Category Archives: Credit Cards

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My United Airlines Account & MileagePlus X App were Hacked, My Journey to Restore Access

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Good afternoon everyone.  A few weeks ago, Laura and I were driving to Lake Tahoe for vacation.  During the drive, I started getting emails from the MileagePlus X app (the app where you can earn United Airlines miles for buying gift cards).  The first confirmation email came in at 12:48pm for a $10 Apple eGC.  Then over the next 5 minutes, I received 4 more confirmation emails for $500 Saks Fifth Avenue eGCs.  Uhh oh, this was bad.  Then I got an email from United Airlines that said:

Your MileagePlus account information has been updated – We wanted to let you know your MileagePlus account information has changed. For your security, we can’t specify exactly what was updated, but it may include your address, phone number, password or other details.

Oh boy, now the hacker had signed into my United Airlines account and changed my email or password.  We exited the freeway and stopped at a gas station.  We changed seats so Laura could drive the car and I could call United Airlines about my hacked account and US Bank to report the credit card fraud.  This was the start of my journey to restore access to my accounts.

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My 2 Retention Offers on Citi Strata Premier Credit Card

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Good morning everyone.  A few days ago, the $95 annual fee posted to my Citi Strata Premier Credit Card.  I never use this credit card for purchases (I have other Citi and non Citi credit cards that have better bonus categories and bonus multiples), but I keep this credit card for the ability to transfer my Citi ThankYou Points (TYPs) out to transfer partners.  As part of my routine, whenever a credit card annual fee posts to any of my accounts, I call the credit card company and ask for a retention offer (read my recent post Midyear Review: My Credit Card Retention Offer Thought Process & Results).

Since I haven’t put any purchases on this credit card in several months, I was doubtful that I would receive any retention offers, but I wouldn’t know for sure until I called.  During the call, I told the rep that I was considering closing the account due to the $95 annual fee.  The rep transferred me to the retention offer department.  Surprisingly, the retention offer rep had 2 decent offers available:

1: Receive a $95 statement credit + 1,000 TYPs after spending $1,000 on the credit card each month for 3 consecutive months

2: Receive 10,000 TYPs after spending $3,000 on the credit card in the next 6 months

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Discover It Credit Card $50 Authorized User Bonus (Targeted Offer, SSN Required)

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Good afternoon everyone, I just received the following email from Discover regarding my Discover It Credit Card. If I add an authorized user to my account and the authorized user makes a purchase by October 5, 2024, I will get a $50 bonus.  I believe this offer is targeted since I didn’t see any mention of the authorized user bonus when I signed into my Discover online account and went to the Authorized User page. Last week, Discover had a similar promo with their referral program: Discover It Credit Card $100 Referral Offer, Earn up to $500 / Year (Referral Links Needed).  If you have a Discover It, please share your referral link in that post.

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How to Request New AMEX Gold Card Design: White Gold, Rose Gold or Plastic (Website & App) [Card Art & First Impressions]

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Updated at 9:00am PT on 7/30/24: My replacement AMEX Gold Card in white gold arrived today.  Here is what the replacement card looks like compared to my AMEX Gold Business Card that is the standard gold color.  Both the front and back are much lighter than the AMEX Business Gold Card. Interestingly, the 15 digit card number stayed the same, but the 4 digit security code on the front changed, the 3 digit security code on the back changed, and the expiration date changed.  At the bottom of the post, I added the welcome letter and more details about the $100 Resy Credit and $84 Dunkin Credit.

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Doctor of Credit just published Refreshed American Express Gold Card Now Live, so I thought I would show you how to request the new White Gold design for your American Express Gold Card.  You can also follow these steps if you would like a Rose Gold design, or an 85% recycled plastic design.  The process is slightly different depending on if you are on the AMEX website or AMEX app, but I covered both processes in this post.

To get started on the AMEX website, sign into your account, select your AMEX Gold Card from the top right corner, and then click Account Services.

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Wells Fargo Increasing Out-of-Network ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee from $2.50 to $3.00 (Effective 9/1/24)

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Good afternoon everyone.  I was reviewing my recent Wells Fargo checking account statement and noticed a few updates in the IMPORTANT ACCOUNT INFORMATION section at the end of my statement.  There is good news if you use non-Wells Fargo ATMs for balance inquiries and funds transfers.  I never knew you could do these with out-of-network ATMs (I would just use the Wells Fargo app or website to do that), but the $2.50 fee is going away, effective September 1, 2024.

Unfortunately, there is also bad news if you use out-of-network ATMs for cash withdrawals.  Effective September 1, 2024, the fee is increasing from $2.50 to $3.00 per transaction, and that doesn’t include the fee that the ATM owner will charge you either.

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