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Time to scale down

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Time to scale down

Well I’ve finally encountered a situation where I’m annoyed at how many credit card/bank accounts I have. All of my “just in case” scenarios bit me in the butt today…

I went to pick up my daughters from their summer program. In and out 5 minutes. Well in that 5 minutes someone broke out my car window and stole my tote I use for work. Luckily I was wearing my small purse with my IDs, phone and main cards. But unfortunately, I had a wallet in there with my checkbook and cards that I wasn’t using daily but wanted to have nearby “just in case”. For example, not really using Discover, but “just in case” I found myself at Home Depot… I don’t use NFCU for checking but do for savings, so I had that debit card “just in case” I needed cash from the ATM etc. And since these cards weren’t being used every day I had trouble remembering what exactly I had in there. Didn’t catch NFCU in time, and thanks to my $15K CLOC, the $3 in my checking account went a really long way for this jerk.

On the positive side of things, I’m grateful for Discover and NFCU (once I caught it) for their ability to quickly and easily freeze the cards. Chase, not so much. Actually I’m pretty sure the CSR closed my Disney account and opened a new one, which I’ll freak out about later, but just don’t have the energy right now.

So just a cautionary tale I guess... Wish I was at the very least more aware of what I had stored where. The checkbook and debit cards have definitely been more of a pain than the credit cards. I’ve been longing for simplicity lately, never more so than today, as I imagine going into one app and hitting freeze all, but oh well… life of a rewards junkie.

Hope everyone has a great weekend =)

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
willwar14
Valued Contributor

Re: Time to scale down

Don't freak out about Chase, I remember a year ago my father dropped his Marriott card and he didn't notice anything until the statement came in the mail for $12k (yes, 12k in fraud charges), the rep that processed the dispute closed the old card and opened a new one, what they then did was they deleted the old account off the CRAs and then reported the new one with the backdated information. Hope this helps.
CH7 FILED: 08/18/2022, DC: 01/23/2023
Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Time to scale down

So sorry to hear! But I needed to hear bc I'm so guilty of the in/out myself. 

Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Time to scale down

Sorry this happened OP and I understand where you are coming from. Hopefully, you caught everything.

Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Time to scale down

Carrying around too many cards was a big reason for my bad credit in my 20s. I now carry around one Visa or MC, and my Discover. Everything else sits in my safe. I only take out other credit products when I have a shopping plan in place and it makes sense to use a different card.

I also do this because I have a tendency to lose wallets. The last time I had great credit and a stuffed wallet, it took me 20+ phone calls to handle cancelling and issuing new cards.

Sorry you had the same struggle there but if you carry high balances on more than one card, consider limiting yourself to one or two cards in your wallet!
Message 5 of 8
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: Time to scale down

Thanks for sharing OP. Having to deal with the fraud and card changes is frustrating and time consuming.

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Message 6 of 8
driftless
Valued Contributor

Re: Time to scale down

Sorry to hear OP.  I have a couple of cards compromised over the years but never a full wallet or purse.  
CSR | Amex Platinum | EDP | QS (2)
Amex Blue Business Plus
Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Time to scale down

Thanks everyone,  I really appreciate it. 

Message 8 of 8
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