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<ul class="summary-list"><li>I use credit-card points to book almost all my travel, but I try not to carry a balance on my cards.</li><li>I don't stockpile points unless I'm strategically saving for a specific trip.</li></ul>I am a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mistakes-to-avoid-visiting-50-states-according-to-frequent-traveler-2024-10">frequent traveler </a>— on average, I fly at least once a month — and I put most of my expenses on my Delta co-branded airline credit card.I save a ton of money while traveling by using my points to book flights, and my credit card also gets me into <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-never-do-airport-lounges-frequent-flyer">airport lounges</a> where I don't have to pay for food and beverages.Over the years, I've found a few ways to optimize my points by following a few rules. As someone who <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-family-vacation-million-credit-card-points-luxury-flights-hotels-2024-10">books most of my travel with points</a> and miles, here are things I'd never do.<h2 id="30c646fa-2b51-415a-a4df-78b35ca57dda">Instead of hoarding points, I strategize how I'll use them</h2>I always have a target or goal that I'm saving my points toward, and I use them for travel we're planning in the near term rather than hoarding them for "someday."For example, I recently got enough points accrued for my family of four to fly roundtrip from San Antonio to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/day-trip-to-bahamas-from-florida-balearia-ferry-review-2023-5">Fort Lauderdale</a> for our vacation.I typically use my saved miles to pay for my family's travel and charge my own airline ticket to my card. This keeps me accruing miles while feeling like I'm getting four tickets for the price of one.<h2 id="68f19801-e919-427a-9828-f30bbf0c669e">I only use my points for flights</h2><div type="image" title="Airport with glass wall" height="3484" width="5195" msid="114991387" hostid="261" sizebytes="482900"></div>In my experience, it's rarely a good value to use my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/what-are-points-miles-worth-value">airline miles</a> and credit-card points on hotel stays or vacation packages.I can usually find deals on hotels through other loyalty programs or discount websites, so I save my points for flights, where they give me the most mileage — pun intended.<h2 id="b1a82e3d-122a-45aa-85d9-c693c89054f1">I try not to carry a balance on my credit card</h2>I accrue points through flights and other purchases with my Delta card, but I work to spend in a way that allows me to pay off my purchases monthly.I never want to carry a balance I can't afford and potentially <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/how-to-build-credit">negatively impact my credit</a> or get charged interest.<h2 id="67411841-bef4-4cbd-8eb0-6ce2b7dea7a1">Another thing I'd never do is have credit cards across a bunch of airlines</h2>I primarily travel on Delta but don't always get to choose my airline for work. Even so, I stick with my Delta card and just stay signed up for basic loyalty programs with other airlines.It's common to earn tons of miles when opening a new co-branded airline card, but I resist the offers. This is one time when I like to keep all my eggs in the same basket.I miss these perks when I'm not flying my preferred airline, but I remind myself that multiple airline cards mean multiple annual fees, and at the end of the day, that's not a good financial move for me.Plus, I like that my preferred credit card gives me free checked bags and the ability to choose a good seat without paying extra. I can also get on the plane in one of the early boarding groups, so the plane probably won't run out of overhead bin space before I get to my seat.Transparently, I also have a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/chase-southwest-rapid-rewards-premier-credit-card-review">Southwest Airlines</a> co-branded card, but I don't use it often. It's my oldest credit card, and the interest rate is reasonable, so keeping it is good for my credit score for now.<h2 id="940cab87-07b9-4790-adfa-c7b6dfcea3cf">I won't delete emails from my credit card company until I read them</h2>I like to be an informed customer by staying updated on my card's changes and latest offerings.Sometimes, this means sifting through a lot of emails, but I set aside time to read through any changes to my card and special offers.Plus, some discounts or offers are time-sensitive, so failing to read the emails promptly might mean I miss out on news that would <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/traveling-world-learned-save-money-at-home-2024-10">save me money</a>.

I use credit-card points to book almost all of my travel — but there are 5 things I'd never do

