Many of America’s business models have digressed to one thing: the quest for credit card numbers they can auto draft for monthly revenue. They will give you a discount for your card number. They will give you introductory pricing for a card number. They will “extend your subscription” for a few months if you put one on file and they will give you a hard time if you insist you do NOT want to put a card number on file “for your convenience”.
Let me be real damn clear. Auto drafting payments is not “for your convenience”. It is a tool for companies to guarantee a predictable amount of recurring monthly revenue. Many subscription based companies use these revenue projections to pad financial numbers. Worse, companies conspired with the banking industry so that often the the only debit card payments subject to overdraft fees are… you guessed it… auto draft payments.
Here’s a tip: avoid that free month of WHATTHEHELLEVER is being offered and keep your card number to yourself. This will keep your number out of various insecure databases. It will also alleviate any unexpected surcharges or unannounced surprise rate increases you may not agree to. In the case of Amazon, it could keep you from being ripped off by scam sellers when trying to make a legitimate purchase as in the BBB and court documented case of shit bag extraordinaire Robert Oesterlund, his ROSP and Xacti Corporations and their Smart Saving Center scam.