01.26.26 Regular Retail Vs Costco / The Newly Expanded ABLE Account

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: Regular Retail vs. Costco / The Newly Expanded ABLE Account

Date: January 26, 2026
Host: Clark Howard
Co-host: Krista

Overview

In this episode, Clark Howard explores two central topics:

1. The declining ease and rising costs associated with retail returns, especially contrasted with Costco’s famously friendly policies.
2. Important new expansions to ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts, which offer tax-advantaged saving for individuals with disabilities.

Clark also answers listener questions about Costco insurance, travel scams involving online visa services, and issues with airline credit cards and in-flight amenities. As always, the focus is on empowering listeners to make better financial decisions and avoid common consumer pitfalls.

---

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of Retail Returns: Traditional Stores vs. Costco

Key Points

• Retailers Tightening Return Policies
  • More stores (both brick-and-mortar and online) are shortening return windows and adding return fees.
  • Many retailers now charge for mail-in returns even if in-person store returns remain free.
  • Clark: “The era of simple, easy returns is over now.” (03:56)
  • Returns often cost more to process than the item’s original price.
• Consumer Guidance
  • When giving gifts, know the store’s return rules—don’t assume returns will be easy or cost-free.
  • In-person returns are usually less costly than shipping items back.
• Costco’s Exceptionally Generous Policy
  • Most items can be returned “no questions asked,” sometimes with no time limit (certain electronics now have a 90-day window).
  • Special note: If an item’s price drops within 30 days of your purchase, Costco will refund you the difference at the membership desk—even if you don’t have the receipt, because they track purchases electronically.
    • Clark: “All you have to do is ask.” (05:45)
  • Memorable moment: Clark shares that his wife received a $20 Costco shop card after a price drop on her Dyson Airwrap—Costco proactively sent the savings:
    • “Imagine members getting these in the mail, and it’s like, who does that? Who does that? You ever heard of that anywhere?” (06:30)
• Retail Abuses and Customer Etiquette
  • Clark and Krista lament how some customers abuse generous return policies (e.g., returning old, used items for full refunds).
  • Both complain about customers leaving unwanted items—especially perishables—on random shelves, leading to waste and higher costs.

Notable Quotes

• Krista (on Clark’s affection for Costco):
  "That's why you had a dog named Costco and now you have one named Kirkland Signature." (06:46)
• Clark (on retail returns):
  “The cost of returns is eating retailers alive—some returns cost more to process than the item itself.” (~02:20)

Timestamps

• 00:36 – Clark’s mission and show intro
• 01:28 – The tightening of retail return policies
• 03:56 – The end of “easy returns” era
• 05:45 – Costco’s price adjustment policy
• 06:30 – Example of Costco sending shop card after price drop

---

2. Listener Q&A: Warehouse Clubs and Related Consumer Issues

Costco Insurance

• Listener Question (Russell, Texas): Thoughts on auto and home insurance from Costco?
  • Clark: Virtually no complaints, which stands out compared to the volume of complaints about other insurers.
  • “We get really no complaints about the auto or homeowners insurance products available through Costco…not a source of complaints.” (11:26)
• Timestamps:
  • 11:13 – Insurance question and Costco customer feedback
  • 12:00 – Segue to travel-related question

Travel Scams: Visa Application Sites

• Listener Warning (Tim, Pennsylvania):
  • Was nearly scammed by a fake UK ETA visa application site charging over $100 vs. the legitimate $22 fee.
  • Clark explains the proliferation of predatory visa “services,” especially for countries now requiring electronic travel authorizations for Americans and other tourists.
  • Always use official government sites (.gov/.gov.uk, etc.) for applications.
  • Clark: “I call them phonies because they’re misleading you and just ripping you off.” (13:02)
• Timestamps:
  • 12:03 – Listener recounts ETA visa experience
  • 13:02 – Clark explains the issue

---

3. The Newly Expanded ABLE Accounts

What is an ABLE Account?

• Definition:
  • A 529A account, modeled after the 529 college savings accounts, allows people with disabilities (or their families) to save up to $100,000, tax-free, for disability-related expenses—without affecting eligibility for federal or state benefits.

2026 Updates

• Key Expansion:
  • Now, eligibility includes individuals who became disabled at any age up to 46 (previously, the disability had to begin before age 26).
  • Clark: “A lot of military veterans may have a disability. An ABLE account would work for any number of reasons…could be after an accident, an injury, or being a victim of violence.” (20:38)
• Contribution and Withdrawal Rules:
  • Money must be spent on qualified disability expenses (QDEs); all withdrawals must match expenses incurred in the same calendar year (no holding receipts and reimbursing yourself years later).
  • Keep meticulous records in case of audit.
  • Never let the balance exceed $100,000 or risk losing benefits.
• Who Should Set Up?
  • Directly with your state ABLE program, never through a commission salesperson (same as Clark’s 529 advice).

Guidance for Listeners

• The ABLE guide on clark.com has been newly updated for recent legislative changes.

Listener Questions on ABLE

• Anonymous (New York): Can you pay qualified expenses out of pocket, save receipts, and reimburse yourself from ABLE later, letting funds grow tax-free like some HSA rules?
  • Clark: “No…with an ABLE, as I interpret the rules, you have to pay current-year expenses in that year. It’s a straightjacket.” (23:54)
• Timestamps:
  • 18:22 – What is an ABLE account?
  • 20:38 – New eligibility rules
  • 23:29 – Listener reimbursement question
  • 23:54 – Clark’s answer: spend/reimburse in same year

---

4. Additional Listener Questions

Airline Credit Card Limit Issues

• Garth (Virginia):
  • Applied for American Airlines credit card to save $250 but was approved with only a $1,500 limit—not enough to pay for his airfare.
  • Clark notes this is now common due to banks’ fear of delinquencies; recommends either seeking a no-fee alternative for that credit line or closing the account if not useful.
  • “The credit card companies, the big banks, are really terrified about delinquencies and defaults right now.” (25:54)
• Tips: Use the awarded points/cashback if possible, and downgrade to a no-fee card if you can't close right away.
• Timestamp: 25:27 – Airline card question and response

In-flight Entertainment Systems Not Working

• Richard (New York):
  • Is compensation available for broken entertainment screens on transatlantic flights?
  • Clark: Unfortunately, no – “it is not part of the ticket you purchased…just unfortunate.” Odds of airline offering compensation are slim unless you are a frequent flyer or have status.
  • Advises travelers: Always download movies to your own device before long flights.
• Timestamp: 27:43 – Airline entertainment issue answered

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Clark on Customer Behavior (Costco returns):
  “The cost of returns is eating retailers alive—some returns cost more to process than the item itself.” (~02:20)

• Krista on Clark’s Infectious Love for Costco:
  “That’s why you had a dog named Costco and now you have one named Kirkland Signature.” (06:46)

• Clark on ABLE Accounts Expansion:
  “This is significant because historically, before the 529 ABLE came into existence, a disabled person had to be impoverished in order to qualify for any state or federal assistance.” (19:43)

• On ABLE Withdrawal Rules:
  “That is still a straightjacket ... with an ABLE, as I interpret the rules ... you have to pay it from the 529 in that month ... it’s got to be current year expenses.” (23:54)

• On In-flight Entertainment:
  “My wife and I are taking a trip soon and I said, ‘don’t forget, download some stuff because the video system on the plane will likely be broken because that'll be our luck.’” (27:59)

---

Conclusion

Clark Howard’s key message: Be an informed, empowered consumer—especially in an era when return policies, credit limits, and online information (like visa sites) may not be as friendly or straightforward as before. Costco remains an outlier in customer service, and new ABLE account rules mean more families can save effectively for disabilities, but be mindful of strict usage rules.
Visit Clark.com and ClarkDeals.com for up-to-date resources on saving money, consumer protection, and financial guidance.

---

For detailed guides and the newly updated ABLE account resource, visit Clark’s website.

Transcript

[Apple Card Advertiser]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card Isn't it time you earn daily cash back on your everyday purchases? Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] this message is brought to you by Apple Card Isn't it time you earn daily cash back on your everyday purchases? Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com.

[Clark Howard]

I'm so glad you're with us on the Clark Howard show, where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. One decision I hope you'll make is sign up for our free free [e-mail] Newsletter or newsletters either gets you there. I'm really, really proud of the newsletters that we edit for you never to waste your time, instead to give you information that empowers you that you can make decisions on. That's what it's about today. I've got a tale of two very different retail experiences going on right now I want to make sure you are tuned into. And later, do you know what an Able account is? Well, I'm going to fill you in on Ables and how they become more able here in 26, who they benefit, and the much wider pool of people that can now participate. So back in 24 was the first time I ever talked about this and it was just kind of almost like a test going on and now has become a huge problem for you, shopping retail online in person for yourself or for gifts for others. And a lot of people who've been trying to return gifts that they received this past Christmas, now in January, are discovering, hey, I missed the deadline to return this or I'm getting charged a fee to return it. It's not like retailers are trying to be ogres, but it feels like that as a recipient who may have gotten something that's the wrong size or a color you don't wear or something you don't want. But retailers are just getting eaten up by the cost of returns. And this is a stunner. A lot of returns cost retailers more to process than what the item costs to buy originally. That says something about efficiency, right? But what's happening is when you're buying something for yourself or a gift for someone else, know that more and more Physical retailers, online retailers have made the returns very difficult and unfriendly with fees that you have to pay and short return windows. And stores that have both physical locations and dot coms are more and more and it's becoming common if you go to return an item the way you received it, if you ordered from Dotcom and you want to send it back, UPS, FedEx or whatever, and you're used to being able to return it for free. Now what retailers are doing, and again, this is not universal but very common. If you want to send it back through a carrier, you have to pay a fee to send it back. If you go to the store and return it in person, usually you'll avoid the fee. But you just got to know, and especially when you're gift giving, unless you absolutely know that what you're buying is something the recipient will love and use, you need to know what are the rules for returns because the era of simple, easy returns is over now. Costco by comparison, other than earlier this month. Gosh. Going to Costco and seeing the return lines. Oh man. Oh, whoa. Costco's always been very accommodating on returns. A lot of things you can bring back, no questions asked, essentially forever. Others, you may have a limit of a few months when you can bring them back. But I want to share something. I want to make sure you know about Costco, my favorite store, that they do that almost nobody knows. So let's say you buy an item in Costco and you're back there and you're like, oh man, I can't believe it. I bought that for $30 more than its price now. Well, if you notice a price cut within 30 days of when you buy the item, you can go to the membership desk and Costco refunds that difference. And if you don't have your receipt, don't worry because you know they know on your app you've got the receipt. Or they can pull it up on the computer, they see what you paid, they credit you back the difference. All you have to do is ask. But then news of the weird. My wife bought one of these crazy fancy, expensive Dyson hair drying styling thingies.

[Krista]

The Airwrap.

[Clark Howard]

Thank you. She bought it and then out of the blue, we got this in mail. And it's a standard thing. Didn't just come for her. Says Costco is dedicated to bringing you the best products at the lowest possible prices. Our records indicate you recently purchased item number 1-847-868. The Dyson Airwrap. We've since negotiated a better price and are passing the savings to you. Please accept this shop card valued at $20 per unit purchased. Thank you for your continued membership. And there was her 20 shop card. I mean, imagine the members getting the these in the mail, and it's like, who does that? Who does that? You ever heard of that anywhere?