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In mid-March, a scammer in California tried to buy $150 worth of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trying-wingstop-first-time-review-photos-2022-9">Wingstop</a> using my debit card. Aside from being impressed at the sheer size of the order, I was relieved because Citibank, which issued my card, declined the transaction on the spot and alerted me to the fraud. In minutes I was able to shut off my card, heading off any more purchases by the scammers, and order a new card. All's well that ends well.When I went to Buenos Aires in April, I figured I might <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/why-was-my-credit-card-declined">run into a similar situation</a>. Sure, the banks say you don't have to call ahead when you travel anymore, but I assumed I'd still have some purchase flagged as potential fraud, as had happened in past trips abroad. Miraculously, everything went off without a hitch. I don't know how JPMorgan Chase knew that I would spend $200 on Botox in Argentina, but it did. (No, I didn't book my flight on the same card, and whatever, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/botox-injections-fillers-plastic-surgery-gen-z-social-media-filters-2024-5">everybody gets Botox now</a>.)It's great that banks and credit-card companies are getting better at discerning which payments are fraudulent and which are legit. Many people have some horror story about having their credit card stolen or having their own legitimate transactions flagged as suspicious. And it's nice not to have to spend 20 minutes on the phone before a vacation explaining where you're going and when. Credit-card fraud protection is still far from perfect, but there's no denying that the technology is improving. On the flip side, it's also kind of wild to consider just how much financial institutions must know about you to make the right calls.I was curious about how it all works — and, frankly, a little creeped out. So I reached out to some credit-card companies and academics to learn more. Why don't people have to alert their credit-card companies about travel anymore? And, more broadly, just how have banks gotten so good at figuring out what's normal about our spending habits and what isn't?The Federal Trade Commission receives thousands of card-fraud complaints each year. The Nilson Report, which tracks the card industry, says payment-card fraud resulted in $33 billion in losses worldwide in 2022 and $13.6 billion in losses in the US. As such, credit-card issuers and banks are keen to do what they can to spot fraud. They want to keep their customers happy, and, more importantly, they want to stem their losses. In the US, the major credit-card issuers and banks <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-card-lost-stolen-what-to-do">generally have a zero-liability policy</a>, which means that when a customer gets scammed, the organization, not the customer, has to eat the cost.Years ago, whether a transaction went through was based on things like whether a physical card was present, whether you had enough money to make the purchase, and (if the cashier wanted to look) whether your signature on the receipt matched the one on the back of your card. In some cases, the cashier may have even asked for ID or called the bank to verify the funds. We've come a long way from those bad old days by using the same tools that power most innovations: data and computers. Credit-card companies and banks know a lot about us — where we shop, when we spend, and how much we're usually willing to pay for things — and they're getting better and better at turning that knowledge into action. While it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-exaggeration-openai-nvidia-microsoft-chatgpt-jobs-investors-markets-2024-3">all the rage to talk about newfangled forms of artificial intelligence</a>, fraud detection owes a lot to machine learning, a field within AI that's been around for years. A bunch of data gets dumped into computer systems, and algorithms figure out patterns and relationships. The algorithms create decision trees to predict the likelihood of different outcomes and identify what may be considered normal or fishy. It's not that your credit-card company knows that you, specifically, would blow a bunch of cash on A and not on B — it knows that customers with your profile are in the "likes A" camp and not the "likes B" one."It's looking at what's happening that is very much out of the ordinary for your general behaviors," said Tina Eide, an executive vice president of global fraud risk at American Express. "And when I talk about general behaviors, it is generalized, right? It is not down to the specific purchase or to the specific merchant." Eide added, "The models are evaluating a trillion dollars' worth of transactions a year."The machines know more now than ever. Mike Lemberger, Visa's regional risk officer for North America, said that over the past five years the number of data points people generate with their credit cards has grown tremendously. People are increasingly using cards over cash. And they don't just have a physical card they're pulling out at the store — they've got their card credentials in their Amazon account, Netflix account, iPhone, etc. The more purchases the card issuer can analyze, the more accurate the fraud detection will be."Visa, we don't have consumer information — that's your financial institution that has that — but what we have is this triangulation of all these data points," Lemberger said. "We can create more and better scores, layer on top of that machine learning and AI abilities, and it becomes a much, much more powerful predictor, which we then feed into all of our partners to say, 'Hey guys, if you want to make the best decisions, here's a whole bunch of really good information.'"Visa isn't going to block your card directly, but it'll alert your bank that your purchase looks suspicious or that fraud has been detected at the merchant you're dealing with.This all seemed pretty simple until I talked to Yann-Aël Le Borgne and Gianluca Bontempi, a pair of researchers at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium who <a target="_blank" href="https://fraud-detection-handbook.github.io/fraud-detection-handbook/Foreword.html#authors">work on machine learning and card fraud</a>. They emphasized the vast scale of this fraud-detection technology. Companies and their algorithms are ingesting millions of transactions and creating so many decision trees to categorize certain activities that it can defy human logic, they said. Basically, the computer may be right that your transaction looks funky even if it's made in your home city at a fairly innocuous vendor, or it may be right that the transaction is fine even though it's made in a faraway place — but when humans try to figure out what did or didn't sound the alarm, nobody will really be able to pinpoint why."Machines can consider many more features, and at the end of the day it's not clear if all those features have meaning for humans," Bontempi said. "Humans are used to working with two, three features, at most five features, while machines can work with hundreds of features. So there are really different levels between what a machine can do."There are human-written rules, which are generally interpretable, and there are machine-written rules, which can be a black box. They're more accurate, but they may be harder, if not impossible, for people to reverse engineer. And banks may be using several different algorithms, making this even more complicated. Data scientists are the ultimate decision-makers, but the information they're dealing with is based on highly complex tech. When I explained to experts my somewhat embarrassing wings-versus-wrinkles conundrum and asked what may have triggered one alert and not the other, they offered up different explanations. Eide, from American Express, said that even though I hadn't booked my trip to Argentina with the credit card I used to buy the Botox, something else had probably tipped off the system that I was there. I realized I'd also bought a package of spin classes in Buenos Aires on my phone with the same card. I had also paid for a meal in the city. Lemberger, from Visa, emphasized that it's about all the data and spending patterns and said that given my spending patterns, the Botox likely matched my profile more than the massive delivery order."I hate to say this to you, but at the end of the day, all these data points build personas. Just like in marketing somebody would use personas to market to you, we're using that same technology to protect you," he said. "And the fact is that we use those data points to not just secure you but the whole ecosystem."At some point it occurred to me that the supercomputers that credit-card companies and banks are working with could know more about me than I even know or understand about myself."It's probable that the exact reason why a transaction caused your card to be blocked has no straightforward interpretation," Le Borgne said.I also asked whether there was a big difference in credit-card protections and debit protections and was told not really — maybe banks will be a little more restrictive about credit because they're technically lending you money that's not limited by your actual cash balance. I also asked if companies don't worry about preclearing travel because they don't care as much about losing money to fraud anymore, to which the answer was a hard no."At the end of the day, somebody's got to pay for the fraudulent activity," Lemberger said. Credit-card companies will give you your money back if you're a victim of fraud, but they'll find another place to recoup that money, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-late-fees-cap-swipe-mastercard-visa-jpmorgan-rewards-2024-4">just as they always do</a>.Instinctually, I am not a technology-is-awesome person — if the AI really is going to kill us, I feel like we should unplug it. I'm not super freaked out about the privacy stuff, but I also don't love the idea that AmEx and JPMorgan and Citi have me so pegged. But it's cool that companies really are making fraud detection better, especially in a world where fraudsters themselves are constantly getting better. I don't want to be like "Yay, banks!" but maybe here the answer really is a little "Yay, banks!" At least that's the case until the next major data-privacy breach, at which point I will regret everything.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

