Unauthorized Charges: I don’t remember that…

This all started a few weeks ago when I was reviewing my spending activity on my Citi PremierPass Elite card, something I try to do every few days. While most of the charges looked normal, two charges caught my eye:

• One charge on 3/2 at a department store for $200
• One charge on 3/3 at a baby store online for $30

I have only used this card for one purpose — travel spending — and so these charges immediately stood out. Furthermore, I would certainly remember spending $200 at a department store, and (thankfully) have no reason to be spending money at a baby store. Despite the fact the card was still  in my possession, I had been hit with fraud. 

Credit Card Fraud Protection

I was not particularly concerned about the unauthorized charges, though, as federal law offers significant protection against credit card fraud. The FTC maintains a comprehensive website that provides a great deal of information on credit card rights, but their page on avoiding credit card fraud keeps it simple: “By law, once you report the loss or theft, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges. In any event, your maximum liability under federal law is $50 per card.”

Citibank even takes it a step beyond federal law, though, promising on my card that I can: ”Shop anywhere and never lose a penny on unauthorized charges. With $0 Liability you won’t pay for any unauthorized charges made on your Citi credit card.”

Citibank Customer Service

So when I noticed the fraudulent charges, despite the fact that it was after midnight on a weekend, my immediate move was to contact the 24-hour service line on the back of my card.  I expected this to be a simple call: cancel and reissue the card, dispute the fraudulent charge. Didn’t turn out that simple, though.

First problem — there was a clear language barrier between the customer service agent and myself; English was clearly not his first language. Without discussing the merits of outsourcing and international call centers, I have found that patience can usually work around these problems. This call, though, was particularly challenging.

Pardon Me?

Rather than allow me to begin the process of disputing the charge, he told me that I needed to contact the merchant first. My reaction was essentially, “pardon me?” He wanted me to contact the two companies and ask them why they were charging my card. I can’t for the life of my figure out what calling them was going to accomplish for me. It is not like the department store is going to refund me the money based on my word — there is an established procedure for dealing with this, and that is through the charge dispute process. Furthermore, it is not my job to follow up on fraud charges — that is what Citibank is here for.

The more ridiculous part of the conversation came when I pointed out that there had been two charges at two separate companies on two separate days — that it looked like someone had my credit card information andthat my card was compromised.

“Compromised” must be a buzz word they train on, as he immediately asked me to hold on for a moment, and came back essentially telling me that he had checked the  information on his end, and that the card had not been compromised. I have no idea what he checked, but apparently it reassured him that I had nothing to worry about. When I tried rephrasing my request, he kept saying that everything was fine and the “he didn’t understand my concern.”

This went on for a while, and I began to  sense this conversation was not going to accomplish what I wanted it to. I was rather annoyed that Citibank seemed to be placing so much of the burden for dealing with this on me.

Customer Service, Take Two

I tried calling customer service again on Monday during normal business hours and got a much more helpful agent, who immediately noted the disputed charges and offered to cancel and reissue me the card without being prompted. She told me that they would mail me the forms necessary to officially dispute the charge, and that I should receive my new card in a few days. Strangely, she also recommended that I try contacting the merchants, for reasons that are still entirely unclear to me.

So I figured what the heck, I’ll try contacting the merchants. The call was about as pointless as I expected it to be — the customer service agent at the department store was confused with what to do with me, and first sent me to the dispute department for their own credit card. Eventually I reached a very nice man who apologized for the inconvenience and promised to block future orders from the card. However, he said I still needed to dispute the charge with my credit card company (duh).  I suppose my call helped the department store out (marginally), but it seemed like something my credit card company should have been doing instead of me.

Process Moves Forward

The rest of the process has been pretty straightforward, if not excruciatingly slow:

• Citi got the new card and dispute form to me within a matter of days
• I filled out the form and mailed it back to Citibank
• After about two and a half weeks, I received a temporary credit to my account while they “investigate.”

Hopefully, this is the last I will hear of this matter. Fraud happens — it is an unfortunate reality — and it is an inconvenience in itself, given that I was initially out the money until Citi provided a temporary credit and I also had to deal with changing the credit card number at various merchants.

Customer service can be critical in these experiences, though, and Citibank unfortunately just made the experience more frustrating — the two calls left me feeling like I was running in circles.

I would love to hear about anyone else’s experiences — feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Hands down, the Citi mtvU card is one of my favorite credit cards as a student. With the start of the school year, I thought it might be a good idea to mention this card again and throw in some new information.

I have covered the Citi mtvU Visa card in the past, but in a nutshell, the card is a student credit card from Citibank that offers extra rewards for spending in certain categories. All rewards are in the form of Citi ThankYou points, which, when used judiciously, can be valued at about 1 cent each. The part that makes the card special is that it offers 5 ThankYou points per dollar bookstores, movie theaters, and restaurants, meaning you can get about 5% back on purchases in those categories. It also provides bonus points for a strong GPA and for paying on time.

