How Do You Pay for Gas on Your “Rides”?

[Hook#3287]

You guys may know this, but it bears repeating.

When and if a card is hacked, the hackers often put a small charge on it just to see it it goes through successfully.  If it does, then they come back with a big charge.

My most recent hack was with a $30 charge, and I was just lucky and looking and caught it, and took action before a big one could come through. 

One of the things that I like about Capital One is that they send a notification to my phone anytime that a purchase is made.

That way if something is suspicious I can call them about it right away.

Capital One is my main card and has been great with customer service.  I use the charge notification service to monitor my charges.  After putting the nozzle back into the pump slot, before I get in my car or put my helmet on, my phone pings.

I imagine most cards offer this, but I get an email when the card closes monthly.  I go to the website and schedule the payment for the day before due date.

I always pay in full and have never paid any interest on that card since I opened the account probably 15 years ago.

I opened it because I had been using Chase and due to my not hitting the right button, I missed a payment and they charged me an outrageous fee percentage.  When I had discussion with Chase pointing out I had never missed a payment in the past, they wouldn't relent.  I paid the card off, got a Capital One card and have been using it since.  I use the Chase card about twice a year just to see it's working, then go home and pay it off right away.

I did the same mistake with Capital One and when I contacted them, pointing out my history, they refunded the interest right away.

[F6Dave]

Some random thoughts:

• I have my credit cards configured to send an email (text is another option) immediately after every charge. After filling up I get a message within seconds. If I ever see a charge I don't recognize I call the issuer ASAP.
  
• As was mentioned, crooks sometimes make a small test charge to see if it processes. Several years ago the issuer called me after a $5 charge was made from Europe. I told them it wasn't me, and they locked the account, issued a new card, and removed the charge.
  
• I prefer not to use debit cards since the thieves can take money straight out of your account. With a CC the bank has some skin in the game.
  
• I usually check for skimmers, and use tap to pay where available.
• There are cards with great rebates out there. One of mine pays 2% cash back on all transactions.

[F6Dave]

This one surprised me. Every morning, my bank sends an email if my checking account was debited the previous day. One morning, I got a message that a charge was made by a utility company that doesn't even operate in my state. I called the bank and they opened a case, determined it wasn't me, and refunded the money to my account.

Apparently it is easy to use 'Bill Pay' to pay your utility bill with another person's account. If you walk up to the service desk in a Walmart, grocery or pharmacy chain store, show them a utility bill with an account number, and give them the numbers from the bottom of the check your grandma sent you for your birthday, grandma will end up paying your utility bill! The banker I spoke with confirmed it was that easy. It's a good reason to look over your checking statement each month.

I never did find out how my account number was used to pay a utility bill for someone else. It may have been a typo by the store employee making the bill pay entry, or maybe someone got one of the checks I mailed to pay a bill or make a contribution.

[carolinarider09]

Although I had not considered it in reality, all you do need to "send a check" seems to be those two numbers.

I think that are the "routing" number and the "account" number.   They are on the check so, if you have a check from someone it might be that easy.   

I assume there are other things you need to know but the only time I have really done that is when setting up bill pay for another account (Credit Union in my case). 

And, yes, I do monitor my accounts now, almost daily, to see what has transpired.  And I now get alerts on the credit card that cause me to start this discussion.  That I show I caught the draft (well the back did as well).

[Robert]

Interesting conversation, have had a few cards locked when went to the pump and it didn't take the card

 correctly so the CC company locked the card till I could verify it was me. I get alerts on my phone so if

I'm traveling I can see there is a problem and correct it immediately.  I usually keep 2 cards and a debit

card on me. I also carry enough cash to cover most travels but always keep a reserve on the vehicle I'm

driving. One card is a zero intro period card the other a regular card had for years with a low balance. Had

over the years experienced all that everyone was talking about here. Also one other thing about CC

companies and purchases. If you purchase guns or ammo don't be surprised if they close the card at some

banks. I always check the pumps and the CC openings on any pump I use before I put my card in. I also

have situational awareness in shopping like in Home Depot if there who is around me since I have had

purchases done in another city 20 Minutes from the time at charging out at Home Depot 3 times.

CC readers are very easy to read the cards while you shopping. If your traveling leaving the your bike can

be a sketchy Proposition just to pay for gas and the inconvenience of walking back and forth a few times is a

pain.  Have taken lately to have a cc on my phone also just in case, of emergency and also because

Sometimes its more secure to pay with the phone.

[cookiedough]

man we all have gotten scammed or tried to be ripped off at least once it seems like.  ONLY 2x's in my life my CC got hacked 2 purchases I did not make.  My CC company stopped my cards both times, gave me back the fraudulent charges, and issued new cards, no problems.

A few places I know offer say 8-10 cents cheaper per gallon of gas if using cash vs. credit cards which is nice feature if carrying cash.  Also,  I know if say u put in 20 dollar bill to get 20 in gas where u feed a 20 dollar bill or whatever say 10 dollar bill, etc. into a slot, if you can only fill up the cycle say 18 bucks or whatever, just go inside with printed receipt ANYTIME open and they will refund you the 2 bucks back in cash. 

I get 99% of my gas at Costco since around here is 10-20 cents cheaper per gallon than all other places.  Interesting and strange, is in Eau Claire WI where my kids live,  the kwik trips, among others, are usually the same or only say 5 cents higher than the Costco store up there, very odd that here is 15-20 cents cheaper vs up there say at most 5 cents cheaper is all at Costco.