Question
Lately I have been experiencing undue (IMHO) harassment from Bank One in the form of "blocks" put on my card ....
I have had the card for MANY years, carried a fairly decent credit line for many years as well with NO credit problems whatsoever....and no harassment from the various banks running the Mileage Plus cards ....until a couple years ago....
The first thing that started to happen was that they would lock out my card after a few international transactions ... and I learned to call them ahead of time which as worked out most of the time ...
But now it seems that travelling domestically for thanksgiving is enough to set off the alarm at Bank One .... Twice .... over a 24hr period ....
As usual the customer security dept at Bank One was not helpful in pin pointing exactly why the blocks were put in place, why they weren't fully removed after the 1st time.... and what could be done to avoid further problems ... (they did offer to call them each time I travel ... how inept is that !)
Anybody out there with the same issues with MP at Bank One ?
Any suggestions to stop the harassment short of leaving the program ?
Thanks for your insights
Pierre
Answer
I don't use my UA card however I had a similar experience with Citibank for my AA card. After a few embarrassing experiences at stores, I managed to yell loud enough at Citibank to stop suspending my account for "suspicious" activity on a nearly daily basis. I even had a security person cancel my account whilst I was on the phone with him. He insisted on giving me a new number and told me I had no choice. I escalated to a manager and yelled as loud as possible. I still had no choice in getting a new account number but the suspensions have stopped.
Answer
Funny you should bring this issue up, because I have had MP Visa for quite a while without any problems until .......
Just last week I received a call about 'verifying' transactions on my card. I had been charging a lot of small amounts, but nothing drastically different from my usual habit. The transactions they wanted to very was a UA flight (!), a subscription to Money magazine, and something else pretty inocuous. It was all done by voice activated computer, so I don't know what the issue was and don't have the time now to explore it.
On a different note --
MP Visa had a promotion of triple miles for 'quick service restaurants' runing until 11/30. I had been charging a storm a McD's, Subway, etc. Then read somewhere that Starbucks was included. So on 11/30 I charged $200 in $10 gift cards (I often give out to FA, GA, hotel employees as thank you's). Checked my MP statement -- and Starbucks listed the transaction date as 12/1 !!!! :mad: :mad:
Do y'all think this is an issue worth pursuing with MP if they deny the triple miles (which I asssume they will)? I have to go back to the wording, but I would not be surprised if it says the promotion is based on transaction date.
Is it a lost cause ?? My fault for waiting until the last evening, but still....
Answer
Funny you should bring this issue up, because I have had MP Visa for quite a while without any problems until .......
Well, as you know, Bank One and Chase have merged. So, we should expect changes in the way they do business.
Do y'all think this is an issue worth pursuing with MP if they deny the triple miles (which I asssume they will)? I have to go back to the wording, but I would not be surprised if it says the promotion is based on transaction date. Is it a lost cause ?? My fault for waiting until the last evening, but still....
Asking won't hurt. Re-read the fine print, just to make sure whether a transaction vs. posting date distinction is made.
Answer
Funny you should bring this issue up, because I have had MP Visa for quite a while without any problems until .......
Just last week I received a call about 'verifying' transactions on my card. I had been charging a lot of small amounts, but nothing drastically different from my usual habit. The transactions they wanted to very was a UA flight (!), a subscription to Money magazine, and something else pretty inocuous. It was all done by voice activated computer, so I don't know what the issue was and don't have the time now to explore it.
....
My experience with this is that (and I got that from the security folks at MP directly) the transactions they ask you to verify are NOT the ones they are suspicious about :confused: .... the one they are suspicious about is the one you just attempted to process and got denied ..." :rolleyes:
My interpretation is that if they just blocked your account and have you call in "just to confirm you still have your card" (WHICH apparently is their PRIMARY concern) there would be much more customer complaints ....
By cryptically listing you a few transaction and not even giving you the actual merchant name (just the category) they are spreading fear uncertainty and doubt and force you to do some research ...I use my card for EVERYTHING I can including for recurring charges on such things as Internet access providers, cell phones , utilities .... that usually show up in the "misc services" category and have variable amounts every months ..... verifying transactions like those is impossible with the automated system so I end up talking to live human (after 10-15min on hold) and share with them "yet another time" how inept I think the process is. :mad:
(I wonder if they would consider putting in a few "fakes" in the midst just to see if you are paying attention ! :mad: )
On a different note --
MP Visa had a promotion of triple miles for 'quick service restaurants' runing until 11/30. I had been charging a storm a McD's, Subway, etc. Then read somewhere that Starbucks was included. So on 11/30 I charged $200 in $10 gift cards (I often give out to FA, GA, hotel employees as thank you's). Checked my MP statement -- and Starbucks listed the transaction date as 12/1 !!!! :mad: :mad:
Do y'all think this is an issue worth pursuing with MP if they deny the triple miles (which I asssume they will)? I have to go back to the wording, but I would not be surprised if it says the promotion is based on transaction date.
Is it a lost cause ?? My fault for waiting until the last evening, but still....
