Want low limit credit card for Internet purchases

[Anonymous]

Bank of America provides an EXCELLENT option for your purposes....it's called ShopSafe.

With ShopSafe you can instantly create Virtual Credit Cards.  It is a completely unique number, including the CVV2 code....but you get to tell it what the CL is and when it expires.

So, you can issue it for EXACTLY the amount of your purchase and have it expire in 60 days.  That CC number will only authorize for up to the amount you specifed as the limit and will only work for the time period you provided as the expiration.

You can later add more CL to the limit if you choose....say you want to continue to use the same number from time to time.  Or, you can issue a completely new and unique CC number for every transaction.

You could set up the ShopSafe card with a $500 generic limit or for $27.67.  I love this feature and use if for any online, phone or fax order that I use a CC on.  You have all of the protections against fraud, you can still do merchant purchase disputes....and yet all of your purchases come on your 1 statement for easy management.

When you login to BoA you can view all of your ShopSafe numbers, their limits, remaining unspent amount...you can cancel or delete any of them or change/edit CL's and expiration dates.

IME 

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Bank of America provides an EXCELLENT option for your purposes....it's called ShopSafe.

With ShopSafe you can instantly create Virtual Credit Cards.  It is a completely unique number, including the CVV2 code....but you get to tell it what the CL is and when it expires.

So, you can issue it for EXACTLY the amount of your purchase and have it expire in 60 days.  That CC number will only authorize for up to the amount you specifed as the limit and will only work for the time period you provided as the expiration.

You can later add more CL to the limit if you choose....say you want to continue to use the same number from time to time.  Or, you can issue a completely new and unique CC number for every transaction.

You could set up the ShopSafe card with a $500 generic limit or for $27.67.  I love this feature and use if for any online, phone or fax order that I use a CC on.  You have all of the protections against fraud, you can still do merchant purchase disputes....and yet all of your purchases come on your 1 statement for easy management.

When you login to BoA you can view all of your ShopSafe numbers, their limits, remaining unspent amount...you can cancel or delete any of them or change/edit CL's and expiration dates.

IME 

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Citibank offers a similar service called "Virtual Account Numbers," where you can generate a number with restrictions you specify: you can get a number that will only work one, one that will only work with a particular merchant, one that will only work up to a certain dollar limit, etc.  I think most big credit card companies probably offer something similar.

[Anonymous]

A big thanks to you and all the people on this thread who offered suggestions. Am contacting the bank that issued credit cards to lower credit limit.

[gpeach]

Never assume it can't happen to you. It did to me. They got ahold of my m/c debit card number and drained my account and used all my overdraft up too. Just last month. I still had my card on me and they somehow they went in person to different Wal-Marts thousand miles away from me. Used it as a credit card. Don't know how they got my number. Or how they could make a card up. Why they did not have to show ID? I use a credit card or cash now. Had they did that one day sooner my mortgage would have bounced!

My bank was great and it was resolved quickly on my account. I wonder if anyone ever got caught? The highest charge was over 500 and the lowest was mid 200's. I would think thousands of dollars in one day would lead to an arrest of some sort. 

[smallfry]

The virtual accounts and the shop safes usually work but there is no guarantee the vendor cannot charge more or charge through the period described. I would never use a debit card esp. online. OP if you wanted a low limit card for the net you should have applied with Capital One.

[Uborrow-Upay]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Bank of America provides an EXCELLENT option for your purposes....it's called ShopSafe.

With ShopSafe you can instantly create Virtual Credit Cards.  It is a completely unique number, including the CVV2 code....but you get to tell it what the CL is and when it expires.

So, you can issue it for EXACTLY the amount of your purchase and have it expire in 60 days.  That CC number will only authorize for up to the amount you specifed as the limit and will only work for the time period you provided as the expiration.

You can later add more CL to the limit if you choose....say you want to continue to use the same number from time to time.  Or, you can issue a completely new and unique CC number for every transaction.

You could set up the ShopSafe card with a $500 generic limit or for $27.67.  I love this feature and use if for any online, phone or fax order that I use a CC on.  You have all of the protections against fraud, you can still do merchant purchase disputes....and yet all of your purchases come on your 1 statement for easy management.

When you login to BoA you can view all of your ShopSafe numbers, their limits, remaining unspent amount...you can cancel or delete any of them or change/edit CL's and expiration dates.

IME 

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Just to add to this, Citi also offers virtual account numbers, as does Discover.  They come in very handy for online payments, and I've used them for paying bills and catalog orders by mail, too!

Definitely some peace-of-mind there.  If somebody tries using that number fraudulently, you know which merchant had a breach or a larcenous employee.