Are you aware that the credit card in your wallet has real-life superpowers? It’s true!

Got shafted by shoddy repairs on your car or home? If you paid with a credit card, you can get your money back almost instantly. Cruise line or
travel agent won’t refund your deposit? Stop messing with them and just contact your credit card company. You’ll have your money back in no time.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires credit card companies—not consumers—to deal with fraudulent charges. It also requires them to give consumers the chance to dispute charges and withhold payment for goods and services that you didn’t accept or weren’t delivered as promised. This means if you paid with a credit card and can’t work out a refund from the product or service provider, you can tell your credit card company you want to contest the payment and get your money back.  How successful are average people at actually doing this? Local consumer watchdog Bay Area Consumers’Checkbook  (www.checkbook.com) recently asked their members to share their credit card chargeback stories and the responses were almost all success stories.

When you request a chargeback, the merchant gets a chance to protest it, but surprisingly they are rarely successful. Credit card issuers usually remove the charges quickly with no questions asked. On occasion they investigate, but consumers almost always win, according to Checkbook.

The law allows you 60 days to dispute a charge, but the credit card companies are so dedicated to retaining your goodwill that in practice, most that work with VISA or Master Card give their customers 120 days, and sometimes even more to dispute them.

Beware; debit cards are not covered by the same rules as credit cards. Even though most debit card transactions are processed through VISA and Master Card, if you have a choice when using a debit card, tell the vendor you want to use credit, not debit if you are asked. This will ensure that you get the favorable treatment afforded by the FCRA.

Other credit card superpowers often include automatic coverage of the Collision Damage Waiver insurance when you rent a car, extended insurance for lost, stolen or damaged products you buy with your card, concierge services for travel and entertainment, emergency services when traveling, lost luggage reimbursement, travel accident insurance, and of course those reward points for airlines and hotels, or cash back. Our founder paid for several semesters of college for his kids with a 529 College Savings Account funded completely by a 2% cash back Fidelity Rewards credit card, and now that he no longer has college expenses to pay, he is funding an IRA with that credit card.

What other financial product can do all that?? All you have to do is pay the card off every month and you will truly have a free lunch. Supercharged!

*Del Monte Group does not endorse any of the products mentioned in this post, nor do we endorse amassing large credit card debts. 

 

“One-size-fits-all” won’t fit you here! The Del Monte Group team understands that everyone’s financial goals are unique. That’s why we always provide customized advice. No matter where you are in life, you can depend on our proven expertise to provide financial planning support for long-term success. Ready to get started? Schedule a meeting with Richard or Angela in our Alamo, CA based office today or we can meet via Zoom! >> You can select a date and time that works for you via our calendar, call us at 925.736.6410, or send an email to Info@APlaceOfPossibility.com. We can’t wait to help you!

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