Whether you’re a points and miles person, a cash back type or even if you only use a debit card, getting your card hacked eventually happens to everyone. Since I have a good amount of cards, I keep a close tab on my accounts looking for any unfamiliar charges. It makes it pretty hard for Sharon to surprise me with any presents, ’cause I see the charge before I get the gift, but that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.
A while ago I saw two separate $300 Ticketmaster charges for Orlando Magic tickets on my Sapphire Reserve. We’re not sportsing people and the charges weren’t ours, but since we live in Orlando, Chase’s systems didn’t flag the charges as fraudulent. I went online, filled out the form saying I didn’t make these charges (yay for no direct human contact) and was informed the charges would be removed. They canceled my card, sent me a replacement and a mailer to send back the indestructible metal card. I thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn’t
I’ve written about how I do the wallet shuffle I do before going on trips. The Sapphire Reserve is one of the cards always in my wallet to pay for travel expenses, like UBER or taxis and possibly restaurants as both of these categories earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points. One of the other things on my pre-trip checklist is to make sure the cards in my wallet are registered with a dining program just in case we visit a place where we could earn some extra miles.
I registered my World of Hyatt Visa but I didn’t think about the Sapphire Reserve. I set that card up already and received bonus points when using it at restaurants.
Dining programs work by tracking when an enrolled card is used at an eligible location. You don’t have to do anything else than enter your card number at the website before hand. During the trip we went out for drinks and I paid with the Sapphire Reserve. I knew the location was on the dining plan so I kept looking for the email about my bonus points but nothing ever came. I checked to see if the bar was still listed as a partner and it was. So what happened?
It was then I realized my mistake. I never registered my replacement card number with the dining program.
Talk about points vanishing into thin air. I would have earned three Alaska Airlines miles for each dollar spent on top of the three Ultimate Rewards points I get for dining expenses.
Know what I’m going when I’m done writing this article? Register my Sapphire Reserve card with the Alaska Dining program.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and get emailed notifications of when we post. Or maybe you’d like to join our Facebook group – we have 13,000+ members and we talk and ask questions about travel (including Disney parks), creative ways to earn frequent flyer miles and hotel points, how to save money on or for your trips, get access to travel articles you may not see otherwise, etc. Whether you’ve read our posts before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Nothing is as devastating as getting debit alert when you never initiated one. But I believe that applying the professional cautions issued by banks, we can always stay safe. Your case was even totally different from mine but I think it take a lot of courage to share.
Thanks