do the credit card companies know what we buy?

[bigblue7722]

I know some people have said that credit cards have been  closed due to people buying gift cards for ms to get the sign up bonus. So how can they tell we bought a gift card? I usually just don't buy a gift card I buy something else or sometimes buy them for odd amounts. Does that help at all?

[Anonymous]

Depends on the level of reporting from the merchant. Amex knows that I buy all the time from Staples.

[longtimelurker]

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@MstrPTato wrote:

Depends on the level of reporting from the merchant. Amex knows that I buy all the time from Staples.

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Right, if Level 3 reporting is used (which is apparently more common now at Staples), the cc gets an itemized list of the purchase.   I assume this is only looked at if something else has caught their attention, but in theory they could have code to watch for gift card transactions.

As for buying for odd amounts, or buying with stuff, I no longer bother.   If they are looking, they will not be fooled, and they are smarter than to only look for exact multiples of 503.95, 504.95 and 505.95

[bigblue7722]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@MstrPTato wrote:

Depends on the level of reporting from the merchant. Amex knows that I buy all the time from Staples.

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Right, if Level 3 reporting is used (which is apparently more common now at Staples), the cc gets an itemized list of the purchase.   I assume this is only looked at if something else has caught their attention, but in theory they could have code to watch for gift card transactions.

As for buying for odd amounts, or buying with stuff, I no longer bother.   If they are looking, they will not be fooled, and they are smarter than to only look for exact multiples of 503.95, 504.95 and 505.95

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Thats pretty interesting. I did not know there were different levels of reporting. Thankfully i only have one sign up bonus left to get for now lol. I am about half way thru my 1k spend for chase hyatt

[pipeguy]

Credit card companies do a lot of data mining, as do banks having to do with check and debt usage. There are red flags they look for having to do with "risk" such as casinos, strip clubs, cash advances, etc., but unless you start to show stress in your ability to pay your bills, credit lines are are usually not adjusted based on how you spend. The primary reason for lender data mining is to target you for advertising and other products such as "add on's" like insurace.

Ever wonder how google knows what ads to pop onto your screen or how Verizon knows what banner to cross your cell phone? - You give them that information with where you shop or visit on your interaction with them "always watching" in the backgroud - lenders do the same.

(edit add)  Test it out - spend a hour checking out auto isurance on the net, look at different sites and quotes and see if for the next couple of days you don't get a bunch of auto insurance ads on your screen. IE offers "InPrivate Browsing" and most other browsers offer something similar - why is that needed?

[longtimelurker]

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@pipeguy wrote:

Credit card companies do a lot of data mining, as do banks having to do with check and debt usage. There are red flags they look for having to do with "risk" such as casinos, strip clubs, cash advances, etc., but unless you start to show stress in your ability to payyour bills, credit lines are are usually not adjusted based on how you spend. The primary reason for lender data mining is to target you for advertising and other products such as "add on's" like insurace.

Ever wonder how google knows what ads to pop onto your screen or how Verizon knows what you canner cross your cell phone? - You give them that information with where you shop or visit on your interaction with them "always watching" in the backgroud - lenders do the same.

(edit add)  Test it out - spend a hour checking out auto isurance on the net, look at different sites and quotes and see if for the next couple of days you don't get a bunch of auto insurance ads on your screen. IE offers "InPrivate Browsing" and most other browsers offer something similar - why is that needed?

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Right. but detailed data mining by cccs rely on level 3 reporting, or else they just have coarse grain data at the store level (which is also fine, longtimelurker spends a lot at store X, so ads for similar stores might be good).    And of course for stores, things like loyalty cards are excellent, I know what you buy and who you are, so I can send you ads and coupons with a fair amount of success,