Need advice about credit card for online transactions over the Internet

[Belonging to Abba]

A banker told me that if I use a credit card, I am more likely to get my money back if I am a victim of fraud than if I use a debit card. So I want to get a credit card for online transactions over the Internet since I am concerned about Malware. I recently read an article about malware on Android that has millions of installs and I don’t expect that my Windows computer is fully safe either.

First, which credit card would anyone recommend getting? My credit score has dropped to fair since I completed paying off my student loan a year ago and have had no credit activity since than. So I may have to get a credit card with more limits, like a secured credit card. Should I go with American Express, Capital One, or Chase Bank, or something else?

Secondly, I want a credit card that I can just pay by calling a phone number. My bank told me that their credit card has to be paid online or with the app and that you can’t call a phone number to pay it because of security reasons. However in researching this online, I read that most of the major credit cards have a phone number on the back of the card that you can call and provide your bank account number and pay that way. I don’t want to pay online or with the app because that defeats the purpose of why I am getting a credit card. I am trying not to use my computer or phone to pay because that could potentially expose my bank account number to malware or hackers.

I found that on Experian’s website if you provide your phone number and last four of your social, you can view preapproved offers. Is that a good place to sign up? Where else should I sign up?

I also want a card that has no monthly fee, and which one would give me a better interest rate?
The article on malware on Android in the Play store with millions of installs has me concerned, but should I assume that my Windows 11 computer with Windows defender and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware is safer? I am not paying for any virus / malware protection with this setup, as I am just using the free version of Malware Bytes.

Someone also mentioned to me that I can get a lower interest rate if I go with a credit union.

Also because I prefer to donate a certain percentage of my income to charity or the church, I might have online transactions with large amounts of money. I am kind of wondering if I should really do that with a credit card. If I were to become unemployed for some reason, I wouldn’t want a large amount of money to have to pay off if I did not anticipate becoming unemployed. Normally I would plan to pay off the balance each month.

 

[Aldebaran]

The first thing I look for is no annual fee, and then reward points. Here's a list of good rated ones: https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/rewards

For making donations, I'd opt for doing it in individual payments rather than recurring. Then you can change what you do each time as needed.

 

[Wookiee]

You're asking a heap of different things here, so I'll just address this one.

The article on malware on Android in the Play store with millions of installs has me concerned, but should I assume that my Windows 11 computer with Windows defender and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware is safer? I am not paying for any virus / malware protection with this setup, as I am just using the free version of Malware Bytes.

Short answer: as safe as you can be.

Long answer: as long as you have a device actively connected to the internet, you are always in danger. It's the same principle as driving; there's a chance you can get into an accident every time you are on the road.

Minimising risks:
- use PayPal where you can
- ensure all your passwords are unique (ie random) and are MFA protected
- don't store your credit card information on the computer (ie don't save it to the browser, to a text file, etc)

Pay off your credit card as you go, and don't buy what you can't afford.

 

[JosephZ]

Capital One would probably be your best bet as far as meeting the needs you mentioned. They have several different cards available to fit just about any credit score. Their website has a pre-qualification form that you can fill out, and you will see your card offers along with the terms and benefits of each card. They even have a checklist of what benefits are most important to you.

Get Pre-Approved for a Capital One Credit Card | Capital One

Get pre-approved for a Capital One credit card with no impact on your credit score. Find out if you're pre-approved in as few as 60 seconds.

www.capitalone.com

When checking on credit cards, always make sure that they only do a soft pull on your credit report. Having too many inquiries on your credit report can lower your score and may prevent you from qualifying for decent credit card. Most pre-qualification applications don't affect your credit score, but be sure that it states that somewhere on the application before filling one out.

 

[PloverWing]

Congratulations on paying off your student loans!

I agree with your hesitation about using your bank account number on the Internet.

The credit card that I use for most of my Internet transactions allows me to set a threshold for charges; if any charge is larger than that threshold, I get an email message notifying me of the charge, so that I can verify that it's legitimate. It's one bit of fraud prevention. I decide what the threshold is, and I can change it if I want to.

Many credit cards give you cash back in some form (plain money, or credit with some store chain like LLBean). There are enough of them around that I'd choose one of those instead of one that charges a fee.

I very strongly recommend completely paying off the credit card balance every month. Credit card interest is very expensive. The credit card's interest rate is irrelevant as long as you never ever ever pay any interest.

Are you able to pay your credit card bill by check? I know that's old-fashioned, but it means that you're not entering bank information into any web application.

 

[Aldebaran]

The credit card that I use for most of my Internet transactions allows me to set a threshold for charges; if any charge is larger than that threshold, I get an email message notifying me of the charge, so that I can verify that it's legitimate. It's one bit of fraud prevention. I decide what the threshold is, and I can change it if I want to.

Yes, good idea! I have mine set at $1 so I'm notified of all transactions. If it was a fraudulent charge, I'll know about it right away.

 

[Richard T]

The only thing i can add is that Citi and or Chase allow you to get a temporary card number for online transactions. This is done through their website. Also, you can turn on and off credit cards for extra safety if you like. If your credit is just fair getting cards with freebies might be difficult. If this is the case, build up your credit until you get a couple of serious cards that give 2% cash back or some serious free travel. I rotate the travel offers myself. I pay maybe 100 for one year of an airline card. Capture the free miles from their intro offer and end up with maybe a 500.00 dollar airfare being covered with miles. pay off every month and the banks basically are paying you to use them rather than the other way around. Of course they still make money from the merchant fees.