[Krista]

No. That's why you had a dog named Costco and now you have one named Kirkland Signature.

[Clark Howard]

Well, because Kirkland Signature is, like, the world's greatest brand. All right. Do you think we got so many questions posted for the podcast and YouTube show about Costco because people know how much I love it, or do you think it's because Costco is just so much in the air now?

[Krista]

I think it's definitely because people know you love it and maybe you've gotten them interested in it. Your. Your enthusiasm for it is infectious. I think the same's true for travel. I don't think we get the number, and we wouldn't get the number of travel questions we get if you weren't, you know, so into travel so well. Sean in New York wrote in with this related question. I saw at least a dozen people in line at Costco returning their Christmas trees. This is unhinged. What are your thoughts on balancing customer service and abusive customers?

[Clark Howard]

So this is something that's been stuck in my craw. Whatever my craw is.

[Krista]

I know. What is that?

[Clark Howard]

For a long time, was one day walking into Costco, and a guy's there with one of the orange rolling flats, and he had four old computers on it. And I said, what's going on here? He said, oh, well, Costco takes anything back, and the new computers are better and cheaper, so I'm just bringing back the old ones. This was. Goes all the way back to before Costco had to change.

[Krista]

Yeah.

[Clark Howard]

What Sean said, they changed it to 90 days return. This guy brought computers that were years old back and thought it was just fine to get a refund for those four and then go buy other ones. And so, yeah, that is a problem is there are people that will abuse. But let me tell you the thing that really gets me upset at Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale, all membership warehouse clubs, we're all paying fees if we're a member of any of these. To be a member, somebody picks something up, they put it in their cart. Then later they decide, oh, I don't want that, and they just lay it anywhere.

[Krista]

Oh, I don't like that at any retailer.

[Clark Howard]

And if it's a refrigerated item or a frozen item that'll be spoiled product. And the warehouse clubs operate on such narrow margins. So it's like, I'm the Costco police. I'll see something somewhere where somebody left it out, or at Sam's. And. And it's a refrigerator frozen item. I go find. Take it and go find an employee so they can, before it spoils, put it back in the refrigerator freezer. Because I just. I want to have those deals, and I don't want costs to creep up and the prices aren't as good.

[Krista]

Oh. So I was just thinking it was something different, but I. I used to work on.

[Clark Howard]

You thought I had something more altruistic than that.

[Krista]

Well, yeah, maybe. I have worked so many retail jobs, and I cannot stand. Like, if I see someone, you know, has put as, or something's dropped on the floor, an article of clothing, I put it back. Or if I let. Last night, I was shopping, and I. I had these two sweaters in my hand. I was gonna try them on, and then I was like, you know what? I do not need this sweater. It was expensive. And I was like, I'm not even gonna try it on, because I don't need another sweater. And I was way across from where they were. Like, it was a long, long walk. And I was like, near the cash registers. I was like, I could just drop them there. But I. I like my guilt. Like, I had to go back and put them where they're supposed to be because I was like, what if someone's looking for those sizes and they. You know what I mean? I hate it when you just see stuff dropped off.

[Clark Howard]

Well, see, I look at it this way. I've got to walk so many steps a day. I'm getting more steps.

[Krista]

That's smart. I did.

[Clark Howard]

If I take them back, I did.

[Krista]

Get a very high step count yesterday, so. Yeah. Okay. Anyway, sorry for that.

[Clark Howard]

And speaking of the clothing, can you imagine working at one of the warehouse clubs and you're having to refold the clothes all the time that are laid out on those tables?

[Krista]

Listen, I used to work at the Gap.

[Clark Howard]

What does it used to have to say when people walked in the door?

[Krista]

It's about the khakis. This is in the 1990s.

[Clark Howard]

Would you have to.

[Krista]

We have flat front, pleated. All the different. I'd run through all the different types of khakis we had, but I folded a lot of T shirts and sweaters and pants, because people just toss your stuff everywhere. All right, well, we're going to say I know, let me tell you, it's.

