Posts by silentowl7

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wearysurfer78 said:I actually made a similar transition away from Charles Schwab funds for those exact same reasons.
Since I handle my basic savings, checking, and money market accounts over at Bank of America, I decided to opt for the Fidelity Blue Chip Fund for my retirement planning.
As for my supplemental retirement account, I went with a fund managed by Wells Fargo. 😁

Anyone willing to share how much cash is sitting in the mandatory pension funds?
I've been a member since 2002 and I've got $14.

Terry Howard said:So, what, the bank should just hand over the cash $2.00 simply because Ron claims he didn't spend it? If that were the rule, people would be running up massive bills and then playing the "it wasn't me" card just to get their money back. Imagine the chaos.

The difference here is that your situation involves an online purchase, whereas that guy had a signed receipt. Proving you didn't make an online transaction without filing a police report and starting a full-blown investigation is a nightmare—especially since it happened abroad, which makes the whole investigation thing a total headache.

Like I said, it's easiest to just blame the customer. If I order something today, there's a paper trail—exactly when the transaction happened, what time, and which sites were used. Everything shows up during authorization, if anyone actually bothered to look. If cards were bought, there’s gotta be info on where that went down. You'd eventually find a lead. Of course, you'd have to involve the cops to dig into it.

Basically, even if he didn't buy anything (which he can't prove), the guy still ends up paying $2000 for nothing—just because some thief swiped his card info. 👎 👎 👎

I agree—you shouldn't have to pay that. Try appealing their decision or whatever official ruling they sent you. Hopefully, they gave you something in writing. Next step would be finding a lawyer. Not much else left to do...

Those costs aren't your fault. It’s not your job to play detective and figure out where the charges came from. You did everything right—filed the dispute with Bank of America and froze the card the second you saw unauthorized charges.

I honestly don't get how anyone on this forum could side with the bank. 👎
Look, I get that banks have interests, but we all carry credit cards.
I don't monitor my statements every single day—maybe once a week. When I'm swiping at a grocery store or a gas station, who's to say someone didn't just skim my info and use it for some online order? And I'm just supposed to eat that cost? 😕👎 Give me a break, people. Seriously.

Let me tell you about my experience with American Express. I was traveling through the Czech Republic. Once I got home, I spotted a charge I definitely didn't make. It was for about $100. I disputed it with Amex, and they immediately reversed the amount on my Account and started an investigation. They told me the whole process would take about two months. After roughly two months, they sent over a scanned copy of the receipt showing clearly that the signature wasn't mine. For the record, I never lost sight of my card, but obviously, it was cloned or the numbers were swiped. Naturally, they didn't hold me liable for a charge I didn't make.

The bank needs to investigate how that transaction actually happened. They should have a department dedicated to cybercrime or fraud disputes. It's all trackable—where the card was used, who was using it, when the purchase went through... all of it.

It's easy for them to just pin it on the customer so the bank doesn't take a hit. 👎 👎

wanderingharbor61 said:I was just trying to settle my American Express bill through the JPMorgan Chase app—everything is saved in my templates, just a few clicks and I'm done—but it won't let me...😲..it keeps throwing an error saying: invalid call to number 🤷

I haven't even gotten the actual payment slip in the mail yet (the mail carrier hasn't been around lately—you know how it is when the local government is dealing with 😁 nonsense)—so I guess I'm stuck waiting until tomorrow to give them a call..

Honestly, I have no clue if there's been some massive overhaul in the US banking system lately or what...

wanderingharbor61, as far as I know, nothing's changed. I paid my American Express back around Feb 1st and everything went fine, just like any other month. Didn't change a thing except the amount.

Emily Foster5 said:SP+? I think you actually meant S+. That’s just how the client is categorized regarding their assets at Chase Bank.

Yeah, you're right—it was S+. Thanks, Emily Foster5 🙂 So, what other labels do they use when they segment clients by wealth... if you even know?

quieteagle16 said:If that's the case, how do I have a specific amount of dollars sitting on my Maui?

Everyone's making this way too complicated 😁
Debit cards are just Mastercard or Visa Electron. Basically, whatever you spend comes straight out of your checking or savings account immediately. The "issue" is that banks like Chase, Bank of America, or Wells Fargo offer Mastercard for standard checking accounts... while at Chase, for example, you might get a Visa Electron when opening a foreign currency account with a set balance—though at Bank of America, I know you can get a Visa Electron just by having a standard account.
At Wells Fargo, you can also get a Visa Electron as a primary checking card—so it acts just like a Mastercard at Chase or Bank of America—and that’s why everyone is getting confused. Some people have a Visa Electron tied to their local checking account, while others have one tied to their foreign currency funds (USD, etc.).

Our banks just overcomplicate everything😢

Regarding what dobermann1991 asked, yeah, you can grab certain cards if you deposit a specific amount to use for online shopping. Someone mentioned a Bank of America Visa Electron earlier in another thread that works fine for web purchases, whereas a Chase Visa Electron might give you trouble...