Banks have finally fixed the single most annoying thing about credit cards

Amid questions on the depleting <keyword id="20776807" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="loan-to-deposit-ratio" source="keywords">loan-to-deposit ratio</keyword> in <keyword id="19895091" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-banks" source="keywords">Indian banks</keyword>, a recent report by <keyword id="19896146" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Motilal-Oswal" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Motilal Oswal" meta.hostid="269" meta.entityid="Motilal Oswal">Motilal Oswal</keyword> suggests that the loan-to-deposit (LD) ratio is likely to subside on its own in the coming months. The debate on loan-to-deposit ratio (LD), particularly concerning sluggish <keyword id="19998084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="deposit-growth" source="keywords">deposit growth</keyword> and potential risks to <keyword id="20089808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-stability" source="keywords">financial stability</keyword> is raised by even the finance minister and the <keyword id="20151998" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI-governor" source="keywords">RBI governor</keyword>. However, the report notes that on closer examination, the situation may not be as alarming as it seems. As of 9th August, 2024 the Indian <keyword id="19964544" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="banking-sector" source="keywords">banking sector</keyword>'s loan-to-deposit (LD) ratio stood at 77.2 %, which is slightly below its recent peak of 78.2 % on 22nd March 2024, and its all-time high of 78.8 % in September 2013. The report stated that typically a rising LD ratio is indicative of a tightness in the banking sector, potentially indicating overheating. A lower LD indicates that the bank is aggressive in its credit disbursement practises, which could be risky. It highlighted that an analysis of the sector's transactions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), along with recent trends in the weighted average call rate (WACR), suggests that the current rise in the LD ratio does not indicate tightness, which is why there is no immediate cause of concern. In fact, the report added that the concern over weak deposit growth may be overstated. Historical data show that bank deposits grew at an average rate of 9.5 % during the pre-COVID period (January 2015 to February 2020) and 10.4 % in the post-COVID period (March 2020 to August 2024). Earlier, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also urged state-run banks to enhance deposit mobilization through attractive offers and focusing on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Loan-to-deposit ratio pegs the total deposits received by the bank against the loans it has offered. It helps in understanding how liquid the bank is. The loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) is a financial metric that compares a bank's total loans to its total deposits. It's used to assess a bank's liquidity and credit risk, and to inform lending and deposit-taking decisions The report said while the exact measures are unclear, the deposit growth could potentially be increased by making other asset classes less attractive through taxation or interest rates, or by boosting fiscal spending to increase net credit to the government. In its forecast, the report noted that private banks will witness a moderation in their <keyword id="19998083" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-growth" source="keywords">credit growth</keyword>, while public sector banks will maintain a healthy credit growth rate. "Our analysis suggests that deposit growth could be raised by either making other asset classes unattractive (through taxation and/or interest rate) or increasing the growth in net credit to the government by pushing fiscal spending higher" the report added. Alternatively, policymakers might consider curtailing loan growth to lower the LD ratio. However, this could slow deposit growth, particularly if corporate credit growth remains weak. Encouraging savers to shift investments from other assets to bank deposits could also be an option, but this carries risks of overreach and potential damage to economic confidence. Das had also flagged the excessive growth, or froth developing in the personal loan space. Notably, while credit growth in unsecured personal loans like credit cards continues to decline, it remains elevated at 23.3% as of June 2024. However, this is a significant reduction from 34.2% witnessed in November 2023. As fiscal spending increases, bank credit to the government is likely to grow, which should elevate deposits and broad money supply. The report said "However, the extent of foreign capital inflows and the RBI's policy for managing these inflows remain uncertain". Last month, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had also addressed this issue in the 50th meeting of MPC (Monetary Policy Committee). Per him, deposit mobilisation has been lagging credit growth for some time now. This may potentially expose the system to structural liquidity issues. "While there could be a debate regarding ‘deposits funding loans’ vis-à-vis ‘loans funding deposits’, the current regulatory concern stems from the fact that there could be structural changes happening which banks need to recognise and, accordingly, devise their strategies. Households and consumers who traditionally leaned on banks for parking or investing their savings are increasingly turning to capital markets and other financial intermediaries", Das said. Per him, while bank deposits continue to remain dominant as a percentage of financial assets owned by households, their share has been declining consistently, since households are now increasingly allocating their savings to mutual funds, insurance funds, pension funds and other avenues.

Loan-to-deposit ratio will subside on its own in coming months, notes Motilal Oswal report

