How Credit Cards Make Money | Hacker News Reader

How Credit Cards Make Money

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2 pointsjimsojim2 comments

There is no incentive from the banks and industry to offer consumers a very limited credit card so consumers can protect themselves. Like a $100 credit limit, (which I would pay an annual fee for - as a sort of insurance).

There are just too many sketchy online merchants out there who might just attempt to charge your card way more than the agreed upon sales price, then there are those who I disfavor who "pre-authorize" your card for $500 or more, like rental car companies. Every 6 months or less I call in one of my credit cards to the issuer, one at a time, so I have one still active, and tell them it was stolen. This "flushes out" your old credit card no. from hackers and sketchy merchants, gives you a brand new number. I also almost always only deal with brick and mortar merchants who off "touch to pay" (the chip), never swipe, since I have had my cards hacked at least 3x from swipe, it's old tech and being scammed at gas pumps nationwide.

When I used to advertise with Google Adwords, I protected myself from what I saw in posts by others complaining that Google "running wild with overcharges".

I would buy only prepaid CC's with say a $200 limit. It worked well for a time, until Google finally figured out a way to distinguish prepaids from regular credit cards. When they stopped taking the prepaids that's when I stopped buying Adwords, but I also noticed I had no reduction in business, it was virtually the same as before.

Nowadays if the business won't take a prepaid with a limit - - - I don't want to do business with them, cannot trust them as far as I can throw them.

I have not tried crypto, but seems that basically a one time crypto payment would be a fixed amount, once.

For me, giving someone your $5,000 credit limit credit card is just like putting a stack of 50 one hundred dollar bills on the table and telling them, take what you need, I trust you. Well, no I don't.

Also, I discovered that if a business is not observing your request to stop re-occuring charges on your card, like broadband internet cable companies, web hosting co's, and so many others, it was a waste of time calling them and complaining, or writing letters, etc. It was WAY easier just to call up my credit card customer service and report the card stolen, then the number is cancelled for good, they send a replacement card next week. I even ask for and receive "expedited" service, they overnight the new card to me.

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