22 Credit Card Alerts You Should Use

Most credit card providers offer credit card alerts and notifications to inform consumers about their credit card accounts in real time via email, text message or push notifications from a mobile app or website. You can use these 22 credit card alerts to:

Detect fraud
Manage credit
Protect your identity

Unfortunately, these alerts aren’t all available for any credit card. But the Credit Card Alerts by Major Credit Card Providers comparison shows alerts available from the major credit card providers.

Detect Fraud

Retailers and credit card providers have been successful in reducing fraud through chips, digital wallets, and artificial intelligence. But thieves have also benefited from improvements in skimmers. These notifications help detect fraudulent transactions on your credit card:

Transaction over amount
- Set this to $.01 if you want to receive alerts on all transactions
Irregular account activity
- This can vary by provider, but it’s usually worth your immediate attention. One example is shipping an online order somewhere other than the billing address.
Card not present (online, phone, or mail)
- When a thief skims your card, he’ll usually test it with a small transaction somewhere that doesn’t the physical card, require identification or have cameras to capture his identify. Online, phone and mail purchases fit the bill.
Gas station charge
- Gas stations also don’t require identification, though they do require the physical card to be present.
International / foreign charge
- Thieves use stolen cards outside the US, where protections and verification differ.
Cash advance / ATM withdrawal
- Some credit cards offer cash advances, even through ATM withdrawals. If you can’t turn off this “feature,” you should at least get a notification.
Transaction declined
- It happens to everyone, but especially to thieves who don’t know the available balance.

Manage Credit

You can use these alerts to manage your credit card accounts and, indirectly, your credit score:

Balance above set amount
Current balance
Approaching / Over Credit Limit
Balance transfer posted
Credit pending / posted
Spend tracking (e.g. spent higher than set amount in a specified period)
Statement ready
Payment reminder
Payment received / posted
No payment received / past due
Payment failed

Protect Your Identity

These credit card alerts are especially important because they protect your identity:

Account login
Account locked due to failed authentication (password, security questions, etc.)
User ID, password changed
Contact info changed

Credit Card Alerts by Major Credit Card Providers

Alert	American Express	Bank of America	Barclay's	Capital One	Chase	Citi	Discover	Wells Fargo	USAA
Detect Fraud
Transaction over amount	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Irregular account activity	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Card not present (online, phone, mail)	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Cash advance / ATM withdrawal	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Gas station charge	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
International / foreign charge	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Transaction declined	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manage Credit
Balance above set amount	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Current balance (e.g. daily)	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Approaching / Over Credit Limit	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Balance transfer posted	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Credit pending / posted	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Spending in period (day, week)	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Statement ready	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Payment reminder before due date	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Payment was posted / received	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
No payment received / past due	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Payment failed	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Protect Your Identity
Account login	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Account locked / failed authentication	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
User id / password changed	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Contact info updated	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Credit card alerts can be useful, but some may find them annoying or, even worse, ignore them. Being aware of your options can help you decide how to set the credit card alerts that are right for you. You may have a higher tolerance for fraud if your card has a low limit and doesn’t allow cash advances. You may not need to manage your credit through alerts if you automatically pay your statement balance on or before the due date. Everyone should use all available alerts to protect your identity.

Which alerts do you use? Does your provider offer a useful alert not included here? Please let us know!