First, I understand that the best options are cash, gift cards, burner cards, XMR, etc. However, that isn’t practical for my day to day use. My goal is minimizing how much information is collected/sold by advertisers.
I need a new physical credit card and figured I should look for one with a decent privacy policy. I’m curious if anybody has any suggestions.
The only one that I’ve found even decent so far is Apple’s card, but I don’t have an iPhone. I also know Apple is generally disliked on here.
I’m not too keen on credit cards but want to point out that the issuer for the Apple Card is none other than Goldman Sachs, so a big bank would be the ones with all your transaction data.
That said I have 7 different credit cards from 4 different issuers, and set up recurring charges on virtual cards at privacy.com (easy to just cancel out a virtual card and dodge nightmare cancellation bullshit, also insulates all those recurring things thanks to being able to have many virtual cards). BoA knows where I eat, Chase knows where I get gas, Citi knows what kinds of tools and toys I like, that kind of thing
I love virtual cards. I use privacy.com for all my online stuff. Not a solution for this purpose unfortunately.
As for your divide-it-up approach, that’s an interesting thought. I guess I’m a little concerned about signing up for several cards with several companies and several privacy policies. Feels a little weird to me, but I do see the merit in not having all your eggs in one basket.
As far as the Apple Card and Goldman Sachs is concerned, I’m still trying to figure out which details are given to whom. Its hard to find info about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right and it’s the same as any other card from Goldman Sachs.
Hard pass on their privacy policy. They have to collect lots of identifying data to do financial transactions in the US, and they don’t currently sell that data, but:
In connection with, or during the negotiation of, any merger, sale of company stock or assets, financing, acquisition, divestiture or dissolution of all or a portion of our business, or
They’re a startup that just had a huge Series A in 2021. If they’re at all successful they’ll almost certainly get purchased by a mega bank that primarily wants all that sweet sweet private data that’s been getting collected but not shared all along.
My schtick was that every 12-18 months I’d get a bonus offer, spend 1000 get 200 back, that type of deal, then get that card, hogpile it for a month, get that 20% discount, then add it to the pile of cards with which I can split up spending. It worked really well for me, def worth a shot to build up like that
Tell me you either don’t love in the US, or don’t understand what a credit score is, without telling me…
Every time you open a credit card, you get a “hard credit check”. You get one(?) freebie a year, then it starts significantly dropping your credit score. Having a larger amount of unused credit available to you will slightly increase your score, but having too many less of credit (e.g. >5) will significantly harm it.
All that said, credit scores are a scam, but do affect your ability to get a car or home loan, or rent a place to live.
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Utill you’re no longer live in the US. I can’t find Ptivacy alternatives after moved out.
This. Virtual cards are decent. Nothing beats the real things you mentioned above but I get something can be a hassle above. For simplicity sake. This isn’t a bad answer to your issue.
Yeah I love virtual cards. Anything I can buy online or through an app I do just that. I’m sure BoA, Chase, GS, all the banks just share and trade data but I’m thinking, at best, they just know my favorite gas station, grocery store, and restaurant since that’s about all I use physical cards for anymore
Try out Privacy.com for online shopping. Also use gift cards where possible.
For physical, cash is king, followed by gift cards. Visa prepaid cards are a solid choice, but not really practical.
Failing that, I’m not sure you can find a private card, not that I’ve looked.
Start an LLC that isn’t directly tied to your name. Get a business credit card from any cc company or bank.
Interesting idea. How easy is it to start and LLC?
To start one without ties to your name is more difficult, at least in my state. You’d have to have a registered agent you trust and to file articles of incorporation. Plus get an EIN.
Even with an EIN, so as far as the federal government is concerned single member LLCs are basically sole proprietorships for tax purposes.
Unsure about the effect of recent ownership laws; almost certainly bad for privacy at some level.
Regardless of all that, financial institutions won’t grant credit to entities that don’t have their own income. Normally a history of income, and income not tied to a single member LLC. Been there done that. Yes my LLC has credit cards but at their core they are tied to the financial backing that my personal credit history provided.
It is possible you could jump through all those hoops and still gain a measure of privacy. There are vastly easier ways, imho.
