I mainly pre cleared it because I wasn't sure how well FNBO would handle it. With BoA the transactions always were declined but also got an immediate text "Did you authorize a transaction for $x from VIA. Reply 'YES' or 'NO'". I replied yes and then immediately got a text to resubmit the transaction. It only took seconds. The longest part was getting transferred back to the automated credit card acceptance system VIA agents use. They don't handle credit cards themselves. I didn't whether FNBO's systems were as smooth as BoA's and I knew I couldn't keep VIA on hold while I navigated through wait queue for humans if FNBO needed that. So I took proactive action.I appreciate the data point, but having to call to preclear is not much different than having to call to post clear. At least with a post clear... there is always a chance it will have cleared.
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xzperu42
Service Attendant
Fortunately all my transactions were online and I could resubmit them.
I was using a VIA Privilege discount coupon that could only be applied by a VIA Preference agent each time, so online wasn't an option.
I got an email saying there was something fishy about my account and please call this number. Even tho the source email was weird, i.e. NOT fnbo.com I called the number which asked for personal id info so i hung up. I sent a secure message via the website and got a reply saying call the main number to speak to a rep. I balked but relented and called early in the AM. The rep told me the Uber charge pending was identified as suspect. True. I got a new card today (over a week) and tried to activate but the site is down. Any other card I've had was a phone activation. I got a separate letter from the fraud dept saying if the charge in my complaint (!!) is deemed legitimate I'll not be charged!
I don't think I like fnbo very much. Seems like a rinkydink Operation.
Edit: the original email came from fnni.com which was the first alarm. 2nd alarm when I called the number provided and a recording told me to enter my email address. Wut?! How do you do that on a phone?
I don't think I like fnbo very much. Seems like a rinkydink Operation.
Edit: the original email came from fnni.com which was the first alarm. 2nd alarm when I called the number provided and a recording told me to enter my email address. Wut?! How do you do that on a phone?
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I fell victim to a Facebook phishing scam last weekend, where the scanner was impersonating a knitting needle & crochet hook company which appeared to be sponsoring a giveaway. I was notified by what seemed to be the company that I had won a set of crochet hooks, but had to click a certain link within an hour to get them, and from there was directed to click through to a "partner site" and do a $1 "trial membership" (which I did with the FNBO card) to have them shipped. (Should have recognized the 2 red flags there!) The next day, I learned that the "claim your prize in 1 hour" thing had been reported by other fans of the Facebook group as a phishing scam, then went to my FNBO account online and saw 2 unauthorized transactions for $180+ each. I called the FNBO "Fraud Prevention" number on the back of the card and reported the unauthorized transactions (which at that point showed as "pending"), was told to call back mid-week once they posted to open a dispute about them, and that meanwhile FNBO would issue replacement cards. When I checked my FNBO account again yesterday, the 2 unauthorized transactions were gone (neither pending nor posted), so it seems FNBO just voided them based on my initial phone call. Received the new card in today's mail, and need to make sure it's activated this evening.
Only call the number on the back of the card.
I think there were some website issues. Yesterday, I tried logging a couple of times on via my desktop computer and the log on failed both times. Used the phone app and logged on sucessfully. This had nothing to do with suspicious activity, I was just checking my account which I do periodically. Logging on via my desktop worked fine today. All-in-all I am satisfied with FNBO.
The back-of-the-card number was the one I used to report the unauthorized transactions (from the phishing scam I had fallen for). I was very thankful I had thought to check my account online instead of waiting for the next paper statement, and was especially thankful that FNBO resolved the situation so quickly.
I rather scoffed at CoM's description of FNBO ("Seems like a rinkydink operation"). Till now.
I got a new AGR Mastercard in the mail yesterday. Which puzzled me, because I compared cards carefully, and the account number and the CCV (3-digit security) number and the expiration date were all the same, and the only subtle difference was that the new one said "World."
The mystery was answered today when I got a separate letter from FNBO telling me I was being upgraded to a World Mastercard, whatever that means.
But get this: I wasn't expecting a new card, and there was no requirement for activation. Anybody could've intercepted it and happily racked up charges that I suppose I would've noticed (I get text alerts) but still.
I thought this was shockingly slack security.
When I received my replacement FNBO AGR credit card (a replacement FNBO initiated when I reported falling victim to a phishing scam), the hubby threw out the cover letter which came with the card (where one would normally find the "call this number from the phone number associated with your account to activate this card" message) before I'd looked at it. I logged into the FNBO website and saw that the last transactions on the old card had already been moved to the new account, then in the evening called the toll-free number on the back of the card. I eventually got through to a live agent, who assured me that the card was already activated -- without my having done anything upon receipt of the card to activate it. At least the unauthorized transactions I had previously noticed from the phisher no longer appeared on my account, and no new unusual transactions had appeared.
FNBO sent me an email today suggesting that I set up alerts (email or text) on my dashboard, and I have done so. You'd think that credit card companies would turn on their own "spidey sense" to detect suspicious transactions as well, though.
