But  the whole thing was a nuisance since it involved canceling the card. I also found out that my Auto Pay selection didn’t transfer to the new account, so my regular payment  didn’t post like it was supposed to. Fortunately Citi has zero liability when it comes to fraud charges, so  at least I wasn’t  responsible for any of it.

Well, just 2 weeks later I have discovered that another one of my Citi credit cards got hacked. What?? And this time it was 1450 dollars worth of charges from Avianca.com. There has been a lot of controversy in connection with that Colombian airline and its frequent flyer program.

Anyway, back to my problem. Citi has an option to file a dispute online, so that is what I did with my Avianca charges. Since I did it in the same manner when the heater purchase was discovered, I figured I was all set.

Fortunately, I decided to follow up with a phone call this time. It’s a good thing I did. Apparently, since the charge was significant, the dispute would not be filed till I called. But Citi never mentioned it in the confirmation page. Yet again I was reminded of Citi bank’s incompetence.

I was informed by the agent that the charges would be credited in a day or two. Five days later they still were not. So I called again and they said somehow the dispute wasn’t filed correctly. Anyway, I did get the credit eventually. What is the lesson? Always keep track of your credit cards.The more you have, the more potential there is for something to go wrong.

Follow up with a phone call, get a name of the agent and ask for a confirmation email if possible. With most cards, you only have 60 days after you get your statement to file a dispute, so don’t take any chances. And even if they say the charge will be removed, check and double check to make sure.

This hobby is very lucrative but it certainly has some drawbacks and that’s one of them. So, make sure to keep track of the circus in your wallet by registering your cards on Mint.com I still don’t know who bought those tickets on Avianca. A Colombian drug lord?  Fortunately, it’s one secret that doesn’t need to be revealed!

Author: Leana

Leana is the owner and founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.

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