and Visa and Bank of America get good PR —win-win-win-win. Gotta wonder, if you default on your payments, will they pull the trees out of the ground? More »
—>Last Sunday's 60 minutes had a report by Lesley Stahl about the now-infamous TJX data breach. More »
—>Brandon writes:"In January 2007, I was traveling in Mexico and was mugged, having my wallet and passport stolen. By the time I got back to the hotel and began calling my credit card companies to cancel, the criminal had charged close to $3,000 on my CHASE Circuit City Visa card. I explained to CHASE that the charges were fraud, and they sent me a fraudulent charge affidavit to complete and have notarized. As I couldn't take care of this until I returned from my trip, and had more important things like a passport to worry about, I waited a few weeks before completing the paperwork and during those weeks received about 2 calls a day from CHASE urging me to send the documents." More »
—>David went online last night to pay his Chase VISA bill and was shocked to see a late fee. For 18 months, the bill has been due on the 31st. This month, Chase arbitrarily decided to change it to the 26th. More »
—>According to new court papers, Visa and Mastercard are saying that the TJ Maxx security breach actually affected 94 million accounts—more than double the amount that TJ Maxx reported. More »
—>Credit Slips points out another reason we loathe the Life Takes Visa campaign. You know, the one where everyone moves in blissful synchronicity, swiping their debit cards for small items, then the party stops and everyone glowers at the tardbucket who pays for stuff with cash. More »
—>Blueprint for Financial Prosperity reminds us that savvy consumers can take advantage of credit card companies hellbent on turning a profit. Most credit card companies will go to great lengths to keep their customers happily spending away. Use these tips to make them cater to your every financial desire: More »
—>• Amazon.com offers $30 credit if you get their Visa card. Are there reasons not to get it? More »
—>As if credit card-related debt wasn't a big enough problem in the U.S., Hasbro and Visa want to fuel the fire. Hasbro is launching a new edition of The Game of Life called Twists and Turns that will replace play money with a Visa-branded card. Matt Collins, Hasbro's vice president of marketing, said of the switch, "When we started to design a completely new edition of the popular game, we knew it was also time to reflect the way people choose to pay and be paid - and replacing cash with Visa was an obvious choice." More »
—>Several major credit card companies were successfully and recently class-actioned for charging unnecessary fees for overseas transactions. More »
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity reminds us that credit cards carry more discounts than we realize. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express all offer discounts for cardholders. Discover's discounts are limited to business accounts. More »
—>Reader S. got a call this morning from Citibank. They said her card had been compromised and she needed a new card. When she asked for details, Citibank could only say that an unspecified business had their system compromised, affecting "millions" of Visa and MasterCards More »
The 2006 Deloitte report on gift cards is out, and it's official. Gift cards are the single most popular gift this holiday season. But are they a good buy? Sort of. It seems that due to consumer pressure, and FTC pressure, stores are improving their customer service/disclosure of fees when it comes to gift cards. But that doesn't meant there aren't still a lot of problems. The Montgomery County, Maryland, Office of Consumer Protection which assesses dozens of cards annually, has released their 2006 report. The report evaluates 40 different gift cards, looking for things like whether or not the card can be replaced if lost or stolen, whether the cards have an expiration date, and whether fees are assessed to the card's balance. Basically, you want to avoid the following cards: More »
—>Wells Fargo touts its prepaid VISA gift cards as "the perfect gift" and has sold over a million, but perhaps they would sell a little less if people knew about these terms and conditions, flushed out by Mouse Print: More »
—>Recurring auto-biller won't let you cancel your account online? More »
Sick of paying annual fees, Steve wanted to get out his NWA WorldPerks Visa Signature Card he had going on with US Bank. More »
—>Cingular has decided it prefers you spend your rebate than save it, so now they're going to make you. More »
—>You would think that after Chase goes through the trouble of reissuing new Visa debit cards to replace its MasterCards, they might also take the precaution of deactivating the old card when the new one is activated. Not so, Disappointed in NYC writes. When our reader tried to cancel Vonage, they wanted to charge a cancellation fee. He refused but they still charged his old Chase Mastercard. Chase CSR said the Vonage charge went through but nothing else would. More »
Oh, this is just classic. Phishers are now trying to capitalize on the PIN block crisis. More »
—>We received our happy super fun awesome new Washington Mutual GOLD debit card today. More »
—>We've just been the lucky recipient of exciting news; the PIN range our debit card belongs to has been hacked. To celebrate, Washington Mutual is "upgrading" our debit card "to gold status for free." More »
—>A day without ice cream is like a day without sunshine. More »
—>T'is a pity for the flower of youth to be wrinkled by the radioactive belch of credit card debt. Yesterday, we asked the readers about how college boy L.S. should get out of his $2150 in credit card debt set at exorbitant rates and here's what we think he should do. More »
—>Amy's Ice Cream has a new sign (right) that seems to say that the $10 minimum charge is suggested, not required. The sign we originally posted (left) was one a store manager had replaced the 'official' sign with, according to Steve. More »
—>Our article on the minimum credit card fees charged at Amy's Ice Cream generated quite a little uproar. Amy is pictured, left, helping award Lonnie Williams with the "Best Transition" small business award in Austin. It's made from left-over toffee ice cream. More »
—>My my, how the rocky road of customer service melts and leaves a sticky trail. More »
—>Erik went ahead and consolidated the merchant policies of Discover, Mastercard and Visa, which leads to a startling conclusion. More »
—>We're scratching our heads and going in circles and starting to get dizzy. More »
Having to purchase a minimum amount at stores might not just be annoying, the merchant could also be in breach of contract with the credit card companies. More »
—>The mystery third party transaction software provider implicated in the ATM debit card scam scandal may have been named by VISA. More »
A post about a free laptop deal from Visa on a 'Debt Consolidation' blog is getting a bit of traffic this morning, from both BoingBoing and Digg. The blog author dissects the cost of maintaining the balances required to receive the $850 laptop and comes up with a fee of—over the course of 17 months—$911.95. Sound heinous, right? It is—if you don't have enough previous credit card debt to transfer to the new card. More »
