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09/08/2007 08:22:12 PM · #1 |
If you have a Chase card, they're probably charging you 29.99% APR. After a bit of research, it turns out that they "notified" customers last year with something that looked like yet another bit of junk mail, destined to hit the shredder without first being opened. Nearly 30% interest - just sickening. It definitely was not that high when I opened the card last year. I would have said, "Aww, hell no!"
They had also enrolled me in a "Payment Protector" service that I had never asked for. It was running an average of $10/month. There are nightmare stories out there about that, too.
After reading the horror stories and discovering the nauseating new APR, I decided it wasn't worth it to try fighting the charges - I'm just flat out firing them altogether. I'm lucky that I had enough room on a different card that's only charging me 14% - half as much as Chase!. Those folks were more than happy to initiate a balance transfer for me. My Chase will be getting the scissor treatment in a few minutes.
Please check your statements, and consider getting out if you can. There ARE good cards out there. Chase is not one of the good guys.
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09/08/2007 08:46:56 PM · #2 |
Read the fine print on the credit card you transferred too... a lot of time they do a transfer at a cheap rate but it's only good for 6 months, then it goes up to the cash advance rate. Make sure the transfer is good at the rate you transferred it at until the amount is paid off.
Also, a lot of credit cards have the right to raise you to the max for one late payment... even one day late. The better cards will give you two or even three late payments before they take you to the max. But they all have the right to do so after the first one.
Also, you have to dig sometimes, but you would be surprised at how many credit cards under different names are all owned by the same company.
Mike
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09/08/2007 08:55:11 PM · #3 |
Yeah - my transfer went in at about 1.15% with a transfer fee of $41.95 (may be off by very minor amounts on the numbers), and still undercuts the Chase rate by quite a lot. That's through Capital One. Although they junk mail me to death sometimes, I've always had good experiences with them, especially when they very quickly caught and dealt with the cloned card fiasco last year (I forgave them the junk mail at that point). I'd initially gotten the Chase because the rate was reasonable and I wanted the Amazon points. The occasional $25 gift certificates are no longer worth it.
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09/08/2007 10:21:11 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by Rebecca:
Yeah - my transfer went in at about 1.15% with a transfer fee of $41.95 (may be off by very minor amounts on the numbers), and still undercuts the Chase rate by quite a lot. That's through Capital One. Although they junk mail me to death sometimes, I've always had good experiences with them, especially when they very quickly caught and dealt with the cloned card fiasco last year (I forgave them the junk mail at that point). I'd initially gotten the Chase because the rate was reasonable and I wanted the Amazon points. The occasional $25 gift certificates are no longer worth it. |
Just beware of Capital One. The WAY they report to the big 3 regarding your credit report can be detrimental to your credit score only because of HOW they report. I was given this information from my Loan Person at the credit union. You get a free credit report every year, so be sure to keep checking it and write letters to dispute ANYTHING that doesn't look right. They have to investigate and correct or respond within 30 days.
Glad you ditched Chase. The cc companies always seem to think that people will just sit there and take the abuse. (Little do they know, muaahahahaha!) Good Job, Rebecca! (Take that, Chase!) :) |
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09/08/2007 10:36:09 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by bergiekat:
Originally posted by Rebecca:
Yeah - my transfer went in at about 1.15% with a transfer fee of $41.95 (may be off by very minor amounts on the numbers), and still undercuts the Chase rate by quite a lot. That's through Capital One. Although they junk mail me to death sometimes, I've always had good experiences with them, especially when they very quickly caught and dealt with the cloned card fiasco last year (I forgave them the junk mail at that point). I'd initially gotten the Chase because the rate was reasonable and I wanted the Amazon points. The occasional $25 gift certificates are no longer worth it. |
Just beware of Capital One. The WAY they report to the big 3 regarding your credit report can be detrimental to your credit score only because of HOW they report. I was given this information from my Loan Person at the credit union. You get a free credit report every year, so be sure to keep checking it and write letters to dispute ANYTHING that doesn't look right. They have to investigate and correct or respond within 30 days.
