Tag Archives: American Express

Chase, Wells Fargo, and other Banks Create Voiceprints from Calls to Prevent Fraud

Which Credit Card

Chase, Wells Fargo, and other Banks Create Voiceprints from Calls to Prevent Fraud

Starting soon, you may hear the following message when you call your credit card company: “This call may be monitored, recorded and processed for quality assurance and fraud prevention purposes.”  The statement is slightly different than the usual, “This call will be monitored or recorded…”  According to a CNBC article published a few hours ago (link), credit card companies (especially Chase and Wells Fargo) are investing in “voice biometric technology to screen calls for signs of fraud.”

The banks can compare the voice on the phone to previously recorded and analyzed phone calls to determine if it is actually you on the phone, rather than an identity thief impersonating you.  The system is even able to recognize voices and determine if they are blacklisted for previous attempts at fraud.   Continue reading

Walmart.com AMEX Offer: 33% off Starbucks and Subway Gift Cards (20-25% off other Gift Cards)

AMEX Offers

Walmart.com AMEX Offer: 33% off Starbucks and Subway Gift Cards (20-25% off other Gift Cards)

(Hat tip to Mark at the Travel Blawg for reminding me to take advantage of this offer)

This offer has been around a while, I mentioned it on September 19 (link), but didn’t plan on taking advantage of the offer until Mark sent me a message.  I looked into the offer (spend $15+ and get $5 statement credit) and it seemed like a good deal.

Walmart.com AMEX Offer

Here are all the $15 gift cards and egift cards that Walmart sells online.  I am a big fan of Subway and Starbucks, so I bought a few of those today ($5 off $15 = 33% discount).

$15 Gift Card at Walmart

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Random News: Many AMEX Offers (Uber), Citi Late Fees and AA Food Discounts, Discover It 5% Cash Back Targeted Promo, $30 Tabbed Out Promo, $50 Alaska Airlines Discount Promo, and Office Depot 33% Off Coupon

AMEX Offers

Random News: Many AMEX Offers (Uber), Citi Late Fees and AA Food Discounts, Discover It 5% Cash Back Targeted Promo, $30 Tabbed Out Promo, $50 Alaska Airlines Discount Promo, and Office Depot 33% Off Coupon

Good morning everyone, here are some random news articles worth mentioning…

The blogosphere is going crazy about the Uber AMEX Offer (Spend $10+ get $10 AMEX statement credit).  Read Frequent Miler’s post to learn how to maximize this promo using multiple AMEX credit/charge cards and buying Uber egift cards.  Make sure to read the comments as well, since the Uber gift cards can only be bought from some Uber accounts.

Uber AMEX Offer

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Requesting an Increased Cash Advance Limit from Chase for Online Serve Reloads

AMEX Serve Logo

Requesting an Increased Cash Advance Limit from Chase for Online Serve Reloads

I’m sure most of you are sick of hearing about Serve and their “cash advance fees” on Chase cards, but I promise this will be the last post about this issue.  Last Thursday/Friday, Serve or Chase started processing online Serve reloads slightly differently than before (link).  As it turned out, no cash advance fees ever posted, but the online Serve reload would decrease your cash advance available balance (link).

If you tried to use a Chase credit card with a cash advance limit smaller than your online load amount or a Chase Ink Bold business Charge Card, your online Serve reload would fail and you would get this error message.

Serve Reload Payment Declined

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False Alarm! Online Serve Reloads are Posting as Purchases (Not Cash Advances)

AMEX Serve Logo

False Alarm!  Online Serve Reloads are Posting as Purchases (Not Cash Advances)

(Hat tip to RRGG for keeping me informed along the way)

It’s been an exciting last 24 hours, but I am happy to share some good news.  According to FlyerTalk (link) and comments on my last post (link), online Serve reloads are not posting as purchases (and earning miles/points/cash back as before).

Serve Reloads Posting as Credit Not Cash Advances

For some reason, online Serve reloads are affecting cash advance balances across many banks, especially Chase.  Even though the cash advance balance changes, no actual cash advance fees are posting.   Continue reading