Got this card going into college. Started to use it exclusively for my purchases, never went over my limit, always paid off my balance in full on a monthly basis, and built up a pretty good credit history. I was vigilant about protecting my account to make sure there were no false charges, so I would check my online statement almost on a daily basis to double check that the charges were correct. I used the card for years without any problems.

Then, late summer 2009, I noticed a $300 hotel charge on my online statement that I did not make. I immediately phoned the company to report the charge, and they were happy to take it off after I filled out an affidavit. They also sent me a new card ($10 charge). Then they did something that I just can’t understand: they took my online account access away.

They said they removed my online access to protect my account’s security. BUT IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE ONLINE ACCOUNT, I WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND THE FALSE $300 CHARGE UNTIL A MONTH LATER WHEN MY PAPER STATEMENT CAME. I called the company to ask for my online access to be re-instated but they refused – it would be gone for 90 to 120 days. So for the last 4 months, I’ve had no visibility to my account charges and no idea if there were any false charges until I get my paper statement, at which point I would be liable for paying the false charges until they could be removed at a later point. The only alternative was to call their automated system and listen to the last 10 charges, but that is both cumbersome and time-consuming. They say they took my online account access away for security reasons, but my online access was the best way I could protect my account! Needless to say, I no longer use this card (except for a once-a-month recurring charge so that I can keep the account open) and have switched to another company.