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While watching tv one night, your phone pings a reminder. Your credit card payment is due soon. Thankful for the heads up, you open your online banking app and make the payment before it's due. You feel good about handling your responsibilities and staying on top of your finances—all without leaving your couch.
An email alert or a text alert is an easy—and free—way to manage your credit card account. Most credit cards allow you to set and customize alerts so you can easily stay on top of payments, balances, and more. Discover Card adds an extra layer of peace of mind with alerts for fraudulent activity and account updates.
Whether you’re a new credit card user or an experienced consumer, you can benefit from alerts that help you stay on top of activities such as payments, spending, and fraud. Here are some of the kinds of credit card notifications that can help you stay on top of your finances:
Payment reminders: A payment reminder notifies you of your payment due date (and possibly the minimum amount due) for your credit card. If you don’t have autopay set up it can be easy to miss a payment due date and end up with a lower credit score. A payment reminder can keep you on top of your bill.
Spending alerts: A spending alert is a notification that you can set to tell you if you spend more in one transaction than a dollar amount you define. If you use your card frequently, a spending alert can help you stick to your budget and help you reconsider high-ticket items.
Balance alerts: A balance alert tells you how much money you owe (your outstanding balance) on your card. Simply pre-set an amount, and your creditor will notify you when you exceed your spending, helping you to keep your spending and monthly payments manageable. This can be especially important if you have a joint account at multiple people use. Balance alerts keep you in the loop and also help you manage your credit report because the amount of available credit you’re using can affect your credit score.
Security and fraud alerts: There are different kinds of security and fraud alerts. Alerts may be triggered by suspicious activity (potential fraud) like logging into your account from an unusual location, unexpected spending patterns, or other concerning behaviors. The activity might not be legit, but at least you have a heads up and can react quickly if it isn’t.
Other common alert settings that you might find:
