One of the things I didn’t anticipate when getting into the points and miles game was how difficult it is to keep track of my credit cards. When I first started out I only had one credit card to keep track of. At the time I only had the American Express Gold card and I used that card for everything. Each month I’d receive a bill and go through it thoroughly. I wanted to make sure that every single charge on my statment was legitimate. Over time however, I opened another card and another card and another card. Before I knew it I just couldn’t possibly go through all of my charges on all of my cards.
Instead I’d check each card’s transaction ledger every so many days. The process was fairly straightforward. I’d log into each bank’s website, review each card’s statement, and try to identify any “issues” that may arise. This process actually worked quite well. Over the years I’ve identified a few erroneous charges and felt fairly confident that I was only paying for things that I authorized. It’s possible that I missed a few small charges here and there, but either way I didn’t loose any sleep over it. Then, a little more than two weeks ago I randomly decided to add all of my credit cards to my Apple Mobile Wallet and that small decision changed everything.
Adding My Cards To Apple’s Mobile Wallet
When I got a new phone a short while ago I decided that it would be fun to add all of my credit cards to my Apple Mobile Wallet. The process is fairly painless and essentially involved scanning in each card individually. I’d estimate that it took just over a minute to add each card.
This was different for me because in the past I only ever added my primary card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, to my mobile wallet. Also, this time around I left all of my Apple Pay and Mobile Wallet notifications on.
At first I didn’t love my decision. Every time I swiped any one of my cards I’d receive a notification on my phone. It was annoying at first because I of course knew I just swiped my card. I didn’t need a popup on my phone reminding me that I just spent yet another $15 on Uber when I could have taken public transportation!
However, overtime I grew to appreciate these notifications as it allowed me to see exactly what was being charged to any one of my cards. Then today, I realized that I absolutely made the right decision when it comes to adding ALL of my open credit cards to Apple’s Mobile Wallet and leaving the notifications on.
Fraud On My American Express Platinum Card
On my way into work today my phone buzzed alerting me to a new notification. When I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at it, the notification was for an American Express Platinum Card charge. The charge was for just over $600 on Walmart.com! My phone alerted me to the charges immediately and I was then able to call American Express and lock the card immediately.
Now a new card is on its way and I don’t have to worry about any additionally fraudulent charges. Even better, Apple’s Mobile Wallet automatically updated about 30 minutes after I ended my call with my new card number. In fact, I was able to charge my new Platinum card through Apple Pay very shortly after handing up with the American Express fraud prevention team. I had no idea that my mobile credit card would update so quickly and that I’d be able to use it immediately after hanging up the phone.
Final Thoughts
I honestly can’t believe my luck in this situation. In the past I only ever added a single credit card to my Apple Mobile Wallet. I never really saw a point to add any other cards than my daily driver; the Chase Sapphire Reserve. However, since I luckily added all of my cards to my Apple Wallet I received a notification of the charge as it happened and was able to react immediately. Within no more than 10 minutes following the charge I was able to shut down my old account number and order a new card that will arrive within three business days. Even better, I now have the updated card number in my Apple Mobile Wallet which means I can now use my new card with Apple Pay even before receiving my new physical American Express Platinum card.
While it’s possible that someone got the card information from hacking my Mobile Wallet, I will still add all of my cards to my Mobile Wallet going forward. Even if the card number was stolen from there, at least I’ll know immediately when fraudulent charges happen so I can react quickly. I still find the charge notifications redundant when I am the one swiping the card, but that’s a fairly small price to pay in exchange for the added peace of mind.
