Happy

Ah, I get your points. As long as the card is swiped right in front of you, and not away from your sight at any time, I think the possibility of such incident is very very low. I would not rule out the possibility completely though, especially if the payment device is at a small business office such as dentist or doctor offices because it was where one of our personal Citicard info was stolen. The fake card was used almost a month later as POS transactions in Mexico - all in restaurants and food markets. Citi called after the fifth usage to check if these were fraudulent charges... They were... Card was replaced. Dont know if Citi would do the same if this is a business card.

The employees who steal card numbers via the reader have to run your card thru the reader which they can only do so when having your card away from your watch - such as restaurants, a very high risk place where card info got stolen.

hillrider

They would do, but may decide that you're responsible for the first $500 of fraud. Or they may change today's terms and conditions that state that you're only responsible for $50 any time to say that you're responsible for the first $500 of fraud. They're free to do that.

Happy

True.

There are far more than 1 poster - in fact I think in the Miles Buzz forum you good guys dont venture to, as high as 80% of the posters on such threads have 0 clue on what is all about I would dare to say.

JDiver

If you are entirely retired and do nothing, I am not recommending that; perhaps you are one of those folks who fully, completely retire - but I know many who do not. Your FICO score is probably more important than anything else, most likely :


Read the terms, self-assess, then decide. The credit card company will then decide what to do, not follow some cant like "if you are not a business owner you won't qualify" - that's often untrue. But do be aware, as others have stated, business and personal cards often have differing coverages - some better, some worse, e.g some provide secondary rental car insurance, some do not provide insurance protection for purchases, etc.

Would I advocate fraud by lying? Not bloody likely.

Efrem

I never said retirees cannot have a business. I would never say that. I am retired. I have one.

All I said is that, to get a business credit card, you have to claim to have a business. (Maybe you really have one. Maybe you just say you do. That's your business, pun intended.) I wish people wouldn't put words in my mouth without at least reading my post. If someone does not have a business and is not willing to lie in this regard, they won't get a business credit card. This doesn't prevent them from having any number of personal credit cards.

(Managing your personal finances is a personal activity, not a business, unless the act of managing generates reportable income. The informal use of the term "business" is much broader than what it means in this context.)

onthego15

I'm retired and I just received the 75000 mile Citi Business Visa. I put 0 as my income and said my business was a sole proprietorship. They approved my application and sent me a card without asking for any proof of my business. (Had they asked I would sent them proof that I own a condo which I sometimes rent out.)

Others who applied under the offer have been asked to supply detailed proof of their business.

So, obviously YMMV.

If you do apply, go for the 75000 mile offer. Deadline is Oct. 31:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-up-bonus.html

oldpenny16

The payment time allowed to pay after the bill is sent out is different on the business cards than on the consumer cards. Not enough time to go on a 2 week vacation.

Sometimes it is less than 10 days. Be careful!

Happy

Huh?

In this day and age, who would still send a check to make payment?

One can always check account online, schedule payment before due date as soon as statement close and then go on vacation! We often do that, and are on 4 to 6 weeks vacation no less.

If you need the "float" on the CC and count on the grace period to make payment (may not even pay in full), then the reward card is NOT for you as they carry much higher interest on the unpaid balance!

Plato90s

Not worried - the 40k offer only required $1k spend and I can do that with a single purchase at the US Mint for the dollar coins. After which the card will be used exactly 1 more time for some tiny purchase in the 2nd billing period, and then it goes in the shredder.

After reading the MilesBuzz thread - maybe I should try to re-apply...

oldpenny16

Plato90's, I know that you are very smart about these things, but many folks are not.

chemist661

check out thread on Miles Buzz. There are better offers than 40K. It expires either today or tomorrow. For $1500 spend within 6 months, there is a 75K bonus. For 100K bonus miles, one gets 50K after spending $750 ($1500?) within 4 months and 50K more after spending a total of 10K.

It is a very long thread and one can apply for 2 personals on the same day (AMEX & Visa) and later go for a Biz Visa.

Plato90s

That was an excellent tip, as I found the 75k card which was non-business and Citi accepted the application - no problem.

Thanks!

Efrem

Two other points:

1. To some extent, "business" is a label for a bundle of card features. There is, so far, no legislation that controls what it has to mean. It's up the card issuer how much of a "business" an applicant has to be or have. At one extreme, it's like "business" class on airplanes: they don't care who you are, cough up the fare and you're good to go. (The original-equipment radio in my 1999 BMW was labeled "BMW Business." Maybe it makes sense in German.) After a card issuer sets a general policy, the individual approver then may have a say. So, total standardization is too much to expect. The range of personal experiences already posted in this thread is one indication of this. They're all over the place.

2. The credit card business is changing rapidly, at least in the U.S. Depending on what happens with the elections that are under way as I write this, there may be more changes coming. I wouldn't count on anything in this thread still being accurate in three months, with the possible exception of the first sentence of this paragraph.