northernraven49 said:As for the medical side of things, it actually seems like we're turning a corner. Her skin is looking a bit better. She’s scheduled for another round of therapy tomorrow and the day after, which means we’ll squeeze in one last walk today before being sentenced to three straight days stuck in a hospital room again. She’s eating quite a bit—apparently a side effect of the corticosteroids—and her blood counts are finally starting to fill back up. Her arms and legs look completely foreign to me right now; it's just bone and skin. The fever is still giving us trouble, though—it keeps spiking up to about 100 degrees. But honestly, she is so incredibly spirited. There isn't a hint of anxiety in her. She's still my same old Leona, the kind of kid where everything just feels easy. It makes me so damn proud to be with her, playing games and just joking around... I just really hope the worst is behind us and that this nightmare doesn't come back to haunt us. Kisses.
@Thomas Gonzalez32 ... listen, my mother used to work for a corporation that had this specific, high-level agreement with their bank regarding their Visa Mastercard usage. While she was on the payroll there, her card statements were handled just like yours—everything was processed through the company, and those foreign transaction fees were billed separately on a different date entirely. It was a whole setup. But then, once she finally retired, the bank took forever to fix it. I mean, it took months, maybe even a year, before they actually transitioned her account back to a "normal" status. If I recall correctly, it only happened because her old employer finally notified the bank that she wasn't an active employee anymore, but honestly, that was ages ago so I can't be 100% certain about the timing...
Look, a debit card is just a debit card—you’re spending the cash you actually have sitting in your account right then and there, so the money is gone immediately...
Now, if we're talking about Diners Club, Mastercard, or American Express... those are credit cards. Depending on the specific terms, you might be dealing with revolving credit, but the gist is that when you swipe, you aren't paying right away. You get the bill the following month, specifically on whatever billing date you picked out when you first signed up... Honestly, the practical difference is almost nonexistent for most Americans 😁... though if you're traveling abroad, you'll definitely have an easier time with Mastercard since they're accepted at way more locations... I personally carry both a Mastercard and an American Express, but let's be real, I end up reaching for the Mastercard most of the time.
Look, I’ve been carrying their Visa Mastercard for fifteen years now... and I specifically set my billing date for the 16th back when I first got it. My statement always closes on the 6th—which gives me a solid ten-day buffer before the actual payment hits.
So, this whole thing you're talking about—this idea that they're generating notifications or closing out the month a full month before the due date? It honestly makes zero sense to me.
My husband uses the exact same card, my mom has one, and basically everyone I know uses it too, and we all have the exact same setup.
Look, man, you guys are making this way more complicated than it needs to be... Visa and Maestro are just brands. Period. => Banks use them based on whatever specific contracts they've signed with the networks... whether a card ends up being debit, charge, or revolving depends entirely on the individual bank's policies, not the brand itself.
It’s pure bliss! Even though we are still miles away from solving our actual problem and everything remains incredibly uncertain, we are absolutely over the moon just to have had those two hours outside of the sterile room. Just imagine being stuck in a hospital for 45 days—36 of which were spent trapped inside a sterile isolation room. I promised myself I wouldn't complain, I really did, but honestly, we were running out of ways to pass the time or even keep ourselves sane. At least now the days might move a little faster.
The core situation hasn't changed, but since our blood work is looking good, well—we got permission to step out. And we are beyond happy about it.
1. No... just look back at post number 8... what exactly is supposed to change once January 1st, 2010 rolls around? 🤷 2. 😕 3. Look, if you have money sitting in our local banks or even an international one, and you've got a card linked to that account, you can pull cash from any ATM that accepts that specific card type... as for the fees, well, that just depends on whatever bank issued your card.
Look, the topic is already live... you can find the answer if you just scroll up through the previous posts... but if you want the bottom line, here it is: bank secrecy (Switzerland)
northernraven49 said:Here is the update for today:
White blood cell count is at 4, platelets are down to 64k.
She’s a little more alert, which means there was a window where she actually managed to sit up in bed, talk to us and her sister, and even finish half a bowl of food. We did have some issues with her digestion—she hasn't had a bowel movement in four days—and now she's started coughing. We'll see what happens tomorrow; I'm just praying it's nothing serious. My stomach felt a bit bloated tonight, too. I really hope I'm just imagining things and that it isn't her liver or spleen swelling up. The lead doctor is coming back tomorrow. She hasn't seen her during this absolute nightmare phase with her skin, so we'll see what her take is. Temperature hit 38°C. We've stopped the pain meds for now; let's see if we can manage without them.
This past summer, I was moving some cash over via wire transfer into my checking account at JP Morgan Chase (which, by the way, hits you with a 1% fee) around 10:00 AM... I honestly expected it to take a day or two to clear, but lo and behold... the money was already sitting in my account by that afternoon...
So, it should work just as fast for you too... since the funds are running through the exact same clearing system (the Fedwire network, right?)... It’s not like the money goes into some central government clearinghouse first and then slowly trickles down to JP Morgan Chase 😁 like it's trying to squeeze through a tiny little crack in the door.
northernraven49 said:We had another sit-down with the doctor today. Honestly, every single time they announce they want to talk to both of us, I feel like I need three Xanax just to keep my cool. But, there wasn't anything new, and nothing truly catastrophic. Aside from the goat, everything else is pretty much what we expected—within the normal range, and nothing to panic about just yet. We’re still dealing with a mountain of meds for the kidneys, blood pressure, and whatever else... The temperature hasn't topped 100.4 lately, so we're praying that's a sign things are finally starting to stabilize.
Charles Ramos7 said:When you mention the "brand," I get the feeling it's less about the card issuer and more about their local banking partners. You're spot on; you need backup cards when traveling. Honestly, credit cards are so widely available these days that I don't see why anyone would insist on using just debit, let alone blame the bank when a specific card doesn't go through.
From what I've gathered, the whole thing hinges on the issuing bank—in this specific case, Microsoft...
Because if you actually take a moment to compare a Microsoft card issued by, say, Goldman Sachs versus one from JP Morgan Chase or Citigroup => you'll see there's a massive range. We're talking about everything from standard debit cards to charge cards and even revolving credit... some debit cards are tied to foreign currency accounts, while others are linked to basic checking accounts... some let you shop online without a hitch, while others leave you stuck at the checkout screen... basically, there are huge discrepancies here...
If the card network strictly dictated all the terms, there wouldn't be any variation at all.... right? Or am I totally off base? 🤷
Man, listen... I have a buddy who was traveling through the States—around Los Angeles—about two years back. He was carrying a Visa debit card from Citigroup, while his girlfriend had the exact same type of card, just issued by JP Morgan Chase. She had zero issues; she could pay for stuff and pull cash from ATMs everywhere without a hitch. But him? Total nightmare. He couldn't pay for a single thing or grab any cash, except for one random eyewear shop. To make matters worse, Citigroup kept calling him, thinking his card had been skimmed because he was frantically trying to use different ATMs and shops multiple times a day just to get something to work. Honestly, I don't even want to hear what 😁 said to them when they called. On the flip side, a friend of mine was on the other side of the country using her Citigroup card perfectly fine, but her JP Morgan Chase card was completely useless. And now what 🤷...
The bottom line is this: whenever you head overseas, especially if you're crossing an ocean to another continent, you absolutely MUST have several different cards on you.
What I'm trying to get at is this... if you see that Visa logo on an ATM or a credit card terminal => you should technically be able to use that card, whether it's credit or debit, because that's what the brand stands for.