Limited Time Offer

Over at FatWallet.com, someone recently posted a link to a great limited-time offer from Citibank that coincides with the start of the traditional school year:

Earn 10 ThankYou Points on every dollar spent at restaurants (including fast food), bookstores, record stores, movie theaters and video rental stores for the first 3 months, 5 ThankYou Points per every dollar spent thereafter on same purchases.

So, in other words, for the first three months you have the card, you can earn up to 10% back in rewards in the top categories, double the normal amount. This is a great offer — especially if you’re about to drop a couple hundred dollars on college textbooks ($400 dollars in textbooks –> $40 in rewards!).

Citibank is also offering a special offer on its Citibank Dividend Platinum card — 10% cash-back at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, and utilities; while it is a nice sign-up offer, the normal cash back rate is 2%, which makes the Chase Freedom card seem like a better long-term card.

You may be wondering if the offer is legitimate — I had trouble finding it on Citibank’s web page, but when I searched “Citi mtvu” on google, the sponsored result from Citibank led to this offer.

How do you get the GPA bonus?

The Citi mtvU card also offers ThankYou Points for earning good grades (2,000 points for 4.00, 750 points for 3.50 – 3.99, 500 for 3.00 – 3.49), but they do not make it very easy to figure out how to go about getting those points. When I first got the card, I had to ask them to mail me a form, but I have since found that someone posted a copy online (see the Quick Summary area of that FatWallet discussion).

A quick note: My school provides us a copy of our grades online, but does not include a GPA on that particular page. For the past few semesters, I have just been sending them that unofficial page, and they have accepted it without problem (there is a spot on the form to write the GPA). However, this last time around they sent me back a letter that said they needed the GPA printed on the page — so keep that in mind when trying to get these points. That being said, they seem to be fine with a self-printed unofficial transcript.

Citi Thank You Points

The rewards you get are in the form of Citi Thank You Points, which is both a blessing and a curse. It is nice in the sense that you can pool your thank you points from multiple Citibank sources - nice if you have a Citibank checking account or plan on using a different Citi card in the future. It is a bit of a curse in the sense that you have to redeem the points for various rewards with different values, and it can be difficult to find out what is the best value.

If you have student loans, the choice is pretty easy. ThankYou Network points can redeemed 1-1 for rebate checks you can send to your student loan company (10,000 points — $100 reward)

Otherwise, your best bets are either going to be high-value gift cards (10,000 point level) or travel rewards — but more on how to make the best use of the travel cards later.

Great Card for Students

The Citi mtvU card remains one of my primary cards — especially given that it offers 5% back on most Amazon purchases as well.

What card do you recommend for students?

I was reviewing my credit card statement for my Chase Freedom card, and I was excited to note that it appears that Chase has made the card even better.

The Chase Freedom Card

One of my favorite credit cards for the last year has been the Chase Freedom Visa Signature Card, which offers 3% back in your top three of fifteen categories, and 1% back on all other purchase. What makes the card even better is that if you wait until you have $200 in rewards, they will throw in an extra $50, effectively raising your potential rate of cash back. With no annual fee, it has quickly become one of my favorite credit cards.

The fifteen categories from which your top three can come from on the Chase Freedom Card are:

• Department Stores
• Gas & Convenience Stores
• Beauty Salons/Spas
• Fast Food
• Video Rentals
• Utilities
• Drugstores
• Telecommunications
• Gym Memberships
• Dry Cleaners
• Grocery Stores
• Cable/Satellite TV
• Movie Theaters
• Pet Supply Stores & Veterinarian Offices
• Local Commuting

Chase makes it even better

Chase recently introduced a new program called “Chase Exclusives” designed to encourage customers to open Chase checking accounts. With the “Chase Exclusives” program, if you have a Chase checking account, you are entitled to the following perks:

• The Chase Debit Card Rewards Program
• Up to 0.25% off a Chase mortgage
• Better rates on Chase Certificates of Deposit
• Up to 1% off private student loans
• Up to 0.50% off Chase home equity loans
• Free retirement review
• Up to 0.50% off Chase auto loans
• Earn triple points in your top five categories on your Chase Freedom Card

It is that last benefit that is most exciting to me. If you have a Chase checking account, then your Chase Freedom Card automatically gives you 3% back on your top five categories. Just as Chase promised, this was automatic — my statement already shows me earning 3% back in my top five categories, which for last month included Drug Stores, Gas & Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores, Local Commuter Transit, and Quick Service Restaurants.

So do you open a Chase Checking Account?

This worked out great for me — I already had a Chase checking account. But if you don’t have one, is it worth it to open one? That’s obviously what Chase is going for with this promotion. Their checking account products are similar to those at most major banks — the most basic checking account requires direct deposit to waive any sort of monthly fee. I think its important to look at your own situation to find out what works for you, but I suspect in many cases it is worth it to open the Chase checking account to complement the Freedom card if you can find a way to waive the monthly fee on the checking account.