[Clark Howard]

Not even, you know, I can talk about retail for the rest of my life.

[Krista]

Well, I hate to say this, anyone who hates this is going to hate the next question too, because we're staying with it. Russell in Texas says, I'm curious what Clark thinks about home and auto insurance offered through Costco.

[Clark Howard]

And then so we get, we get really no complaints about the auto or homeowners insurance products available through Costco. And I don't know why that is, but it's not a source of complaints because usually people are complaining to us about every auto insurer and it seems like lots of different homeowners insurers we hear complaints about. For whatever the reason is, we don't hear complaints about the insurance being sold through the Costco services portal.

[Krista]

Okay. So we're moving away from warehouse clubs.

[Clark Howard]

Sorry.

[Krista]

And I'm going to travel. Okay. Tim in Pennsylvania says, I traveled to the UK for Christmas and because of you I knew I needed to apply for a UK eta. When I Googled traveling to the UK from the usa, I found a website and went through the process, paid via credit card, then went to upload my passport and saw that the charge was for over 100. Being a longtime faithful listener, I remember that you said the charge was small and it led me to question the site. I went back again and found multiple sites for the UK ETA processing. I ended up going to the US State Department and found the right link for a charge of $22. I don't think or hope anyway that the other sites are scams, but more predatory sites trying to make a buck off of people traveling to the uk. I called my credit card to contest the charge. I don't remember if you've ever reported on this before and I wanted to share it with you to be able to share so that doesn't happen to others. The site I ended up using was Gov uk.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah. So this is a big problem in the travel world. People have reported this who are going to Australia where you have to have an electronic travel authority. Europe's about to start the. I think it's called an etsa. So I don't know what the S stands for. For electronic travel something authority. And these phony sites pop up. I call them phony on Google or other search engines, but principally people are at Google searching for these things. And you always want to make sure with any government visa document or landing authority or anything like that that you are at the site that is a government site, like in this case, gov.ukusob.gov and we had the question recently about renewing pre check and that one was really confusing because you go there to renew and then they're sending you saying pick this private organization, that one or the other one, but that's clear because you're inside a.gov and then they're sending you to an outside servicer. But know that these outside servicers or whatever you call them, I call them phonies because they're misleading you and just ripping you off. And so know that this is a trend around the world though that you are going to have to have. Even for countries that are visa free entry for Americans, you are still going to have to have an electronic registration that you pay a fee for. And you can't say, oops, I forgot at the last minute. You need some time to get these. Usually a week to two is plenty to get your ETA or whatever they're calling it for each country. This is tied into the fact that countries now, including us, for people coming to the United States, they want to know who's coming, they want to check them out before they can board a plane to come to that country. And if they don't want you, then they're not going to issue your eta. And when you arrive, they're going to do biometrics on you. They're going to take fingerprints, picture, whatever, or both. And it's all tied into that initial registration you do with the electronic authority that you buy. But remember, buy it from a website of that government. Coming up ahead. Speaking of government, the US Congress actually did something to help people I know bulletin in the revisions to the ABLE program. And the ABLE program is something that almost nobody knows about and is so helpful to the many, many millions of Americans who have a disability or have family members who have one. And I'm going to explain how this works and how the new benefits can serve you.

[Apple Card Advertiser]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes, subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and [e-mail] we all have moments when we.

[Charles Schwab Advertiser]

Could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen. So now you look like a tomato.

[Apple Card Advertiser]

Ouch.

[Charles Schwab Advertiser]

Could have done better Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn [e-mail].

[Apple Card Advertiser]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and [e-mail] we all have moments when we.

[Charles Schwab Advertiser]

Could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato.

[Clark Howard]

Ouch.

[Charles Schwab Advertiser]

Coulda done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market, insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn [e-mail].

