1StGenCL

My Amex that i rarely use was closed one day along with my Circuit City card I never use because there was no activity on them. My WAMU card which started as a paypal card a few years ago went from 6% interest up to 19.99! It has a 15k limit I believe and I have 2k floating on it now, guess I will pay it off next month because im not paying close to 20 percent in interest, CC companies are getting crazy and for good reason. I guess we will start to live more off of cash now

MR1

I also have the Costco Amex but no longer use it often except at Costco due to the rate. If you can, look at the Amex Simply Business or Simply Cash cards, better rebate and lower interest rate. My card deducts my rebate every month. The first year I get 5% rebate on gas but I think it's lower now.

Now, here is the best card I've ever had so-far. I'm sharing because someone posted about it here a few years ago. First Command Bank Platinum is great if you qualify. The current interest rate is 4.25%.

You can apply online and have a card in two weeks.

http://www.firstcommandbank.com/pers...tes.asp#credit

Read about the additional great terms of service, I love this one.

yunginTL

there's still plently cards with 0% apr intro apr from 12-15 months... why get a card that charges an interest rate when these are still available, or else charge only what u can pay off at the end of the month

sho_nuff1997

iTrader: (2)

This is semi APR related.......

I got a letter today from Chase saying if I have automatic payments scheduled, starting march 9th, "they will automatically be changed to the monthly minimum for your convenience." How the fuck is that convenient?

This is a sneaky way of making money. If I had $100 payment scheduled every month, it will be changed to $10. Essentially it forces me to log on every month and schedule a payment. Just last month they raised me to 18%.

special-ed

I'm not suggesting anything but would be interested to hear what you have put in place to hedge against decreases in cc limits let alone deal with their ruthless APR games for starters in a downturn where any extra cash is needed but no one is giving...

If you have the answers, then please share with the rest of us so we may all make better, informed decisions.

moeronn

Aside from those who have recently been laid off, living within your means would be a good start. APR increases don't mean anything if you don't carry a balance. Reductions is limits don't mean much if you can afford to pay for it at the end of the month.

And I'm not saying I'm immune or perfect either. I've been hit with a reduction in my HELOC limit but also canceled a Citi Visa card with a $40k limit because they were really pissing me off. I'm even carrying a balance on one of my cards at the moment.

I don't have all the answers, nor can I tell the future. I just know one thing I'm NOT going to do.

special-ed

[QUOTE=moeronn;10399172 I just know one thing I'm NOT going to do. [/QUOTE]

what's that? Sell sperm or plasma to the blood bank?

special-ed

Sarcasm aside, maybe it's too late for you. Without knowing your age, health, existing financial responsibilities, and goals I can't make that assessment but before you shun a particular financial product that you may or may not know anything about, how about giving these younger bucks here a fair playing field from which they can base their decisions on?


Why talk about credit cards when what they should be concentrating on is accumulating an emergency fund if they haven't done so already? How about creating a systematic plan of SAVING so when it matters most, they can rely on themselves and the personal net worth they've accumulated instead of boasting what their credit card limit or HELOC is?




Figure 1: This chart compares total debt (or “credit”) in the U.S. to GDP (or Gross Domestic Product) on a percentage basis. Current total credit-market debt stands at more than 340 percent of total GDP.

**Taken from http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/c...debt-gdp/11570.

For the younger generation (around age 25) that actually has the smarts to browse this part of the forum instead of wondering what new set of rims Bob has on his ride, for many of them it's early enough to instill good habits.

I'm not saying and have never said to place and risk 100% of your portfolio into bonds & equities. I've never said to put 100% into real estate. I've never said put 100% into commodities. I absolutely have never said put 100% of your total portfolio into permanent life insurance and I never will.

The bottom line is you need to manage risk (I'm talking more than just an 80/20 blended portfolio) and instill the right habits so true wealth can be obtained.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

We have a Visa with First Command, and we have not used this card since July of 2005. It's strictly for emergencies. Our interest rate is something like 5.95%.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

That's the exact card that I have. I didn't think the rate was that low, but I just called and it's true.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

This interest rate is all day, every day, for the First Command card.

Anachostic

You should probably use it a little soon to keep it active, based on other reports in this thread.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, it went inactive like two years ago.

We had to have another one activated.

Anachostic

I recently got a pre-approval letter for a card through BOA that has the first instance I've seen of the new CC Holder's Bill of Rights. Some things that are noteworthy in the terms:

• 20 day minimum timeframe between statement closing date and payment due date
• Payment due time is 5 PM instead of 1 AM
• Must have 2 late payments within 12 consecutive months to get jacked to the default rate
• After 6 months of on-time payments while in default rate purgatory, your rate will decrease by at least 2 points

I didn't see where it clearly said that if they change the APR, the new APR only applies to new purchases, which I thought was a condition of the bill.