College students spend a lot of money. Friends of mine occasionally ask me what credit card I would recommend, and while it usually makes me cringe to say it, my answer is always the mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students from Citibank. Despite the annoying name and card design, this card has probably the greatest reward structure for college students, and has been the primary card I have used in college. What makes it special? The card offers rewards for book purchases, restaurants, good grades, and paying your bill on time.

ThankYou Points and the Citi mtvU Card

The mtVU card offers Citi ThankYou points as rewards — you can view the current catalog on the ThankYou Network website, but the best value usually comes from $100 gift cards, student loan rebates, or travel rewards. I plan on covering ThankYou Points in more detail later, but the bottom line is that if you save your points and redeem wisely, you should be able to get about $100 in rewards out of 10,000 points.

You can earn points for a variety of activities, but most significantly it offers 5 ThankYou Points per dollar at restaurants and bookstores — that is effectively a 5% reward on all your textbooks and restauraunt charges, which can be huge for a college student.

• Earn 5 Thank You Points per dollar for purchases at restaurants, fast food joints, bookstores, and selected entertainment categories.
• Earn 1 Thank You Point for every dollar spent on any other category.
• Earn up to 2,000 Thank You Points a semester for maintaining high grades
• Earn 25 Points a month for paying your bill on time (which you should be doing without any incentive!)

Watch The Points Add Up

I often have trouble convincing friends that credit card rewards are worth caring about. But consider the following:

• Spend $100 each month at restaurants, bars and movie theaters = 100 * 5 * 12 = 6000 Thank You Points over the year
• Spend $400 each semester on textbooks = 400 * 5 = 2000 Thank You Points over the year
• Pay your bill on time each month = 25 * 12 = 300 Thank You Points over the year
• Keep a 4.0 grade point average each semester = 2000 * 2 = 4000 Thank You Points over the year
• Spend an additional $100 each month on other items = 100 * 12 = 1200 Thank You Points

Photo by lianza

That would bring you 13,500 Thank You Points for doing things you would have done without the card — and those 13,500 Points are enough for over $100 in gift certificates to leading merchants.

Other Details and Tips

• It should be noted that the card has no annual fee.
• The card is targeted towards students, and Citibank may request verification of your enrollment. Any level student (undergraduate, graduate, professional, etc.) counts as a student for the card.
• What doesn’t count as a book store: Barnes and Noble.com (in store counts)
• What does count as a bookstore: all purchases at Amazon.com. That’s right — as long as you purchase from the store itself and not any affiliates or merchants, you’ll get 5 ThankYou points, regardless of whether its a book, a DVD, or an entire television that you buy.
• The breakdown for the GPA Bonus: Maintain a GPA between:
  • 2.50 – 2.99 – get 250 points
  • 3.00 – 3.49 – get 500 points
  • 3.50 – 3.99 – get 750 points
  • 4.00 – get 2,000 points
• To get the GPA bonus, Citi will want you to provide a copy of your transcript/report card for the semester. Regardless of whether you are on a semester or trimester system, in my experience you are limited to two GPA bonuses a year. To submit the grades, you can call Citibank to get a copy of the form, or look over at the FatWallet Forums, where they also keep a copy of the form in the quick summary area of this thread.
• Finally, my standard warning with regards to credit cards: especially for college students, I strongly believe that you should only use a credit card if you are responsible enough to pay it off monthly. Getting into credit card debt is a very bad idea, and a rewards card is not a good card to get into debt on. Consider this card for responsible students.

Photo by Dan Phiffer

• When traveling abroad, it is a very good idea to write down the customer service number for your credit card companies and keep it somewhere separate. Think about it: if you lose the card, you’ll no longer be able to look on the back of it for the number.
• When you lose your credit card, you should immediately contact your credit card company. Most major banks now maintain 24 hour lines, so it should not matter what time zone you are in.
• While its true that your liability is limited in the event of your card being used without your authorization, it will create far less of a headache if you get the card shutdown right away. Furthermore, your credit card company may be able to (for a fee) expedite a card to your abroad or help you immediately access money.
• Call Collect. Most banks have not only a 1-800 number, but also a direct number for use while abroad that will accept collect calls at no cost, so dial them up from a land-line phone collect and let them pay for the call (why do they do this? It is in their interest to get stolen/lost cards shut down as quickly as possible, so they want you to be able to call even if you have lost all your money).The collect call number is usually listed on the back of your card as for “Outside the U.S:”. The collect-call numbers for some banks:
  

  Bank of America: 1-757-677-4701 (source)

  Citibank Credit Cards: 1-605-335-2222 (source)

  Chase: 1-302-594-8200

• Don’t have your bank’s number? If you have internet access, just look it up. However, if you have your cell phone, try texting Google at 466453 — (more information on the free service can be found here). Essentially, if you text “Bank of America 12345″ to Google, it will look up in the phone listings the number for the BoA branch in zip code 12345 — calling that local branch, even at two AM local time, can get you forwarded to the general customer service number.

In the interest of full disclousure, I hadn’t completley followed my own advice — I used to keep emergency bank numbers in my phone, but had let that go — but after my experience in Germany, I’ve started following these steps again.