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-credit-cards-save-me-thousands-on-travel-2024-8" target="_blank">Business Insider</a> for current information.<ul class="summary-list"><li>I'm a frequent traveler spending $1,300 a year on credit card fees to get great perks. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/american-express-platinum-credit-card-review">The Platinum Card® from American Express</a> saves me money with its complimentary Priority Pass membership.</li></ul>I used to think that paying an annual fee for a credit card was a terrible idea and a waste of money. For years, I prided myself on using <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/best-no-fee-credit-card">no-fee credit cards</a> that offered a small amount of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/best-cash-back-credit-cards">cash back</a> on purchases. But I changed my mind once I started traveling more and learning about the perks some credit cards offered.I dove in head first. This year I've spent about $1,300 on annual fees. Most of the fees are worth every penny and have easily paid for themselves, though there are some I'm not sure about. Here are my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/favorite-credit-card-perks-frequent-traveler-2024-7">favorite travel card perks</a>, plus a few I've enjoyed but would be OK losing. <h2>I love having airport-lounge access and travel upgrades</h2>My <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/amex-business-platinum-card-review"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/amex-business-platinum-card-review">American Express Business Platinum</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/amex-business-platinum-card-review"></a>comes with a hard-to-swallow $695 annual fee, but the perks have more than outweighed the cost. For context, I'm a freelance writer and use this card for expenses associated with my business, but American Express offers a <a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/?s_stlnk=CS_Test_Plat_4.12.24&amp;utm_mcid=&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=%2Bamerican+%2Bexpress+%2Bplatinum&amp;utm_cmpid=21211613033&amp;utm_adgid=142828790300&amp;utm_tgtid=kwd-383918391531&amp;utm_mt=p&amp;utm_adid=703411312682&amp;utm_dvc=c&amp;utm_ntwk=g&amp;utm_adpos=&amp;utm_plcmnt=&amp;utm_locphysid=9007537&amp;utm_locintid=&amp;utm_feeditemid=&amp;utm_devicemdl=&amp;utm_plcmnttgt=&amp;utm_programname=brandcps&amp;utm_cmp=Platinum&amp;utm_sl=&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZw0IzIjTZihCfICjEFqbYrlNo64dRJwmOPmozqwz45-NBNN3umc8DHxoCd4gQAvD_BwE&amp;eep=28810&amp;utm_misc=cardshop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">personal version</a> that's very similar.I've used this card's benefits to get <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/clear-airport-security">CLEAR</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/best-global-entry-tsa-precheck-credit-card">Global Entry</a>, both of which have helped me speed through security lines at airports. It got me an automatic upgrade to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/how-to-earn-redeem-hilton-honors-points">Hilton Honors</a> Gold elite status, which has scored me free breakfast and room upgrades throughout my travels. However, my favorite perk of this card is my free <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/how-to-get-priority-pass-for-free">Priority Pass</a> membership. With it, I've gained access to several airport lounges for myself and up to two travel companions, usually my children.This benefit alone has saved me hundreds of dollars since I no longer have to buy pricey food at the airport — most lounges offer plenty of it for free. Plus, lounge access has made long travel days and layovers so much easier. I wish I had gotten this card sooner. <h2>Being able to avoid foreign transaction fees has saved me a lot of money</h2>The first credit card I applied for with an annual fee is the <a href="https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/24Q3/sapphire/dual?CELL=6D4C&amp;jp_cmp=cc/Sapphire+Preferred_Brand_Exact_Sapphire+Preferred_SEM_US_NA_Standard_NA/sea/p56274819573/Chase+Sapphire+Preferred&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds&amp;ds_rl=1253080&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZw2RFN6PLXS_Pd4E6N_kWGXSjbA1p81Z5g46aBhQkqNhsnB2L5vgYZhoC8Y4QAvD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/chase-sapphire-preferred-card-review">Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card</a>, which has a $95 annual fee. Many of my cards charge up to 3% for every transaction made in a currency other than US dollars, but this one doesn't. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/what-is-foreign-transaction-fee">Foreign transaction fees</a> can add up quickly, even on a short trip. Because I take a couple of international trips a year, the $95 annual fee more than pays for itself. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/chase-sapphire-preferred-card-review">Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card</a> also has other money-saving perks for travelers I like, including competitive <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/travel-insurance/travel-insurance-vs-credit-card">travel insurance</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/auto-insurance/what-is-rental-car-insurance">car-rental insurance</a> for trips charged to the card. Although my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/amex-business-platinum-card-review">Amex Business Platinum</a> also provides fee-free foreign transactions and travel insurance, American Express isn't as widely accepted internationally. I've had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/best-chase-card">Chase credit cards</a> accepted almost everywhere I've traveled so I will keep this one in my wallet. <h2>I paid several hundred dollars to get an Amex Gold, but I got points galore </h2><div type="image" title="The bar at the Delta One lounge with black high top chairs." height="3024" width="4032" msid="112720766" hostid="261" sizebytes="943274"></div>I applied for an <a href="https://creditcard.americanexpress.com/d/business-gold-card/?s_stlnk=23WelcomeOffer&amp;utm_mcid=&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=%2Bamerican%20%2Bexpress%20%2Bbusiness%20%2Bgold&amp;utm_cmpid=21422559996&amp;utm_adgid=170920140424&amp;utm_tgtid=kwd-707750570877&amp;utm_mt=p&amp;utm_adid=695113361185&amp;utm_dvc=c&amp;utm_ntwk=g&amp;utm_plcmnt=&amp;utm_locphysid=9007537&amp;utm_locintid=&amp;utm_feeditemid=&amp;utm_devicemdl=&amp;utm_plcmnttgt=&amp;utm_ltpcid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZw-_dU_STCnbf2AlVEPaJelCH5fK1yVPArCw6-X9Tg9n8-NzLqCGoaxoCHHsQAvD_BwE&amp;utm_programname=brandproductspecific&amp;utm_cmp=GoldTermsSMB&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZw-_dU_STCnbf2AlVEPaJelCH5fK1yVPArCw6-X9Tg9n8-NzLqCGoaxoCHHsQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/amex-business-gold-card-review">American Express® Business Gold Card</a> card when the company ran one of its rare promotions offering 150,000 points as a sign-up bonus. The card's $375 annual fee is high, but the generous sign-up bonus more than made up for it for me.I have several international trips planned this year, and I expect that the 150,000 points I plan to redeem for airline tickets will easily save me at least triple the annual fee. For example, a ticket on a flight I'm eyeing to New Delhi from Washington, DC, costs $1,488 and is 148,000 points.With this card, I also receive monthly statement credits — up to $20 a month — offsetting more than half of the annual fee I paid. However, it's a pain to keep track of earning the monthly credit, and the card's other benefits aren't that valuable to me.I probably won't keep this card for a second year since American Express offers a <a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/gold-card/?utm_mcid=&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_term=%2Bamerican+%2Bexpress+%2Bgold&amp;utm_cmpid=21215159479&amp;utm_adgid=141451150545&amp;utm_tgtid=kwd-378783604257&amp;utm_mt=p&amp;utm_adid=688797561785&amp;utm_dvc=c&amp;utm_ntwk=g&amp;utm_adpos=&amp;utm_plcmnt=&amp;utm_locphysid=9007537&amp;utm_locintid=&amp;utm_feeditemid=&amp;utm_devicemdl=&amp;utm_plcmnttgt=&amp;utm_programname=brandcps&amp;utm_cmp=Gold&amp;utm_sl=&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZwwBO9FJLMLIaV_rtDd4b73g6qijaQ1295HWyR5scWwkpNerBJ-G0XxoCYB4QAvD_BwE&amp;eep=28810&amp;utm_misc=cardshop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">personal version of it</a> with similar perks and a lower annual fee.<h2>Priority boarding has been nice, but not quite worth the price</h2>I'm a frequent flyer on United but have never accrued enough points to gain status with the airline. To get more perks on United, I applied for a <a href="https://fortune.com/recommends/credit-cards/united-explorer-card-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/united-explorer-card-review">United℠ Explorer Card</a> card, which doesn't charge an annual fee for the first year ($0 intro for the first year, then $95 annually in subsequent years). My favorite perk of this card is priority boarding. Combined with other perks like single-entry passes to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-inside-uniteds-new-41-million-polaris-lounge-washington-dulles-2022-3">United Club lounges</a> and free checked bags, I thought this card was a good value. However, I now get lounge access and credit for checked bags with my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/amex-business-platinum-card-review">Amex Business Platinum</a>, and I don't think priority boarding is valuable enough to make up for the annual fee. I would also rather earn points that can be transferred to several airlines and hotels rather than being locked into United. I plan on canceling this card when the next annual fee comes due, but I might reapply if I find that I miss priority boarding a lot.

I spend $1,300 a year on credit-card fees to get big travel perks. Here are ones I swear by and which I won't pay for again.

