I'm back

And so is everyone's favorite bumper sticker maker, Madams. He returned as a loyal blog reader several months ago and complained to me today that there are about 8,000 Burger references and none about him. I'm thinking that may not be true. If one were to search the blog for madams, numerous hits would likely appear. But he's right, that doesn't compete with Burger. However, as of today, he has his own "label" so he can easily access all of the references to himself.

My frustration
Everyone at this point knows that Aloha Airlines is no longer in business. I understand that. My heart goes out to all of the people that have lost jobs and everyone affected by the lost. Makes me appreciate the job that I do have.

Here's what is frustrating me: It doesn't even have anything to do with the airline. It's the bank and the now former Aloha Airlines Award Visa card. Brad and I have/had one. We had it for years. Used it religiously. Turns out that because we used it all the time but paid it off every month, we established quite an attractive credit limit and interest rate.

The bank is going to replace our Aloha card with a Priority Rewards card. They sent me a letter telling me this and outlining all of the benefits. I know, I saw it all. But what I didn't realize until my bill today arrived was that they are changing the card number and switching it from a Visa to a Mastercard.

Why is this a big deal? Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it, but I've got numerous reoccurring payments (Gecko and Fatness that I can think off of the top of my head) billed to that card — the old card with the old number and the Visa-ness. I called the bank tonight, here were my key questions and the woman's answers:
• Is the old card/number still good? Sort of. At least until I receive my new card.
• When will I get my new card? Sometime. They've already started being sent out.
• Why does my bill have a new card number on it? Because the card number has been changed.
• What happens to the reoccurring payments that I have set up to be billed to the old card? They won't be paid once my new card is issued.
• So I have to go through and figure which companies are automatically billing the old card myself and then contact them and have a different card or the new card billed? Yes. Completely my responsibility.
• What if I miss one, like what if I have it set up to pay my life insurance (or something) and don't think of it because the bill only comes twice a year? They can resend me previous statements if I'd like to pour over them and see if I recognize anything.
• I understand why they are sending out new cards, but I didn't ask for one. The old card is supposed to be valid for another year, can't I just keep that one? Or why can't the new cards just have the same number but a different picture on it? They're issuing new cards. That bank deals primarily with Mastercard — despite the fact that the old card, a Visa, was issued to me and thousands of others through that bank. The change to Mastercard requires a different number.
• What about the Twins and Cubs tickets being held at will call until I show up 2 months from now with my ID and the card that I used to purchase them? I have to contact any and all merchants that I fear may be affected by that card no longer being valid.
• Or if I used that card to reserve a hotel room and the hotel isn't going to charge me until I check in or don't show up? See answer above.
• Contacting any and all merchants that may be affected is going to take me hours. The whole freakin' trip this summer has been booked on that card. Is the bank going to do anything about me being inconvenienced? Probably not. She took down my concerns and phone number. Someone will call me back on Monday ... or not.