You could also just get a credit card—I think Chase issues a Visa Classic—by putting money into a CD, say $1000 (more or less). You get a card with a limit matching that amount, and since it's a credit card, it works everywhere—online or in-store—and they just pull the payment on a specific day each month.

coastalwalker74 said:Hey everyone, just a quick question for the group. I’ve got this standard Mastercard—you know, the kind with the grace period where you can just carry a balance—and I was wondering if anyone’s ever run into issues using it while traveling abroad? Since the charges hit my foreign currency account, and honestly, I’m feeling pretty lazy about manually transferring funds from my main USD checking account to a separate travel account before every trip, I was thinking of just letting the transactions pull directly from my regular domestic account. Is there any risk of getting hit with weird fees or anything else that might eat into my budget? Thanks!

I used mine while traveling and had zero issues. Still—always carry a backup credit card or a debit card just in case. You never know... sometimes a card just won't swipe, maybe once in a blue moon, so better to be safe 😉
Regarding the foreign exchange thing and Chase—you don't actually need any funds in your foreign account at the exact moment you buy something, because the Mastercard works up to your set limit. When the bill hits—say, on June 16th for $300—that's when it pulls from your foreign account. If you don't have the cash in that specific account by the 16th, they'll just convert it from your regular checking. You can check your credit limit on the Chase app or just ask someone at a branch.

Anyone working at Chase want to weigh in here? Stopped by my local branch today to ask about credit cards. Everything seemed fine—they even sent me over to my personal banker. He’s looking through my profile and goes, "Okay, you've got the Gold Visa, the Gold Mastercard, you meet all the requirements, plus the SP+..."

The question is, what the hell is SP+? Is it just some client credit score thing or some other useless metric? 🤷

Susan Ward4 said:Just one thing:

I'm looking at this JPMorgan Chase standard Mastercard—the one with the deferred payment option.
Is it basically a charge card that works just like an American Express (meaning no interest)?

Yeah, 🙂

Arthur Ramirez12 said:Stop talking nonsense.👎

Look, Arthur Ramirez12, if you're so smart, why don't you explain how Chase Bank decides your overdraft limit...
I have an account at Chase, and my overdraft limit goes up every six months—roughly $333—since my salary keeps climbing. I pull in about $2667 a month. I'm on a flexible plan with a limit of $13.
The bank sets the limit themselves based on my last three months of income plus some percentage. I don't know their exact math, but there's zero chance I can just walk into Zions Bancorporation tomorrow, claim I'm on a flexible plan, and demand a $13 limit.

My point stands—overdraft limits are tied to income. It usually caps out at three times what I make, which would be $8.00 for me, so there's no way I could get $13.

So yeah, I still think you're full of it this time... 😁

William Watson5 said:My wife gets her paycheck through Chase Bank, which currently includes their basic starter package for everyone.
As for me, I’m using Wells Fargo right now, and honestly—if I’m being completely candid—it’s been an absolute nightmare of a banking experience. 😠😱
So, here’s the plan: I’m looking to move my direct deposit over to Zions Bancorporation and eventually set up a joint Rockefeller family bundle with my wife.
I was wondering if anyone could walk me through how the overdraft works—specifically, will I be able to access an overdraft up to $13333 (which I believe is about 9.99%), or is the limit going to be strictly tied to whatever my monthly income happens to be?

It'll be capped by your income.

Mark Sullivan62 said:That's not right. If you're transferring money to the prepaid card account through E*TRADE, it shows up instantly. There’s zero waiting period, no "processing days" required, nothing.

Well, now you're being inaccurate too. Sure, when you move funds through E*TRADE to the card account, the transaction hits the credit side immediately, but your available limit doesn't just jump up the same second. At least not for me. It usually takes a few hours—or definitely until the next day...

Robin Wright27 said:I paid off an American Express cash advance early about four months ago. I called them just now to request a new one, but they turned me down—they want me to submit a pay stub first.
I have other loans through Bank of America, plus a Mastercard revolving line, so I assume they're looking at the whole picture since everything is tied to my Bank of America card... am I overthinking this?

They don't necessarily see everything. Does your pay stub actually show those other loans? Or is it clean? Did you miss any payments in the last 6-9 months—like, being late by a few days while you had the loan or right after paying it off? How much credit are you asking for—is the monthly payment just too high for your income? And how much do you usually run up on that American Express?
Did they give you a reason for the denial?

One time they told me no, so I demanded to speak to a manager or someone who actually knew what they were doing because the rejection made zero sense. Turns out the clerk at the desk just completely misunderstood my number of installments and the total amount😢 Naturally, I got the credit.

wanderingharbor61 said:Count me in with the American Express loyalists!

Just got back from my trip abroad, and I ran into one massive expense—we're talking nearly $11,000—and honestly, the thought of lugging that much cash around was just too much for me. So, I put it on my American Express. I gave them a heads-up about the big purchase beforehand, and they cleared it instantly. No drama.

I stay far away from Diners Club, and while I carry my Dell and Visa cards and they work fine, it's exactly what the title says: American Express is king.

