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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: vorDa/E+/Getty Images April 09, 2021 Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores. Bankrate logo

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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo

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At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo

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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Two-thirds of consumers have forgotten about at least one recurring payment within the past year, according to a recent survey conducted by Chase and SWNS OnePoll. Among them, 71 percent estimate this cost them more than $50 a month. That’s real money—at least $600 annually and possibly a lot more. Chase has to help their credit card holders determine where their card info is saved. I have the card, so I tested this “saved account manager” feature out for myself. I was surprised to learn that seven different retailers have my Freedom Flex number on file. That’s more than I expected since I’m not usually a big fan of saving my credit card info. Two of these are recurring monthly payments. The others are retailers that saved my card number to facilitate easier purchases in the future. I didn’t always realize they were doing this.

The downside of convenience

Unwanted charges are a big risk, especially recurring subscriptions you’ve forgotten about and free trials that turn into paid subscriptions. Impulse purchases and identity theft are other possible pitfalls. Chase’s primary motivation in calling attention to this issue seems to be as a customer service benefit. I applaud them for that—you don’t always see card issuers encouraging customers to limit how much they spend. Card networks have gotten more active on this front, too. In 2019, that merchants offering free trials get explicit permission from the customer before initiating a paid subscription. Merchants are also required to send reminders every month thereafter with clear instructions for how to cancel if desired. The catch? It’s only for physical goods, not services (such as streaming plans). Soon thereafter, and enacted similar policies that cover both goods and services. The sentiment is admirable. But it’s not just out of the kindness of their hearts; there are business benefits for these companies, too. Credit and debit card payment disputes—often referred to as —cost financial institutions time and money. Chargebacks911 is a company that advocates on behalf of merchants. Its chief operating officer, Monica Eaton-Cardone, told me that chargebacks rose about 25 percent over the past year. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, most disputes pertained to travel cancellations, but that has shifted to e-commerce transactions, she explained. E-commerce spending surged 32 percent in 2020, , as the pandemic forced people to stay at home.

What to do if you have a problem

Disputes are more likely in a card-not-present transaction. Many customers have had legitimate gripes—for example, recurring billings gone wrong or merchandise that never arrived or was damaged. But a chargeback shouldn’t be your first step. Always try to work it out with the merchant first. Eaton-Cardone estimates that about 80 percent of digital entertainment chargebacks and at least 60 percent of membership-related chargebacks were legitimate transactions (“friendly fraud,” in other words). This has become a huge problem for merchants, and by extension the financial institutions that are involved in the transactions. It’s often not an intentional effort to deceive. Some customers see a chargeback as the path of least resistance, or they make the incorrect assumption that a chargeback is the best way to request a refund for a shirt that didn’t fit or an impulse buy that they later regretted. If you have a customer service issue, attempt to resolve it with the merchant first, then pull in your card issuer if needed. Also, consider unlinking your cards from retailers’ websites. This can ward off unwanted charges and limit your potential exposure if the retailer is hacked (note that saving debit card info is particularly dangerous since this represents direct access to your checking account). And saving your card info makes you more likely to buy stuff you don’t need since that one-click access is so easy. That’s what retailers want. It’s too easy sometimes.

The bottom line

Take special note of recurring billings and free trials. Set calendar reminders so you don’t forget. The Mastercard, Visa and American Express guidelines are helpful, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. A merchant might not follow the rules or you might miss the notification. And ask yourself if you really value that recurring purchase. Spending $10 here and $20 there doesn’t feel like a lot, but it can be a trap. Consider that a monthly expense you trim from your budget each year has 12 times the impact of cutting the same thing just once. Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at and I’d be happy to help. SHARE: Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. He focuses on the credit card industry and helps consumers maximize rewards, get out of debt and improve their credit scores.

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