<ul><li>There has been an increase in <keyword id="43991" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="financial-fraud" source="Orion">financial fraud</keyword> amid an increase in financial transactions.</li><li>People are storing important financial information on their smartphones without any security.</li><li>88% of the people surveyed have submitted their Aadhaar as proof for applications and bookings.</li></ul> The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that 5,406 instances of financial fraud were reported during April-September 2022, up from 4,069 reports during the same period in 2021. According to the central bank, the modus operandi for fraud has shifted to card and internet-based transactions. According to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, people are still storing important financial information such as internet banking passwords, and debit and credit card PINs on their smartphones. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="17% of people store financial information on their smartphone" comment="subhead" text="17% of people store financial information on their smartphone">17% of people store financial information on their smartphone</cmsannotation> Out of over 32,000 people surveyed, 9% admitted to storing important financial information on their phone’s contact list, and 8% admitted using the notes app on their smartphone. This means that 17% of people store important data without security. A similar survey in 2021 revealed that 11% of people were storing important financial data on their phones, meaning there has been an increase in this number, despite attempts by the central bank to raise awareness among the people. 18% of the people revealed that they store financial information on their computers and laptops. At the same time, 14% of the people claimed that they had memorised their financial information and had yet to store it anywhere. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family" comment="subhead" text="24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family">24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family</cmsannotation> According to the report, 24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with one or more family members, and 6% share with their domestic or office staff. 67% of the people surveyed said they do not share this information with anyone. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings" comment="subhead" text="88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings">88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings</cmsannotation> Identity and address proofs such as Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence and others have become something we often share with government or private entities such as banks and hotels for various applications and bookings, be it in digital form or as a photocopy. Sometimes, more than one of these documents is shared, and there is an overlap. A staggering 88% of the people have revealed that they have shared their Aadhaar as proof in the last five years. This was followed by 58% of the people sharing their PAN and 47% of the people sharing their driving licence. Additionally, 42% of the people shared their passports, and 35% shared their voter ID. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud" comment="subhead" text="Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud">Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud</cmsannotation> According to the report, 42%of the people surveyed have claimed to have faced some type of financial fraud during the three years between June 2019 to June 2022. Worse, 74% of these people failed to get their money back. We recommend that users do not store sensitive financial information such as banking passwords and debit and credit card PINs on their smartphones and laptops. Instead, users should opt for secure applications or try to memorise this information. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/most-common-passwords-can-be-easily-cracked-by-ai-in-under-a-minute/articleshow/99379900.cms">AI chatbots are cracking the code: How PassGAN can break into 51% of common passwords in under a minute</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-makes-it-easier-for-users-to-delete-their-account-and-data-from-applications/articleshow/99289621.cms">Google makes it easier for users to delete their account and data from applications</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/how-to-block-your-lost-or-stolen-phone-and-how-to-unblock-it/articleshow/99207569.cms">How to block your lost or stolen phone and how to unblock it</a>

Despite a rise in financial frauds, 17% of people store financial information on their smartphones

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paid-off-credit-card-debt-solid-plan-2024-6" target="_blank">Business Insider</a> for current information.<ul class="summary-list"><li>At the beginning of the year, I was facing nearly $30,000 in credit-card debt.</li><li>I made a budget to pay it off in 18 months, but a big project let me pay off most of it in just one.</li></ul>When December ticked into January, I knew it was time to face something I had been putting off: my credit-card debt. When I added it up, it was even worse than I'd thought. I owed $29,357, and my monthly payments alone were approaching $1,000.If I were reading about this happening to anyone else, I'd probably think, "How did that happen?" The truth is, it was just too easy. I wasn't dining out regularly, shopping impulsively, or doing anything extravagant. I racked up most of the debt improving my house, which I bought as a foreclosure in need of serious repairs. Another major chunk was from a bucket-list trip to Italy with my sister and cousins for a wedding.I didn't regret either of those things, but I was starting to feel suffocated. I vowed to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-pay-off-debt-fast">pay off my debt</a> as aggressively as I could.<h2>I realized I was undermining my financial security</h2>I've been freelancing for more than a decade, and I believe there's a lot of job security in being a contractor. If one client goes under, I can find another. Yet at the start of this year, I barely had any work.This compounded my stress about my credit-card debt. A major change in my workflow could make it impossible to keep up with even the minimum payments. That much debt could easily snowball and overwhelm me, flattening my plans for a stable financial future.Over the past five years, I've worked hard to create a stable career — and eventual retirement — as a freelancer. To me, that means being able to pay for my needs and wants comfortably while doing the type of work I love. I save monthly for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/retirement">retirement</a> and budget diligently for quarterly taxes. I felt frustrated with myself when I realized I was leaking money on credit-card interest when it would otherwise help build my security.<h2>I made a budget and planned to pay off the cards in 18 months</h2>My resolve was strong, but I was still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of debt. I thought about a home-equity loan, but I didn't want to change unsecured debt for a loan that put my home on the line.Instead, I put together a budget — something I'd been good about sticking to in the past — and laid out all my household expenses. With my low January income, I would just meet them. I decided to do a no-spend month, where I didn't purchase anything but essentials — not even coffee. I stopped using the cards and canceled any automatic charges and subscriptions linked to them.I planned to stick to my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-budgeting-apps">budget</a> and direct any extra income toward my debt. I thought it would take me about 18 months, which made me think twice about how much I really needed that trip to Italy or the new floors.<h2>An unexpected project gave me a huge boost</h2>I stuck to that plan for the first few weeks of the year. Then, in February, I had a huge windfall. An occasional client explained they had a massive project that needed to be finished that month. At first, I thought it would be about $5,000 of extra income, and I was thrilled to be able to pay off a chunk of my debt.As the month went on, the project ramped up instead of slowing down, and I worked long hours daily. I felt glued to my computer, but by the end of the month, I had made almost $25,000 more than in a typical month. It all went to my credit cards.<h2>I feel like I have a clean slate and a better understanding of my financial goals</h2>Getting that project felt like a gift — a chance to right the wrong choices I'd made financially. I had $5,000 in credit-card debt left after that, and I'm following my budget to pay that off. That feels like a much more manageable amount, and I'll be able to pay it off this year.Now, I'm determined to use my clean slate to set up a solid financial future, not one built on debt. I'm already planning to increase the amount of money I put in my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-retirement-plans">retirement plan</a> and tackle my remaining <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-private-student-loans">student loans</a> next year.Like most millennials, I can get distracted by the shiny spend-now, pay-later promise of credit cards. But after feeling overwhelmed by them and being lucky enough to escape, I know that the real goal is a future where I'm financially stable enough to fit major expenses into my cash flow, including the travel and home improvements that almost took me down.

