News Article
For: December Issue
To: Gulf Coast Womens News
By: Linda K. Bowman, Ext. Agt. IV - Family & Consumer Sciences
Santa Rosa County Extension Service
Telephone: 850/623-3868 or 939-1259, ext. 1360
“Protect Credit Cards During Holidays”
Using credit cards is a way of life for many Floridians. According to a recent American Banker survey 80 percent of all U.S. households own one or more credit cards. These cards may be used to pay for holiday spending including travel expenses such as airline tickets, gasoline, car rental, motels and food. In addition credit cards may also be used to purchase gifts and to mail those gifts.
Credit cards are convenient. You are not required to carry as much cash with you. Gifts can be purchased that would not be possible if you had to pay cash on the line. Sometimes it’s easier to return items purchased on credit. Payments are delayed for about a month and, in most cases, no finance charges are assessed if the bill is paid in full when due. However, an annual fee is often charged for the privilege of using a credit card.
If you plan to rent a car this holiday season and use a credit card to pay the bill, you may not need to purchase “collision damage wavier insurance.” That is, if you wreck the rental car, the card issuer may carry insurance to cover any liability that may be yours that is not covered by your own automobile insurance. Check it out before you rent a car. Does the credit card you will be using to pay for the rental car provide this automatic insurance on automobile rentals?
There are also disadvantages of using credit cards. In the excitement surrounding the holiday season it is easy to over spend. Another disadvantage is that credit cards can be lost or stolen. To reduce the risk that your credit card will be lost or stolen this holiday season follow these tips:
v Keep your credit cards on your person. Don’t leave them in the glove compartment of your car and don’t put them in your luggage when you are traveling.
v Carry your credit cards so that you will know where they are at all times.
v If you have a number of credit cards, carry only those that you expect to need and use when you travel. Leave others in a safe place such as your bank safe deposit box.
v Review the number and kinds of credit cards you own. If you own more than you use and need, cancel and destroy unnecessary cards. Never leave credit cards in your home when you and your family are away.
v Each family member needs to have a record of all credit cards and credit card numbers. The day may come when a card is lost or stolen. Be prepared to act quickly to inform the issuer of such loss. The use of a “credit card safety record” can make fast action possible.
To make a credit card safety record gather together all of the family’s credit cards. This record should include six bits of information about each card. In a six-column chart include:
1. the name of the card;
2. the card users (each family member who holds a copy of the card);
3. card account number;
4. telephone number for reporting lost card;
5. company address for reporting lost credit cards; and,
6. expiration date on each card.
Keep your credit card safety record in a safe place in your home with your other important family records. You may also want to place a copy of this in your safe deposit box.
If you lose your card, this information will help you act immediately. After you properly notify the credit card issuer that your credit card has been lost, you no longer have the responsibility for any charges made against the card.
For further information contact: Linda Bowman, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, The University of Florida--Santa Rosa County Cooperative Extension Service--IFAS, at (850)623-3868 or (850)939-1259, Ext. 1360 for south county residents, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Hearing-impaired individuals may call Santa Rosa County Emergency Management Service at 983-5373 (TDD).
Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin. The use of trade names in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the exclusion of others.