Before I start this post, I need to clarify a few tidbits about myself:
- I have little to no interest in credit cards, frequent flyer miles or hotel points. I know, I know…to some of you that’s blasphemy. Sorry, not sorry. I mean, don’t get me wrong; I like it when we get to fly first or business class or stay in cooler or more swanky places. But I’m seriously just as happy at a Holiday Inn Express after sitting in a plane’s coach seat. So yeah, collecting points and miles is 100% Joe’s realm.
- I hate – HATE! – talking on the phone. The advent of email and text messages has been huge, wonderful things in my life and I will avoid talking on the phone as much as possible. As far as I’m concerned, there is little to be done on the phone that can’t be done via text, email or online chat.
So anyway, Joe signed me up for the Hilton Honors Surpass American Express. He begrudgingly accepts that I’m not into the whole points and miles thing, so he doesn’t even tell me when he does stuff like this. Suddenly, there will be a different credit card in my wallet and I know I’m supposed to use that one for everything. Something something sign up bonus or whatever. All good.
But for this card, for some reason or another, he got it in the mail and couldn’t activate it online; they wanted a phone call. Since the card was in my name, it meant Joe couldn’t do it on my behalf; I was going to have to talk to them.
Crap. Don’t they know I hate to talk on the phone?
My anxiety was already a little high; why did they want to talk to me? Would they ask me something that I don’t know the answer to? (obviously, I know my basic personal information but I have no idea if a particular card is for a personal account, or if it’s a business card, etc.)
So Joe gave me the card and, with a solemn promise to not be snarky, I called.
At first, I only had to punch numbers into my phone, such as the 16-digit card number and the 4-digit code. So far so good.
Then Jian came on the line. He confirmed my name (I corrected him on the pronunciation of our last name. He then proceeded to still say it wrong, but that’s par for the course with our last name anyway; a lot of people have problems with it) and I explained that I wanted to activate my new card because it wouldn’t let me do it online.
Jian proceeded to ask me to confirm the last 5 digits of my card, and the 4-digit code. He then thanked me and we were done.
Really? That was it? WHY DID I NEED TO MAKE A PHONE CALL FOR THAT?
Joe says to add this to his pile of those times when banks have made things unnecessarily difficult. Like this time. And this one. And this time, too.
Sigh.
Feature Photo: Pikerepo
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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