After paying $25,000 of credit-card debt, I'm ready to make the most of my clean slate

Best Business Credit Cards of January 2024

Worried about your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/what-is-a-credit-score">credit score</a>? Maybe you weren't before, but now that I mention it you may be wondering when the last time you checked it was. Even if you're pretty sure it's fine, the topic is often enough to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-therapist-talk-about-anxiety-money-2023-3">cause a moment of panic</a>, a sinking feeling followed by an "Oh God, what if something's happened?"That little three-digit number is a big deal in our financial lives. It serves as a sort of grade for how you handle money. An A gets you approval for an apartment and a decent rate on your car loan; an F gets your rental application turned down and makes your car insurance more expensive. You might not have even realized it, but your credit report <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-cleaning-up-your-credit-can-help-you-land-a-job-2013-9">could even make a difference in whether you land your next job</a>.The anxiety around credit scores is palpable. It's also lucrative. Credit bureaus, startups, and even one-man operations can make a lot of money by playing into people's fears about their credit. They offer services that monitor credit scores and alert you when yours changes, or they say they can help you repair your damaged credit — for a price, of course. Many of these costly solutions do not work as well as promised or deliver much, if any, bang for your buck."The credit-scoring companies have figured out how to profit on the anxiety of consumers with credit watch and credit monitoring and all of these add-on programs," said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank. "When companies find a way to profit off of anxiety, they have an incentive to create anxiety."What these companies won't tell you is that the best things to help ease your credit-related worries are cheap, even free. You can check your credit regularly at no cost from a lot of sources — your credit-card company likely tells you your score, and you can access your report weekly free of charge too. Freezing your credit also doesn't run you anything. It's important to be aware of your credit score, but you don't need to obsess over it — or let marketers convince you to pay for a bunch of stuff you don't really need because you're panicked.Around the time of the Super Bowl, I noticed that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was appearing in ads for Experian, one of the big three bureaus responsible for keeping track of everyone's credit scores. I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kelce-experian-tv-commercials-nfl-taylor-swift-super-bowl-2024-2">decided to write about it</a> and, in the process, created an Experian account. The company has been hounding me ever since. I get near-daily emails that range from run-of-the-mill product offers and "credit alerts" to nerve-racking warnings that my information may have been part of a data breach. When I click for more information, lo and behold, I'm confronted with a paid service. For $25 a month, I can sign up for "Experian CreditWorks Premium," which includes quarterly credit reports, credit monitoring, and identity protection. Once I decline that offer, which is kind of tricky, I can also find an offer to "lock" my credit for $5 a month. It's similar to a credit freeze, which blocks creditors from accessing your credit file, but can also do things like notify you if someone tries to access your Experian credit report. Here's the thing, though: A lot of the services it's offering are already free."There's no reason ever to pay for credit monitoring," said Chi Chi Wu, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "There's no reason to pay for a credit score or pay for service for the credit score."In Wu's view, Experian is an especially bad offender — not just for its suite of likely unnecessary products but because, as part of its standard agreement, the company makes customers agree to mandatory arbitration, meaning you don't get to sue if Experian has a big screwup later. In an email, a spokesperson for Experian said that the company is "committed to financial inclusion" and that its free membership has tools to help consumers improve their financial health. "Millions of members find value in having Experian as their financial co-pilot helping them improve, manage, and protect their financial profile," the spokesperson said. They did not address the arbitration agreement. But Experian is hardly the only company out there selling credit-related services that drain consumer dollars. The credit-monitoring and identity-theft-protection industry, according to IBISWorld, is worth about $5.4 billion in annual revenue. The growth of the industry makes sense — in this day and age, data breaches are constant, and a fraudulent ding on your credit report or someone opening an account in your name can be an enormous headache. Guarding against that outcome seems like a small price to pay for a lot of people, except that paying any price above $0 may not actually be worth it.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IB_Credit_Monitoring_Arbitration.pdf">2022 brief</a> from the NCLC described credit-monitoring bundles as often "expensive and ineffective" and argued that they failed to meaningfully benefit consumers. It noted that most identity theft takes place in existing accounts, meaning monitoring services that alert consumers to newly opened accounts miss it. They also often fail to catch fraud related to medical services or tax refunds. And even when they do catch identity theft, they do so after the fact."Some people might be like, 'Well, I'd rather pay and not deal with the time,'" Wu said. "But the thing is those products aren't all that effective."A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-17-254.pdf">2017 report from the Government Accountability Office</a> was pretty negative on the whole monitoring and identity-theft-protection business, too, saying it's just not clear how helpful a lot of this stuff is. The report also looked at identity-theft insurance and noted that while it covered expenses related to dealing with the theft, it generally excluded actual financial losses. While credit monitoring falls into the waste-of-money category, other credit-related services can cross over into potentially predatory territory — for example, credit-repair operations. The idea behind these services is pretty simple: Credit reports often include some mistakes that can ding people's scores. So, for a fee, the companies will dispute a bunch of items in hopes of boosting the score. This may improve people's reports temporarily while the disputes are being investigated, but since the firms are basically disputing anything negative, when they lose, everything goes back to how it was, and the customer is just out more money."They're basically charging people with the false promise that they're going to be able to fix their credit reports and credit scores permanently when they can't," said Sarah Chenven, the CEO of Working Credit, a nonprofit that helps people build credit.Credit-repair companies often target people with lower incomes and people desperate to improve their credit reports and scores. Gen Zers and millennials, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/state-of-debt-and-credit-report#average-credit-scores">tend to have lower credit scores</a> than older generations and may not have extensive credit files, may be more likely to find themselves looking at a credit-repair service to get negative items off their reports or at some sort of credit-building service to just help them develop a record. Credit-monitoring companies can really appeal to anyone worried about their credit and identity theft. Some of these businesses also make money by marketing various financial products to people — a well-off boomer might get one type of credit-card offer, a struggling student another.The companies also don't do anything people can't do on their own — if there's an error, you can and should dispute it yourself. In fact, credit-repair agencies can be less effective than the average person at getting mistakes wiped from their credit histories because, as Andrew Pizor, a senior attorney at the NCLC, explained, the law says that credit-reporting agencies have to respond only to dispute letters directly from consumers. Credit-repair businesses try really hard to make it seem like disputes are from consumers, and the agencies try just as hard to sniff out whether that's going on."Most of the letters that you're paying for are going into the garbage," Pizor said. He added that if your dispute letters are going unanswered, you don't need a repair service — you need a lawyer.Federal regulators have gone after several companies accused of playing it fast and loose with the way they approach consumers. In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled with TransUnion over charges related to how it was marketing its products, including credit monitoring, and ordered it to stop deceptive practices. In 2022, it sued TransUnion, accusing it of violating that order. In 2005, it dinged Experian for marketing free credit reports that weren't so free. Last year, the CFPB entered into a $2.7 billion settlement with a ring of credit-repair brands accused of illegally collecting fees for their services. Over a decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission and 35 states reached a $12 million settlement with LifeLock after alleging that it had made false claims about its identity-theft-protection services.These companies and credit-related services aren't necessarily evil. A significant part of the issue is that the ecosystem is a mess. Our credit-reporting and -scoring system is outdated and confusing, and so are a lot of the businesses that have sprung from it. Even the seemingly good products and services out there are a sign of the deep rot at the core of the whole system. Credit-building loans, which are loans designed to help people without much credit history build some, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/targeting-credit-builder-loans/">can help people get on better financial footing</a>, even if there is usually some cost involved. Immigrants and young people in particular can benefit.Companies such as Credit Karma that let you access a lot of your information easily and for free make it so your credit score isn't such a mystery. The downside there is that they make their money by giving your information to a bunch of third-party financial products and taking a cut if you sign up for one of them. For consumers, the whole thing feels like a maze. It's tough to separate the good actors from the bad and to understand the trade-offs at hand. It's not always clear what you're signing up for, whether you need it, or what you're going to wind up paying."The credit system and the financial system, and I hate to sound a little preachy, but it's a black box," said Ryan Steckler, a vice president of product and general manager at Credit Karma. "Given that situation, we're in the business of empowering our consumers by giving them access to the same data those financial institutions have."It would be neat to be able to say that some concrete help is on the way, but the truth is we're stuck with some not-so-fun realities around credit scores for the foreseeable future. As screwed up as the system is, it's probably not going anywhere anytime soon, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cash-flow-underwriting.asp">even though there are better alternatives out there</a>.There is this sense of existential dread around credit scores. A negative one can really drag people down. An impaired record makes loans more expensive, makes accessing certain financial products impossible, and may even put your next apartment or job out of reach. Klein, from the Brookings Institution, has recently been conducting focus groups with low-income consumers about their financial knowledge and concerns. He's been shocked at how much credit scores have come up."I was very surprised at the attention to detail folks of more modest income have on the impact of financial products and choices on their credit scores," he said. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized this focus is based on experience. At some point, their low credit score has negatively impacted their lives."Frederick Wherry, a Princeton sociologist who leads the Debt Collection Lab, an initiative focused on understanding debt collection, added: "As soon as we are asked about our credit scores, or in a moment when we can't get something we need or we get it at too high a price, that's when we realize that this thing has been hanging over our heads." It's unwise to bury your head in the sand, ignore your credit score, and hope for the best. But you don't need to obsess over it, let alone spend a bunch of money on it. If you're not in the market for a house or apartment or in need of a new loan, you can freeze your credit for free, meaning no fraudsters can take out a loan in your name. Under federal law, the bureaus have to give you one free credit report a year, and since the pandemic they've been letting people access their reports for free once a week. If you see something weird on your report, you can dispute it on your own. And you really do not need to be checking that much — once a month or once a quarter is fine, kind of like your 401(k)."If you have a credit score over 720 or 780, stop worrying. Don't be obsessed with getting an 800 or 820," Wu said. "This is not your SAT score."If you're in trouble, there are nonprofits out there that can help you figure out what to do, for little or no money."If you've got bad credit, if your credit score is low, where I'd start is with a nonprofit credit counselor," Pizor said.If you want to sign up for identity-theft protection or credit monitoring, fine. But those services aren't a fail-safe, so you'll want to walk in with your eyes wide open. The credit experts I spoke with were very wary about credit repair across the board. The next time you start to worry about your credit score, take a beat. Not to get too woo-woo here, but really, there's only so much you can control."I mean, the magic bullet is building a better system," Wu said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

