Who Am I Anyway??????

It seems as though I've had a bit of an identity crisis lately. In reality, I'm not the one with the identity crisis, the bank is, but I guess their crisis with my identity can be considered mine. Don't worry, my identity hasn't been stolen, it's more along the lines of the Bourne Identity. Just read on and you'll get the picture.

When you live in Alaska, it doesn't pay to not have the Alaska Airlines credit card. When you get approved for the card you instantly get 20,000 miles, every year you can purchase one ticket for $100, and you get one $50 companion fare each year. If you've checked out airfares to and from Alaska, to just about anywhere, you can see why having this credit card makes sense for us. As a matter of fact, we each applied for a separate card so we could both reap the annual benefits.

I put the initial application in online because I thought it would be faster than calling. The website touts that you'll receive a decision in 60 seconds. Yeah, right!!!! At the end of the process (for both Eric and I) I got a message telling us that they needed a little extra time and was given a secure website I could logon to in order to find out the status after a few days. I diligently went on the site daily, only to see that same darn message. Finally, I called the credit card company directly and listened to a message telling me that I had to wait 10 business days from the date I applied before I could actually speak with someone. I continued to check the site daily, to no avail.

Prior to day 10 I received a phone call for Eric. It was a woman from the credit card fraud department wanting to speak to Eric regarding his credit card application. When Eric phoned them back, he was informed that our current address does not show up on his credit report and in order to send the card to this address, they needed him to fax a copy of a bill, license, etc. that has our current address on it. The day we signed our escrow papers here, Eric ran right down to the DMV to get an Alaska id card. Faxing something with his name and current address was no big deal for him.

Day 10 came and went and I hadn't heard anything regarding my credit application. I called the card company and, like Eric, was told they needed something "official" with my name and current address on it. Unlike my husband, I didn't have an AK id card or my AK driver's license yet. No problem, I'd just fax a utility bill....or not! Because I worked almost up until we left to move here, my dear, well organized husband had taken care of most of the move, including changing over the utilities. All of the utilities are in HIS NAME ONLY!!!!!! I was told I could fax an insurance statement with my name on it.......his name is the only name on the title of our car, so the insurance was put in his name (I'm insured, just not named on the actual statement)! I'm on all of the house stuff, but I had paid everything and like a good girl, had shredded all of the bills/statements. I finally came across what I thought was an insurance statement on the house and faxed it. Whew, I was finally in the clear...or not!!!!!!

The next day there was a message from the cc company telling me that I had faxed an insurance "declaration page", not a "statement". It didn't matter that it had my name and current address on it, it had to be the actual "statement". Here we go again!!!!!! I am not kidding when I tell you I felt like I was in the Bourne Identity!!!!! Every movie I've ever seen where the person had been erased from existence flashed before my eyes!!!!!!!! I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was so frustrated that I started choking up as I spoke with the cc gal that second time. I told her that for their purpose I did not exist in the state of Alaska and I didn't know what else to tell her. I wasn't lying about living in Alaska. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD MAKE UP A STORY ABOUT LIVING IN ALASKA??????????? Apparantly, as a stipulation of the "Patriot Act" which was instituted after 9/11, credit cards cannot be sent to an unverified address. Thus, all of this drama!!!!!!

Finally, after almost crying, I layed out all of the details to the young lady on the other end of the phone. I went on about how Eric's name is the only one on everything, including utilities, and that I don't exist on paper in Alaska (short of faxing her my bank statement or escrow papers, which I wasn't comfortable doing)......at which point she stopped me. She explained that because we are married and they can verify that Eric is my husband, all they need is a utility bill with his name on it. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!! Two days worth of drama only to find out that I had the necessary paperwork sitting in my cupboard the whole time!!!!!!!!!!!

You'll be happy to know that the card is in the mail and soon I will be able to start racking up the frequent flyer miles, so I can get away if I get the winter blahs next year or if some great opportunity comes along. Hey......maybe I'll even get back to California for a visit!!!!!!!