P.S.
marko, get in touch, seriously, reach out! 😁

Checking in for the report... 😁 😁
So Goliath, what did you drop ten grand on with your American Express? A used car or something?🙂)))
Come on, spill the details—I'm curious.🙂 We can even take it to DMs.
👍

Kimberly Nguyen said:🙂 🙂
With the Go! service, they actually calculate your limit based on your credit score... I'm not entirely sure how much of a buffer they require you to maintain (it seems a bit more lenient than what they look for when you apply for a standard loan) ...

That whole "three times your salary" rule was how the old-school Visa used to handle things a few years back, but if I recall correctly, they've tightened those reins since then.

My personal banker told me that’s exactly how they calculate it. When I divided my income by three, it matched my monthly take-home pay perfectly. That was about a year ago when they first rolled it out. Who knows if it's still the same today. Anyway, that's what I was assigned.

Regarding the old-school Visa, yeah, you're right—it used to be triple your monthly income.

So, anyone here actually using the Go card? Tell me if your limit is actually three times your paycheck...

We'll find out soon enough, I guess... 😉

Nicole Green77 said:Hi everyone, I just picked up a Go Card with a $900 credit limit, and I’m wondering if there's a way to use it to buy a computer for $1333 using this method:

If I buy half the setup on "Monday"—just the tower for $833—and split that cost over 36 installments... would my available balance on "Tuesday" or "Wednesday" increase by that one monthly payment amount from Monday? If so, could I then use the remaining balance on Wednesday to buy a monitor for $667?

I understand that with a Go Card, you need the full purchase amount available upfront, whereas with Visa, you only need to cover the first installment before paying off the rest later.

If this isn't possible with the Go Card, could someone explain what it's actually useful for? Honestly, at this point, it might just be easier to pay cash.

From what I know about how credit works—and I know a thing or two—you aren't going to pull this off. You've got a limit of $900, but you're trying to buy a computer for $1333. It’s obviously not happening. My understanding is that with a go card, they look at the total debt. Basically, $833 hits your account right away, and then you pay it back in chunks—looks like maybe $23 a month if my math is right. Since you already used up 2500 of your $900 limit, you only have $67 left to spend. Unless someone here knows better...

The whole point of a go card is using it at registers, but your bank gave you a tiny limit. Probably because your paycheck is small or you're already maxed out on other debt—that's why the limit is so low. Honestly, in your situation, just put half on the go card—like those $833—and pay the rest in cash. Or better yet, just use cash so you don't deal with interest...

As far as I know, they usually set the go card limit at about three times your monthly salary. That's just a rough rule of thumb. So if you make $1333, you'll likely end up with a limit of $4000.

I'm not totally sure, but with American Express or Mastercard, the PIN doesn't just show up with the card—it usually takes a few days, maybe 3 to 5... probably just a security thing so nobody can swipe it immediately. 🙂

I'd bet Diners Club does the exact same thing.
Regarding your credit limit, honestly, just call their customer service line and ask them directly what you're cleared for.

Also, if you grabbed a standard Diners Club card, I don't think there's even a spending limit—unlike American Express, unless I've got that wrong? There are cash advance limits, obviously, but for regular spending? Anyone know?

Good luck with the grind 😁

Dana Jackson said:I've got an Amex—no monthly spending cap for me, just whatever cash I can pull out every 30 days. 😕
$333 US / $650 abroad
So, does that mean if I pull some cash out on May 30th... $167 Look, here’s the deal—I pay my bills right on time, say by May 27th, but I won't be able to touch any actual cash until June 30th or maybe even July 1st. Basically, I'm stuck waiting out that whole 30-day window before anything moves.

Dana Jackson, you still have a monthly limit—meaning a cap that resets every 30 days for cash advances. Some cards use daily limits, but Amex works on those 30-day cycles.🙂

As for your other question, yeah—if you take out $167 $30 on May 5th and your limit is $333, you can still use the remaining $167 whenever you want until you hit that ceiling. $167The amount you pulled on May 5th won't be available again until June 5th or so, just like you thought... once that 30-day window passes. Got it? 👍
If anything else is confusing, just ask. ☕

wanderingharbor61 said:silentowl7, for heaven's sake!
Question for you and everyone else here: if I put something like $667 on my Amex Gold, 😁 what's the damage—meaning, what kind of fee am I looking at?

Also, if I pull $667 using my Blue card this month—say, $20—and the statement doesn't even close until the 8th of next month, how much is the fee, and does interest start ticking from the second I grab the cash from the ATM?

Even though I’ve got a mountain of Amex cards sitting in my drawer, I've never actually done this, so I have zero clue how it works.🤷

TXNS 😉!

Hey wanderingharbor61—just for you... 😍
If you raise it... $667 That "pleasure" on your Amex... it's gonna cost you... $30It’s basically a flat 4.5% fee on whatever you pull out—doesn't matter when you do it or what day it is... just a fixed amount, every single time.
Same amount—basically... $30 You'll end up paying for the Blue card too—as far as I can tell—since it works on the exact same revolving principle as that green one I've got. Cash advances aren't tied to the revolving credit line... so whatever cash you pull out hits your bill next month, on top of your regular revolving payment...

Ready when you are... 👍