Glad you ditched Chase. The cc companies always seem to think that people will just sit there and take the abuse. (Little do they know, muaahahahaha!) Good Job, Rebecca! (Take that, Chase!) :) |
You can actually get three free credit reports each year. The only thing is they come from three different reporting agencies. Receiving a credit report from different agencies is great; sometimes you may catch something that a company only reported to one agency that obviously wouldn't show up on the other reports. I will find the link and post it in just a bit. |
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09/08/2007 11:00:51 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by wickee_one:
...
You can actually get three free credit reports each year. The only thing is they come from three different reporting agencies. Receiving a credit report from different agencies is great; sometimes you may catch something that a company only reported to one agency that obviously wouldn't show up on the other reports. I will find the link and post it in just a bit. |
Yes, very true. My bad on describing. This is very good advice as the three (hopefully not) will vary on what is there. You want them all the same and accurate!! |
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09/09/2007 11:08:29 AM · #7 |
I can't believe you got suckered into paying a transfer fee! That is one of those things you can get out of just by simply asking them to waive it, say something like "I am going to be doing a lot of these transfers in the near future, is there anyway you can waive the fee on this one" and 90% of the time you will get it waived. Hell we used to waive them all if you did it when applying for the card.
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09/09/2007 11:21:16 AM · #8 |
When I called to activate my latest credit card (Capital One) they tried to trick me into the Identification Protection crap. First she asked me straight out, and I said no. Then she continued with her bit and then kinda out of the blue she said, and your name is "xxxx xxxx" correct?" She said it so quick. I paused and thought for a second, and said "I'm not interested." Then she continued on and said my card was now activated. Didn't question me as to why I wasn't interested that my name was "xxxx xxxx." My gut said she was trying to get me on that Identity Fraud crap, and I think my gut was right.
It's sickning that major credit card companies are so shady.
Oh, and there was one time with the phone company (Qwest). They tried that part where they just suddenly are charging you for something. They said that if you didn't reply to some piece of mail they sent out they enrolled you on it. I called them up when I noticed the charge and said "oh hellll no." In the end they paid me just over $100 to try and keep me, but again I said "oh hellll no." I took then money and ran. They're pretty much the only phone company in the area, so they think they can do whatever they want. Good bye land line, hello cell phone.
Message edited by author 2007-09-09 11:28:11. |
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09/09/2007 12:19:40 PM · #9 |
If you have a good credit report and have worked with a card for a long time you can call and ask the rate to be lowered. I've had the same credit card since the 80s and my FICO is 800+. I noticed the crazy rate and called and told them it was too high and I was considering switching. They moved it down to 7.9% (it was prime plus some %). It's drifted up to 10.24% because of the fed raising rates, but it's not crazy high. This is a Chase card, BTW.
Luckily I never carry a balance so it doesn't really matter, but at least I know it's there in an emergency. |
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09/09/2007 12:23:06 PM · #10 |
Here is the link to the threee different credit reports you can get each year. It is recommended that you request one every four months but it is really up to you.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp |
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09/09/2007 01:01:34 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by wickee_one:
Here is the link to the threee different credit reports you can get each year. It is recommended that you request one every four months but it is really up to you.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp |
Also, be aware of other sites that are called "freecreditreport.com" and similar; this is the one that is actually free. |
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09/09/2007 01:07:46 PM · #12 |
Credit Cards should NOT be used to borrow money for purchases. If you need to borrow money, get a line of credit from your bank...
Credit cards are more to be used as a convenient form of payment for purchases. Unfortunately most people don't realize that and pay usurious amounts of money servicing their Credit Card debt. |
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09/11/2007 02:29:06 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
If you have a good credit report and have worked with a card for a long time you can call and ask the rate to be lowered. I've had the same credit card since the 80s and my FICO is 800+. I noticed the crazy rate and called and told them it was too high and I was considering switching. They moved it down to 7.9% (it was prime plus some %). It's drifted up to 10.24% because of the fed raising rates, but it's not crazy high. This is a Chase card, BTW.