 

[eleos1954]

A banker told me that if I use a credit card, I am more likely to get my money back if I am a victim of fraud than if I use a debit card. So I want to get a credit card for online transactions over the Internet since I am concerned about Malware. I recently read an article about malware on Android that has millions of installs and I don’t expect that my Windows computer is fully safe either.

First, which credit card would anyone recommend getting? My credit score has dropped to fair since I completed paying off my student loan a year ago and have had no credit activity since than. So I may have to get a credit card with more limits, like a secured credit card. Should I go with American Express, Capital One, or Chase Bank, or something else?

Secondly, I want a credit card that I can just pay by calling a phone number. My bank told me that their credit card has to be paid online or with the app and that you can’t call a phone number to pay it because of security reasons. However in researching this online, I read that most of the major credit cards have a phone number on the back of the card that you can call and provide your bank account number and pay that way. I don’t want to pay online or with the app because that defeats the purpose of why I am getting a credit card. I am trying not to use my computer or phone to pay because that could potentially expose my bank account number to malware or hackers.

I found that on Experian’s website if you provide your phone number and last four of your social, you can view preapproved offers. Is that a good place to sign up? Where else should I sign up?

I also want a card that has no monthly fee, and which one would give me a better interest rate?
The article on malware on Android in the Play store with millions of installs has me concerned, but should I assume that my Windows 11 computer with Windows defender and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware is safer? I am not paying for any virus / malware protection with this setup, as I am just using the free version of Malware Bytes.

Someone also mentioned to me that I can get a lower interest rate if I go with a credit union.

Also because I prefer to donate a certain percentage of my income to charity or the church, I might have online transactions with large amounts of money. I am kind of wondering if I should really do that with a credit card. If I were to become unemployed for some reason, I wouldn’t want a large amount of money to have to pay off if I did not anticipate becoming unemployed. Normally I would plan to pay off the balance each month.

I have had American Express for many years ... any issues I've ever had have always been resolved by them in a timely manner. There are some places that will not accept American Express ... but I do have a Visa through my bank but is rarely used ... only when I run across a merchant that does not accept American Express.

Also ... another thing I do is my American Express is attached to my Paypal account. I think paypal adds another level of protection because you are not giving out your actual credit card number to a merchant by going through your pay pal account. Most places online accept paypal as a means for payment.

I am not a proponent of a bank debit card ... the less activity I have on my bank account the better. Basically the only things that shows up on my bank acct are utility payments and my American express monthly balance pay off payment.

If you don't pay off your entire credit card balance monthly (of which you should do) you will incur interest charges.

Another thing to do is always search your email account(s) "credit card" in case someone has somehow applied for a credit card in your name. This has happened to me twice ... but I was able to stop it by calling them. Watch your regular snail mail as well.

Having a couple credit cards are convenient to use ... but one should guard against racking up debt and incurring interest charges ... you lose financial ground that way ... and it can get out of hand.

If you are contacted via email from any credit cards you may have .... always call the number that is on the back of your actual card .... not the number that is in the email. If you receive an email from "pay pal" ... sign in to your account yourself online and receive help through there.

This has worked fairly well for me for what it is worth. There are so many scams out there you really need to be careful.

I make my monthly donations through paypal.

 

[NxNW]

If you want to be safe, you can have your credit card copmpany generate a one-time card number for individual transaction, or a card number that is only good for one particular vendor if you have recurring transactions.

 

[JesusFollowerForever]

A banker told me that if I use a credit card, I am more likely to get my money back if I am a victim of fraud than if I use a debit card. So I want to get a credit card for online transactions over the Internet since I am concerned about Malware. I recently read an article about malware on Android that has millions of installs and I don’t expect that my Windows computer is fully safe either.

First, which credit card would anyone recommend getting? My credit score has dropped to fair since I completed paying off my student loan a year ago and have had no credit activity since than. So I may have to get a credit card with more limits, like a secured credit card. Should I go with American Express, Capital One, or Chase Bank, or something else?

Secondly, I want a credit card that I can just pay by calling a phone number. My bank told me that their credit card has to be paid online or with the app and that you can’t call a phone number to pay it because of security reasons. However in researching this online, I read that most of the major credit cards have a phone number on the back of the card that you can call and provide your bank account number and pay that way. I don’t want to pay online or with the app because that defeats the purpose of why I am getting a credit card. I am trying not to use my computer or phone to pay because that could potentially expose my bank account number to malware or hackers.

I found that on Experian’s website if you provide your phone number and last four of your social, you can view preapproved offers. Is that a good place to sign up? Where else should I sign up?

I also want a card that has no monthly fee, and which one would give me a better interest rate?
The article on malware on Android in the Play store with millions of installs has me concerned, but should I assume that my Windows 11 computer with Windows defender and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware is safer? I am not paying for any virus / malware protection with this setup, as I am just using the free version of Malware Bytes.

Someone also mentioned to me that I can get a lower interest rate if I go with a credit union.

Also because I prefer to donate a certain percentage of my income to charity or the church, I might have online transactions with large amounts of money. I am kind of wondering if I should really do that with a credit card. If I were to become unemployed for some reason, I wouldn’t want a large amount of money to have to pay off if I did not anticipate becoming unemployed. Normally I would plan to pay off the balance each month.

Ask for a visa or mastercard, from your bank, they have one or the other. these 2 are widely accepted, get a small limit only 500 dollars max and always pay in full your credit bill monthly, your credit score will improve dramatically quickly. as foa paying you can always do so at the bank or ATM much safer this way.

the interest rated on any credit card are monstruous, only buy what you can pay each month and pay in full.

Blessings