Credit card alerts that’ll make your life easier

Staying on top of your credit card activity is so important, but it can be difficult to remember to check accounts all the time. That’s why credit card alerts can be a useful tool for keeping you constantly informed when changes to your credit card account happen.

For example, you can activate fraud alerts to know if someone’s been using your card without your consent. You can also set up an alert to be notified every time you’re getting close to reaching your credit limit.

Note that the range of credit card alerts you can get often depends on your card issuer.

Common credit card alerts

Not all credit card issuers provide all types of credit card alerts, but these are the most common:

Bank of America alerts

Here are a few of the alerts you can expect from Bank of America:

• Your available balance
• Security concerns
• Deal expiration dates
• When new BankAmeriDeals are available

Chase text alerts

Here are a few alerts offered by Chase:

• Low balance warnings
• Large transaction alerts
• Unusual account activity
• Cleared payments

Amex alerts

Here are a few alert options you can sign up for with American Express:

• Spending alerts
• Account status
• Spend tracking
• Near limit alerts

Capital One alerts

Capital One purchase notifications are one of several types of card alerts you can receive with this provider. You may also receive alerts for:

• Security and fraud warnings
• Balance statements

Citi alerts

Citi offers a variety of alert options, including:

• Statement availability
• Payment reminders
• Overlimit spending

Discover alerts

Here are a few of the email and text alerts you may receive from Discover:

• Purchases made outside of the US
• Purchases made by phone, online or mail
• Spend tracking

USAA alerts

USAA seems to primarily offer alerts for security and fraud monitoring. There isn’t an option at this time to customize your alerts for spending or similar events.

Setting alerts

Setting up credit card alerts is as simple as checking your credit card account online. Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign in to your online banking account or download your bank’s mobile app.
2. Depending on the card issuer, you should choose Customer service, Card alerts or Profile & settings.
3. Select the alerts you wish to receive.

Bottom line

Setting up credit card alerts is a useful way of staying on top of your credit card activity. You can choose to receive notifications on possible fraudulent activity or to be informed whenever you’re reaching your credit limit or spending more than you want to.

Most cards offer this perk, so be sure to compare credit cards so you can choose the one that best fits your financial needs.

Frequently asked questions

• Are security alerts set on by default?

  It depends on the card issuer. But you’ll often get automatic information such as multiple failed attempts to log in to your account or changes to your phone, email or physical address.

• Can I set credit card alerts with my phone?

  Yes, most credit card issuers let you personalize your credit card alerts with a mobile app. But if that’s not an option for your card issuer, log in to your online mobile banking account and set up your alerts there.