Capital One has reminded me for some time about "virtual cards" I may create using my Capital One Spark Business Visa card.
It actually sounded like a helpful feature / benefit, and I finally went ahead and created a virtual card to order a subscription to a publication. A virtual card seemed the perfect application, as the publication has a "teaser" monthly subscription rate for the first year, after which it will rise to more than I am prepared to pay (can cancel at anytime).
So, I figured I would use a virtual card and set an 'auto--lock' date of about 11 months from now to minimize the chances of inadvertently overlooking the higher rate that I will presumably be billed for the second year.
This seems like a good application for a virtual card, or am I missing something?
Of course, when I went to use the virtual card for an online subscription there was a payment issue with the publication. They're closed today, but I plan to follow up tomorrow.
In the meantime, I confirmed with Capital One that my virtual card was in order. The phone rep didn't seem particularly knowledgeable and couldn't really answer what I consider basic questions (she gave conflicting answers about how "auto-lock" works, for example.)
So, as I try to sort things out I figured I would reach out to fellow Bogleheads to try to learn of others' experiences and any insights forum members may have on the topic.
Based on a quick internet search, I would think a virtual card could be useful and even beneficial, at least in some instances.
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... dit-cards/
It actually sounded like a helpful feature / benefit, and I finally went ahead and created a virtual card to order a subscription to a publication. A virtual card seemed the perfect application, as the publication has a "teaser" monthly subscription rate for the first year, after which it will rise to more than I am prepared to pay (can cancel at anytime).
So, I figured I would use a virtual card and set an 'auto--lock' date of about 11 months from now to minimize the chances of inadvertently overlooking the higher rate that I will presumably be billed for the second year.
This seems like a good application for a virtual card, or am I missing something?
Of course, when I went to use the virtual card for an online subscription there was a payment issue with the publication. They're closed today, but I plan to follow up tomorrow.
In the meantime, I confirmed with Capital One that my virtual card was in order. The phone rep didn't seem particularly knowledgeable and couldn't really answer what I consider basic questions (she gave conflicting answers about how "auto-lock" works, for example.)
So, as I try to sort things out I figured I would reach out to fellow Bogleheads to try to learn of others' experiences and any insights forum members may have on the topic.
Based on a quick internet search, I would think a virtual card could be useful and even beneficial, at least in some instances.
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... dit-cards/
Statistics: Posted by rjbraun — Sun Jan 12, 2025 1:30 pm