Did you had to register for this ? when did it started ? I have a lot of starbucks card reloads done with my MP card .... :) :)
Answer
The other posts here have echoed my own recent experiences. I have had a UAL co-branded card from Bank One for years without any fuss.
Recently they stopped payment on a "suspicious transaction", which by itself was ok. But nobody called me about it, and by the time the vendor called me to straighten it out, several days had passed. During this time, unknown to me, Bank One was blocking ALL my transactions. I had (and may still have) a heck of a mess to straighten out, entirely not my doing.
To top it off, today Bank One sent me notice of new terms, which is their right. The most egregarious change is now there will be no written grace period term. That's right, instead of 20 days, they just say you have a grace period if you pay by the "payment date". This could be anything, even one day! A lot of us travellers who are away when the bill arrives could really get whacked with late payment fees, default interest rates, etc.
Additionally they are charging up to 3 percent extra for international transactions, instead of the previous 2.
Personally I am going to close this account, and go with Membership rewards, or Diners Club. I wish I could be more positive about the whole thing, but it's time to bail out.
Yours Truly, Woody
Answer
RE: triple miles for 'quick service restaurants'
Did you had to register for this ? when did it started ? I have a lot of starbucks card reloads done with my MP card .... :) :)
I do not recall if you had register. It showed up as in insert in my monthly MPVisa bill, and it ran from Sept1 (I thinnk) until Nov 30.
Answer
So on 11/30 I charged $200 in $10 gift cards (I often give out to FA, GA, hotel employees as thank you's). Checked my MP statement -- and Starbucks listed the transaction date as 12/1 !!!! :mad: :mad:
.
The transaction date should be 11/30, since that's when you actually bought the gift cards, but most credit card purchases take a day or two to actually post to the account. 12/1 must be the posting date.
Do the terms and conditions for the quick-service restaurant promo mention "transaction date" or "posting date"? I'd imagine the latter is more likely, unfortunately.
Answer
The transaction date should be 11/30, since that's when you actually bought the gift cards, but most credit card purchases take a day or two to actually post to the account. 12/1 must be the posting date.
Do the terms and conditions for the quick-service restaurant promo mention "transaction date" or "posting date"? I'd imagine the latter is more likely, unfortunately.
No, I double checked and the 'transaction date' is Dec1, and the posting date in Dec 2. I think the reason was I went to the Starbucks near closing, and if they 'closed out the register' they might have applied the sale to the next day's sales. (Having worked retail in a previous life, I know that happens).
I think I am scru'd.
Answer
I previously had this card, and it got declined when I was out to lunch. I called them right after, and they said they accidently cancelled both of my cards, when I cancelled my Marriott card. I decided to apply for the Priority Club card, and was asked for a copy of my social security card, and an origional bill from my utility company to verify my address. These had to be mailed in and could not be faxed. After talking with a supervisor they said it did not matter that I already had an account with bank one in the past. I asked about re-applying for the United Card, and she said it would again ask for the extra information. Then she said she could re-open my United card. I asked her to do this in hopes that my priority club card would go through. I hate Bank One, but they have the best point promotions.
Timo
Answer
The other posts here have echoed my own recent experiences. I have had a UAL co-branded card from Bank One for years without any fuss.
Recently they stopped payment on a "suspicious transaction", which by itself was ok. But nobody called me about it, and by the time the vendor called me to straighten it out, several days had passed. During this time, unknown to me, Bank One was blocking ALL my transactions. I had (and may still have) a heck of a mess to straighten out, entirely not my doing.
To top it off, today Bank One sent me notice of new terms, which is their right. The most egregarious change is now there will be no written grace period term. That's right, instead of 20 days, they just say you have a grace period if you pay by the "payment date". This could be anything, even one day! A lot of us travellers who are away when the bill arrives could really get whacked with late payment fees, default interest rates, etc.
Additionally they are charging up to 3 percent extra for international transactions, instead of the previous 2.
Personally I am going to close this account, and go with Membership rewards, or Diners Club. I wish I could be more positive about the whole thing, but it's time to bail out.
Yours Truly, Woody
And to add insult to injury, I've found that Bank One likes to move my due date forward a day or two every few months. This cycle, my payment due date moved from the 10th to the 8th. I moved from the 12th to the 10th just a couple of months ago. It's not a huge deal, but a real hassle to worry about when you're traveling.
Answer
It is just strange but UA Visa has called me three times so far to verify my transactions. One of the calls came only a few minutes later than another! I don't know what triggered them at all, but I hope they aren't so stupid as to suspend my card without a reason...
Answer
And to add insult to injury, I've found that Bank One likes to move my due date forward a day or two every few months. This cycle, my payment due date moved from the 10th to the 8th. I moved from the 12th to the 10th just a couple of months ago. It's not a huge deal, but a real hassle to worry about when you're traveling.
i'm on my second banc one ual card
and the exact same thing happened to me
i made an online transaction
it was deemed suspicious
(which i could have understand if I was buying porn, but amazon.com?)
and my card was blocked
so the next day im at a restauarant
card is no good
so i called
and they unblocked the card and gave me 2500 miles