Same thing happened to me though I got the letter & card the same day.
"World" and "Preferred" are the same thing...the fee card. The original cards sent out, including mine says Preferred. "World" is the MasterCard name.
I have the no-fee card and my new card makes no mention of a fee. The accompanying letter, which came after the card, lists a few purported benefits, including "digital merchant offers" (heck no) and some kinda identity theft protection which requires separate enrollment. Oh, and an "airport concierge" and a few other perks that I won't use.
The "Guide to Benefits" that came with my "Preferred" (paid) card and other paperwork states "World Mastercard Cardholder Benefits".
It lists the same benefits you mention.
Perhaps only the AGR awards (3 points Amtrak; 2 points dining, travel, rideshare; 1 point everything else; 20% rebate on onboard F&B purchases) are the only thing that is different from the no-fee card.
I've had the same experience as @Trollopian, and based on my somewhat cursory research (leaving for LA Trainfest tomorrow), it sounds like the Preferred (fee) Amtrak card has been a World Mastercard for some time, and the no-fee card now is as well. (As opposed to a lower-tier "standard" Mastercard, or the higher-tier World Elite Mastercard.) At least, for those of us getting the new cards.
The distinction seems to be relevant within the Mastercard network, i.e., the specific World "benefits" are managed through Mastercard rather than FNBO, and nothing to do with AGR. Like Trollopian suggested, jury's out as to whether such perks will actually prove at all useful.
By the way, the biggest difference I've noticed in points earning on the no-fee FNBO card vs. BofA has been the new 2x points on dining purchases. I'd rather it be 2x on groceries, but it's nice when I'm on the
It was my non-fee card that changed to World and the letter said there was no charge for the new card (which has all the same info as the card it replaced). Without reading the letter thoroughly the other day, it appears to give a couple of benefits that I may not have had with the old card.
Unfortunately, neither has any really useful benefits, like extended warranty or Purchase Protection. All of my other cads have rental car insurance, and most still have Purchase Protection & extended warranty.
This thread prompted me to check my Chase/Hyatt card I use frequently on travels. In addition to rental car insurance, it also provides trip delay coverage- never knew this but might be handy for us Amtrak travelers:
Trip Delay Reimbursement
If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
I believe that only applies if you charge the fare on that card, so it would not help if you're using your AGR card to purchase tickets.
Very true, so we try to have cards for the carriers/hotels we use consistently. In the case of Amtrak, how much is having that protection worth since you would be giving up the point bonus but still get points for the value of the trip at 1:1 with another card. Except for AutoTrain, I don't see us using Amtrak for trips as long as the fares are so high and service is erratic. Hotel and airlines points are more valuable for us now.
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They do. That's how my saga started, with the email from fnni.com which had been prompted by a suspicious Uber charge (I've never used Uber). The Uber charge showed pending on my account but I never saw the amount.
I also was puzzled by activation of the replacement card. I tried in vain - there is an activation button on the site. I believe the letter said go to fnbo.com/amtrakguestrewards which turned out to be non-functional.
It's all very strange, capped by their apparent refusal to accept ACH "bill pay" so my bank has to send them a check which entails an uncertain delay in posting.
Not "automatic" but my wife sets up a scheduled payment each month for each of our cards on the FNBO website. She specifies amount and date of payment and provides our checking account number.
I don't know if that is the same as an ACH transfer or not.
This method has been working well since we began with FNBO last year.
It is not the same. It's a matter of who has control. You, or your wife, have given fnbo control in that they have authority to extract funds from your account. I resist that. I prefer to have my bank send them funds that I authorize. This is commonly known as Bill Pay. Fnbo resists that.
Our choices grow ever fewer as time passes. It can't be too long before they refuse checks as payment and our only option is their way.
With the previous AGR bank, one time I paid with a cash transfer from my credit union a few days before payment was due, and when I checked it was labeled "pending." I called the bank to see what that meant, and I couldn't get an answer. So I was calling each day to see whether the payment had been credited and decided it wasn't worth the frustration and the postage I saved, so I went back to mailing a check a week or two before it was due, and that seems to work.
DesertDude
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2014
- Messages
- 86
Glad to see there's already discussion on this thread about the new cards they mailed out. I finally got around to looking at it today, and had the same thoughts. Why doesn't the new card look different (although TBF I noticed the "world" on the new card that someone up thread pointed out)? Why does it have the exact same expiration date, etc.? Why wouldn't it require its own activation? Just seems really different than every other time I've received an updated credit card in the mail, and for a minute I wondered if it might be a scam.
In my case, the new card was a replacement for one which had been compromised by a phishing scam. The transactions from the last billing date before the scam to the date I reported the scam were all transferred over to the new card. It seemed like FNBO was treating this like a "renaming" of my existing account, rather than the creation of an entirely new account, so it made at least some sense that the expiration date hadn't changed.