[Indeed Advertiser]

This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Stop waiting around for the perfect candidate. Instead, use Indeed Indeed Sponsor Jobs to find the right people with the right skills fast. It's a simple way to make sure your listing is the first candidate. C According to Indeed data, Sponsored jobs have four times more applicants than non sponsored jobs. So go build your dream team today with Indeed. Get a $75 sponsored job credit@ Indeed.com podcast. Terms and conditions apply.

[Clark Howard]

There's something that has been so little known and seldom used, and it's because there's a straight jacket of rules. But it's something known as an Able Account. For the many, many millions of people who have a child who's disabled or an adult who's disabled, there's a cousin or a sibling of the 529 college savings accounts. Instead of a 529 for college, it's a 529A A for able that allows you to put money aside in a tax free account for yourself if you're disabled or a minor who is disabled and have the money grow tax free. Be used tax free for eligible expenses deemed as things you can spend the money on tax free for somebody with a disability and it does not hurt your eligibility for other government assistance you may be eligible for because of your disability. This is significant because historically before the 529 able came into existence, a disabled person had to be impoverished in order to qualify for any state or federal assistance they might be eligible for with a disability. With the Able account, you are able to accumulate up to $100,000 in it that grows tax free, spent tax free without hurting any eligibility for various benefits from the Social Security system for disability or anything else that you might be eligible for. And the changes that Congress made are so good. One of them, it now says you don't have to become disabled as a child. You can become disabled at any point up into early middle age, up to age 46 and be eligible for this. A lot of military veterans may have a disability. An Able account would work for any of a number of reasons an adult might become disabled could be after an accident, something like that, an injury, being a victim of violence, anything like that that would cause a disability that would make you eligible for an able account. Now, able accounts are something that you want to buy, just like you would buy a 529 for college. This is a never rule, one of my never rules. You never, never, never, not ever buy a 529 plan for a child's college through a commission salesperson. The commission sales plans are terrible, rotten, terrible, with high fees and high commissions eroding what you'd be saving for college. The same rule applies for the 529 ables for someone who faces a disability. So you buy the 529 able many times as a direct sibling of the state college plan that you would buy a 529. Most states that offer a 529 for college offer the 529A or able for people with disabilities. And you paid the same administrative costs pretty much across the board with the able, which are teensy tiny now. And this is a great way for, let's say a parent of a disabled child worried about later in life. Maybe a child's going to need help much later in life and you can stash money over time and get that nest egg there to defray expenses for that child in adulthood. Again, up to 100,000. And you got to make sure you never have more than 100,000 in the account. And it can start small with tiny contributions and build up whatever you want, just like with a 529 for college. A lot of people in the financial community, investment community don't know anything about these things. And we are updating our guide to Able's to account for the changes in the law because our guide to Ables is two and a half years old right now on Clark.com and I'll do a footnote to this later when we've got the revisions done for the Able account. But I'm really excited about how these work and Krista do we ever get questions about Ables?

[Krista]

We actually have one right now for.

[Clark Howard]

You, probably because of the publicity in the law.

[Krista]

This was written in by Anonymous in New York and they mentioned what you just talked about and then say, my question is whether, similar to HSA accounts, can you pay for qualified disability expenses QDEs out of pocket, keep the receipts and reimburse yourself from an ABLE account years later, letting the ABLE funds grow tax free.

[Clark Howard]

Gosh, that's funny. I haven't had that question in like three years and I have not found anything that changes what the answer was three years ago. And that is no. That just like with a 529 for college, you have to file for certain expenses in the year they're incurred. You have to do the same thing with an able. And an ABLE has an even stricter requirement because a lot of times you'll be paying for specialized housing costs for someone who's disabled out of a 529 able. And as I interpret the rules, the housing, if it's billed monthly, you have to pay it from the 529 in that month. You can't even later, you know, later that year, in another month. So that is still a straitjacket because what will happen? And you have to keep thorough records of what you've spent the money on on a 529 able in case you're ever audited. But it is in this straight jacket of tight parameters of when you reimburse or spend from the account. It's got to be current year expenses.