The best way to fix your credit score? Ignore it.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chase-united-explorer-card-perks-annual-fee-worth-it-2024-7" target="_blank">Business Insider</a> for current information.<ul class="summary-list"><li>As a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-us-states-to-visit-according-to-frequent-traveler">frequent traveler</a>, I rely on travel credit cards to save money and earn rewards. </li><li>I love using my Chase United℠ Explorer Card, which comes with a $0 intro for the first year, then $95 annual fee.</li></ul>Travel credit cards are hotter than ever, with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/how-the-41-of-americans-with-a-travel-credit-card-can-boost-rewards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 41% of Americans</a> having a card that provides travel rewards. However, with many cards offering lounge access, statement credits, and travel insurance, some cards' annual fees have climbed to nearly $700 a year. As a frequent traveler, I have and use a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-express-platinum-card-perks-annual-fee-worth-it-2024-5">credit card with a high annual fee</a>. However, I've paired it with the United℠ Explorer Card, which has a much lower annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $95.This card, included in Business Insider's guide to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-airline-credit-cards">best airline credit cards</a>, offers a surprisingly robust number of benefits, from priority boarding on United flights to statement credits that can be redeemed for a DashPass membership.Here are some of the perks I get from using my <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/united-explorer-card-review">United℠ Explorer Card</a>.<h2>As a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, I always get priority boarding</h2>Some travelers may not care which boarding group they're in, but I am not one of them. Whether I'm <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-i-pack-only-carry-on-month-long-trip-packing-tips-2023">traveling with a carry-on</a> and want to ensure I have space in the overhead compartment or just want to get myself situated and comfortable before a flight, boarding in a priority group is important to me. As a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, I am always in a priority-boarding group. <h2>Every four years, I get a statement credit of up to $100 for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS </h2><div type="image" title="Signs on flags in an airport that say &quot;TSA Precheck&quot; and &quot;Enter here,&quot; in front of roped lines." height="750" width="1000" msid="111815695" hostid="261" sizebytes="66222"></div>Although traveling can be a test of patience, I've found that having an expedited security process can make the experience much smoother. That's why I love that my United℠ Explorer Card reimburses me for services like TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and NEXUS.I've traveled with <a href="https://www.insider.com/why-get-tsa-precheck-2018-11">TSA PreCheck</a> for years, and recently became a Global Entry member (which includes PreCheck). Both programs are valid for five years, with PreCheck costing $78 to apply and Global Entry costing $100. NEXUS, which allows for expedited entry between the US and Canada, is also valid for five years and costs $50 to apply. If I charge the application fee for one of these services to my United℠ Explorer Card, I get reimbursed on my statement once every four years, effectively making the membership free. Several other premium <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-global-entry-tsa-precheck-credit-card">credit cards also offer Global Entry and TSA PreCheck</a> statement credits. <h2>The first checked bag is free for me and a companion on my reservation</h2>Although many people aim to travel using only a carry-on, it's not always possible to do so. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-airlines-raises-baggage-fees-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Checked bag fees have only increased</a>, with one bag costing $40 to check on United flights.However, if you're a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, you and your companion (on the same reservation) get your first bags checked for free when purchasing flights using the card. <h2>I get two United Club one-time-use lounge passes a year</h2><div type="image" title="Emily sitting in a brown-leather chair, holding a glass of white wine with a plate of food on a table next to her. The walls are glass and see-through." height="2268" width="3023" msid="111815698" hostid="261" sizebytes="777214"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards-with-airport-lounge-access">Airport lounges</a> are popping up everywhere, generally as a benefit of a high-annual-fee credit card or for those flying in first or business classes. But if you want the benefit of a lounge without high spending, the United℠ Explorer Card includes two one-time lounge passes a year for United Club use, which typically cost $59 apiece.I've used my one-time passes when I have a long layover or a delayed flight to access a United Club for complimentary food, drinks, and a quiet place to wait for my flight. This benefit alone exceeds the entire cost of the card's annual fee.<h2>The card comes with lots of added travel protections</h2>For a card with a low annual fee, the United℠ Explorer Card packs a punch with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/travel-insurance/travel-insurance-vs-credit-card">travel insurance</a> protections. This card includes lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger), trip delay reimbursement (after 12 hours of delay, up to $500 per ticket for unreimbursed expenses), baggage delay insurance (after 6 hours of delay, up to $100 for three days), and trip cancellation or interruption insurance (up to $1,500 per person).When booking my travel with the United℠ Explorer Card, these perks allow me to travel with much more peace of mind. In fact, I've personally used both the baggage delay and trip delay insurance without any issues. <h2>I receive 25% back on in-flight purchases</h2><div type="image" title="A cookie in a package, a small bottle of white wine, a blue cup, and a napkin sit on a tray on a plane." height="2274" width="3024" msid="111815696" hostid="261" sizebytes="410306"></div>Another benefit I really love is that United℠ Explorer Card cardholders receive 25% back on in-flight purchases on United flights. This includes food, alcoholic beverages, and even WiFi purchases. Since I travel often, this perk makes a huge difference for me. <h2>The card also comes with a complimentary one-year membership to DashPass </h2>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/united-explorer-card-review">United℠ Explorer Card</a> offers one year of complimentary DashPass membership, which can be used on DoorDash and Caviar. The benefit, normally $10 a month, offers various benefits like $0 delivery fees on orders that meet the minimum spend. If you regularly have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foods-to-never-get-delivered-from-restaurants-according-to-chef-2022-6">food delivered</a> at home or while traveling, these fees add up, making the membership a great money-saving benefit. <h2>I also get primary rental car insurance</h2>I often rent cars during my travels, and having as much coverage as possible when driving them is important to me. The United℠ Explorer Card includes primary rental car insurance coverage. This means that I'm eligible for reimbursement up to the vehicle's actual cash value for theft and collision damage for most rental cars within the US and abroad. With primary coverage, I also don't have to first file a claim with my own auto insurance company.