In addition, the APR on this offer is 11.99, which is pretty nice compared to my other cards I hold now. Since I took a hit on my credit score when I had those other cards of mine closed, I think I'm going to try out this offer and get some more available credit. It'll be interesting to see if my score goes back up.

edit: I love that one of the tags on this thread is "rape". That'll be helpful in searches.

AdamNJ

I just want to take some time to thank president obama for the new (well this year) law in regards to credit card company practices, rates...etc.

Thank's for forcing all my cards to jack up their rates while they still could for a person whose history is excellent. I also want to thank you for the new 'reward' terms on my cards...aka since we can't fuck with your rates anymore to make money on that side, we are going to cut back on our rewards/cash back so each purchase you make is worth less of a reward.

- Just received a new notice from Discover

MR1

Yeah, it's all about you chief.
Glad you have such a fine grasp of our financial system.
Try reading a book or two.

Anachostic

Now this is weird as hell. I got a letter from Capital One saying my rewards program was changing. Uh oh. The letter says the changes take effect Nov 1. So I jump on the rewards site to see what's different between the current rewards and what's in the letter.

Everything is the same. Except... in the new program, 20k miles gets you $100 cash back or it gets you a $200 gift card. Currently on the website, it's 20k for $100 gift card or $100 cash. There's no incentive to get a gift card at all. But are they really going to do a 50% bonus on gift cards? I'd go for that.

If it sounds too good to be true... The most logical answer is it's a typo. But it's very prominent on the page, how could something like that be missed? The cynic in me wonders if cardholders are going to see "Miles Program Changes" and just cash everything out - that's what I was looking to do, anyway. Then they might miss the opportunity to get a gift card for half the miles it currently costs.

I guess I'm going to wait until November to find out. I just thought the whole thing was odd.

Anachostic

Ironically, Obama sent me a Discover card application today. The rewards are (holy shit this is confusing, I have to reword this again):
So, I sympathize with you. Obama has created a terrible rewards program for Discover. Ironically, he says right in the letter "Switch to cash rewards: Say goodbye to confusing reward programs..."

AdamNJ

Part of the goal for the new law was to make terms easily understandable for consumers. good job.

Anachostic

Sure enough, the new Capital One rewards website gives you a $200 gift card for 20k points. That's a rewards improvement of 100%. 20k points still gets you $100 cash or statement credit.

Way to go Capital One!

timmahh

Ehhh... I have too many credit cards.

Anachostic

I'm gonna bump my old thread for a story. It's been pretty quiet news on credit cards. Now it's all about bank fees.

So today, I call Capital One because my card is worn out and I need a replacement. That's taken care of easily. While I was on the phone, I decided I would try to ask for a credit line increase. After all, I'm used to paying off a $2000 balance each month, but since everything costs more now, that has crept up to $2500 and now is usually $3000/mo. I'm concerned about my utilization numbers.

The CSR starts by saying Capital One reviews accounts every 6 months to see if they are eligible for increases, but if I want, I can submit a request now. I say, sure, why not. He asks me a few questions like income, any alimony/child support payments, how much of an increase I want (I have a $10k limit and asked for an extra $5k), and why I'm asking for it (one of the options was "more spending flexibility" and I chose that).

He put me on hold, then came back a little later and said he already got a response. They gave me an increase of $1000. It's better than nothing, I guess. But after the CSR told me the news, he was very eager to extend a personal congratulations for getting an increase. He said it's only the second he's ever seen granted since starting at Capital One.

So I guess credit card companies are still being a little tight with the credit. Maybe not to the point of cutting lines or closing accounts, but they might think things are pretty good as they are right now.

JBlueCLS6

iTrader: (2)

This is very true regarding Crapital One. I've been stuck with the same Credit Line for 5+ years and hasn't gone up besides the first year I had it.

I utilize my PenFed credit card the most as the rewards never change, and I get 5% cash back on gas which probably consumes a larger portion of my charges. Waiting to see what new options are available for Chase rewards.

doopstr

$15k used to be pretty easy to get. Neither of my two cards even have $10k now. It's still plenty of credit for me though. I don't think I've ever gone up to $4k on either of them. So far this year I've earned $325 cash back from my Amex Blue Cash card.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

My chase CC sits in my safe unused for 2 years now because they refuse to lower my 17.99% rate. I have other cards that are under 7%. Everytime I call they refuse.
I don't keep balances & don't use my CC's much anyway.

doopstr

If you keep that card idle long enough they may close the account. It happened to me with Chase. Check my post from 2008 in this thread.

Will Y.

Your credit history makes a higher limit seem superfluous.
If you told the company that you were going to make a big purchase, like a diamond ring, with the card, you probably would have gotten a much larger limit increase. Many years ago, a CC company increased one card limit by a large amount-- $10K or $15K-- because I called in anticipation of some expensive purchases (apartment furniture, IIRC).

I think all my credit cards have standard interest rates above 10%.
OTOH, I didn't ask for a lower interest rate since I don't keep balances either. Asking for a lower rate may work better for those who do carry a balance.