[Krista]

Awesome. And also I wanted to let you know that our ABLE article that you had looked at, I don't know when, is actually now updated. So we did update it because we knew you were going to talk about this. Yes. So, all right, I'm gonna go to the next.

[Clark Howard]

Wait for that. We already have it.

[Krista]

And then Garth and Virginia says, I was recently booking a trip with American Airlines and received an offer to save 250 on the spot with their credit card. I have great credit and don't really do much with it, so I figured, why not? Well, it came with a miserable fifteen hundred dollar credit limit which didn't cover the fare, so I couldn't even use it. Now I'm stuck with this card. What do I do with it? I have a year before it has a fee. I have to get rid of it somehow by then.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, Garth, I'm so sorry. Wow. So this has been happening to so many people in the last year that people who historically have applied for a card and are used to getting significant credit limit with an approval. The credit card companies, the big banks are really terrified about delinquencies and defaults right now. And when a card is approved, a lot of times the credit limit granted with it is much smaller than you're used to. So we travel having a fifteen hundred dollar limit that makes it hard to use. And I Hope that the 250 you talked about, you didn't lose that because you couldn't do it right at that time. Hopefully in a year there will be another opportunity for you to use it. So what would I do? And I don't know the answer to this about American, the Advantage credit cards, but what I would do if they offer this, because a lot of the airlines do, there's a junior version of the rewards cards that don't have annual fees so they don't lose your business completely or even the Advantage cards issued, if I remember right, by Citibank, you could see if Citibank can morph you to another credit card product with no annual fee, maybe the Double Cash, something like that, so that you don't give up having that line of credit that hopefully will be raised over time and close an existing line of credit. But if you've got many other credit cards and you can't figure out something to do and you can't reclaim your 250 bucks, just close the account.

[Krista]

Okay? And then Richard in New York says, I know this isn't a big deal, but on a recent round trip to London, the entertainment console was broken on both flights. Given all the extra fees airlines change, am I entitled to get something back since they did not provide all the services promised?

[Clark Howard]

You're gonna hate my answer. No, that is not part of the ticket you purchased as a condition of purchasing it that you're gonna have a good video system on the plane. And depending on the age of the plane, these video screens are broken a lot. I fly quite often and I'd say probably one in if I were just not doing it scientifically, I'd say 1 in 4, 1 in 5 flights. I take the seat back, monitor is broken on the flight. My wife and I are taking a trip soon and I said, hey, by the way, don't forget, download some stuff because the video system on the plane will likely be broken because that'll be our luck. Ironic that we're talking about the same thing here. So no, you don't have an expectation that the system is going to work and it's just unfortunate, but those are very complicated systems and they want to keep the planes in the air and they're not going to pull a plane out of service because they have six video monitors that aren't working on a plane. So that's why having the backup always what I do when I'm taking a long flight is I've always downloaded a couple of movies to my phone so that I can watch something if the wi fi is not working or the video entertainment system on the plane at my seat is out. So I wish I had better news for you. If you fly the airline involved a lot, you can file a complaint and they'll give you some token amount points or miles. Usually with your complaint, if you, especially if you have status, they might give you somewhere up to 10,000 points for the inconvenience and not having a working video monitor. And I want to thank you so much for joining us on today's podcast. We'll be back at your service on Wednesday. Tomorrow we have our Ask an Advisor podcast with Wes and if you're not familiar with that, it's where we target in on. We get so many very specific investment questions. Wes addresses those for you on his podcast and our websites are here to serve you 24 7, clark.com and clarkdeals.com to help you protect your money and to help you save money. When you're buying stuff. It's all about the various services we offer specifically to empower you with knowledge you can act on, to have more control so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. Have a great afternoon.