I used to have one credit card that I use for business purposes. It's an American Express that is due in full at the end of the month, so we use it primarily for convenience, not to defer payment. Over time, we have accumulated several monthly expenses that we have set up to auto-pay on the card. We also have the card on file with certain supply houses and use it for online purchases with new vendors.
Twice in the past six months my card has been compromised! First, someone tried to charge $5,000 online at Gucci online (AmX caught that one and called me for verification). Just a couple of weeks ago I noticed that a Mr. David Alvarez flew from Florida to San Francisco via Jet Blue on a ticket purchased fraudulently with my card. So for the second time in six months, I had to get a replacement card and update payment info with vendors.
Fortunately, after the first mess, and countless phone calls and logins to change billing info, I decided to use a second credit card for all the ongoing recurring expenses. So my newspaper, cell phone, internet access, cloud server, web hosting, DirectTV, Demandforce, Millennium support, Cable and my phone service were not affected this time! Whew! I figure the card number is more at risk when it's being entered in on multiple websites, used for phone orders, booking travel, etc. so I have now separated those types of transactions. Sure enough it was that card that was compromised. It's still a huge pain in the butt to get new card information to supply houses and vendors, but at least this time I don't have to worry that my internet service or phones will be cut off if I forget to contact someone.
Have you found a good way to keep your card info safe? If so, please share! I don't want to go through this again in 6 more months!
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