Thrifty Thinking: Last Minute Holiday Hacks for Safe Shopping/Savings

As time runs out to secure final items on gift lists, hasty transactions can lead to serious personal data security issues. A new Holiday Gift Shopping Survey* conducted by CardRates.com reports that credit cards are the most frequent method of payment consumers use to make gift purchases in December with 61% saying they’ll use credit cards for some, if not all, of their holiday purchases this month.

"It's easy for frazzled shoppers to overlook a potential risk to their personal or financial information in the rush to score a last-minute deal," said Brittney Mayer, credit strategist at CardRates.com (https://www.cardrates.com/). “Keep in mind that data is only as secure as the service and to only share credit cards information with trusted platforms and retailers.

Safe Shopping Hacks for In-store and Online

• Use Third-party Payment Services: Consider using a third-party payment service or mobile wallet that masks your financial information from merchants.
• Utilize Return Protection — Use cards that ensure the return of unwanted gifts even if the merchant won’t accept it or issue a refund.
• Set Up Credit Card Alerts — Use online banking accounts/apps to notify you for purchases over a set amount, at specific retailers or made outside of the U.S.
• Avoid Carrying Big Balances — Big balances accrue big interest charges. If you’ll carry a balance, try to use a 0% intro-APR card for gift purchases.
• Avoid Maxing Out Credit Cards — Carrying high balances relative to your credit limits can hurt your utilization ratio, potentially lowering your credit score.

Please contact me for additional online security tips and/or comments from the Credit experts at CardRates.com.