I love using my Chase United Explorer card with a low annual fee. I get tons of travel perks, plus credits for DoorDash and more.

<ul><li>The government has warned about a new way <keyword id="19962622" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scammers" source="keywords">scammers</keyword> are trying to obtain <keyword id="20189059" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-information" source="keywords">personal information</keyword>.</li><li>Users have reportedly received an SMS asking them to update their PAN to unblock their <keyword id="20417750" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bank-account" source="keywords">bank account</keyword>.</li><li>Here's everything you need to know about the <keyword id="22918614" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fake-PAN-SMS" source="keywords">fake PAN SMS</keyword> and how to stay safe.</li></ul>Increased usage of the internet has also resulted in an increase in <keyword id="20025584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-fraud" source="keywords">online fraud</keyword>. Scammers are finding new ways to fool people and steal from them. A new method has now been revealed, which preys on users with an account in <keyword id="19985316" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Post-Payments-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="India Post Payments Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="India Post Payments Bank">India Post Payments Bank</keyword>. According to a post by PIB Fact Check, several users have received an SMS which claims to be from India Post Payments Bank. However, the message is fake and is an attempt to steal user data. “This claim is #Fake. @IndiaPostOffice never sends any such messages. Never share your personal &amp; bank details with anyone,” PIB Fact Check said in its post on X. <div type="twitter" handle="PIBFactCheck" handlename="PIBFactCheck" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1825494609881170290"></div> <h2>What is the fake PAN SMS?</h2> In the SMS, the user is warned that their India Post Payments Bank account has been blocked. It then asks the users to update their PAN to get their account unblocked. The user is then given a link, asking them to click on the link to update their PAN. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111512587" title="Jio vs Airtel vs Vi recharge plans comparison – plan benefits and price comparison after tariff hike" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The link then redirects the user to a <keyword id="20182216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phishing" source="keywords">phishing</keyword> page, aimed at stealing user data such as their bank account login details to gain access to their account. Once you enter your bank account login details, they will be sent to the scammer. <h2>What is phishing?</h2>Phishing is a cyber-attack where attackers impersonate legitimate organisations or individuals to trick people into revealing sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. This is usually done through deceptive emails, messages, or fake websites. <h2>How to stay safe from phishing attacks?</h2>Here are some ways you can identify phishing attacks and stay safe: <ul><li>Verify the sender: Check the sender’s email address or phone number carefully. Phishers often use addresses that look similar to legitimate ones but have small differences.</li><li>Look for red flags: Be wary of unexpected messages, especially those requesting sensitive information or containing urgent or threatening language.</li><li>Verify before opening: Only open attachments from trusted sources. Phishing emails often contain malware disguised as legitimate files.</li><li>Add two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication on your accounts. This adds an additional layer of security even if your password is compromised.</li><li>Contact directly: If you receive a request for sensitive information, verify the request by contacting the organisation directly through known and trusted channels.</li><li>Report phishing attempts: Report phishing emails to your email provider or the relevant authorities. This helps in tracking and stopping phishing schemes.</li></ul>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/how-to/how-to-add-music-to-instagram-profile/articleshow/112732934.cms">You can now add music to your Instagram profile – here's how</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/2024-tvs-jupiter-vs-honda-activa-6g-which-110cc-scooter-should-you-buy/slidelist/112730069.cms">2024 TVS Jupiter vs Honda Activa 6G – which 110cc scooter should you buy?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/iqoo-z9s-pro-vs-moto-edge-50-fusion-which-is-the-best-smartphone-under-25000/slidelist/112703633.cms">iQOO Z9s Pro vs Moto Edge 50 Fusion – which is the best smartphone under ₹25,000?</a>

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