Luckily I never carry a balance so it doesn't really matter, but at least I know it's there in an emergency. |
I've had the same experience. I've had a Chase card for 10 years (although I recently quit using it in favor of a mileage card) and it started out at 5.9% ... rose eventually to 10% and I called them and got it reduced to 7.9% ... and had to call them a couple of times after to get it dropped back down to 7.9%. It's back up to 10.24% like yours, and I also got the notification that they would be raising the rate to 14.9%, but I read the fine print (as I do with all things that involve my money) and found out that I could write them to opt out of the change so it's still 10.24%. That doesn't matter to me anyway, as I no longer carry any balances from month to month.
But Rebecca, 29.99% sounds like a default rate, meaning you were late (at least they think you were) on at least one payment and then they slap you with the maximum allowable rate. Also keep in mind, Capital One will now apply your payments to your transferred balance at 1.15% first, so all the money that was previously on there at 14.99% is going to sit there and rack up finance charges at 14.99% until you have the lower-APR balance transfer balance paid off first, so I recommend you don't use that card for any further purchases until it gets paid off. |
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09/11/2007 02:49:37 PM · #14 |
I pay my cards twice a month, online, above the minimum payment. There's no way that's a default rate. The only thing of note that's happened in the last few months is that I paid the entire thing off once already, lump sum. I'm guessing that prompted them to run a credit report, which now has a mortgage on it. I probably fall into the vague "high credit risk" catch-all category that lots of people are complaining about since the mortgage seriously affects my debt-to-income ratio. My FICO is 700+, by the way.
If it were just the interest rate that bothered me, I would try calling them to haggle about it. However, the unreasonable hike coupled with the unwanted Payment Protector has really just turned me off when I know I don't need the second card. I'll be more than happy to call Chase and tell them to cancel my line of credit, and we'll see if they scramble to "win me back" with rate offers and whatnot.
Just two sites out there, with zillions of complaints and info about what lame excuses Chase has given them:
//www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/chase_credit_cards.html
//www.epinions.com/msg/show_~threads/cat_id_~24/id_~8137/forum_id_~160
Message edited by author 2007-09-11 14:51:06.
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09/11/2007 03:27:42 PM · #15 |
| Consumer reports just did a member survey of credit card companies. It's on the newsstands now. Look for the Oct 2007 issue, Best and Worst Credit Cards, pg 12. |
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09/11/2007 03:35:16 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Rebecca:
I pay my cards twice a month, online, above the minimum payment. There's no way that's a default rate. The only thing of note that's happened in the last few months is that I paid the entire thing off once already, lump sum. I'm guessing that prompted them to run a credit report, which now has a mortgage on it. I probably fall into the vague "high credit risk" catch-all category that lots of people are complaining about since the mortgage seriously affects my debt-to-income ratio. My FICO is 700+, by the way. |
Here's something absolutely crazy, although your FICO makes me think this may not be the case, your credit card company can give you the default rate if you are late on a bill from another company. Miss a cable bill? 29% interest. Miss a phone bill? same thing. That's absolutely insane, but it's in the fine print of many card agreements these days.
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09/11/2007 03:40:33 PM · #17 |
it's called the universal default provision
they can raise your rate for just about any reason, and yeah you signed up for it :P
here's a good idea, stop using credit cards! yeah there are bad credit cards, but saying there are good cards is an oxymoron |
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09/11/2007 03:46:05 PM · #18 |
| Don't carry a balance then the interest rate is irrelevant. |
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09/11/2007 03:57:49 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Don't carry a balance then the interest rate is irrelevant. |
Heh, true. Easier said than done, though. At least I don't have high balances. I have a credit limit of $2000. ;-)
And _eug, you might as well say what's on the page, since I doubt anyone is running out to buy it and the online article is only available to paid subscribers.
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09/11/2007 05:28:53 PM · #20 |
I wouldn't want to plagiarize or copywrite infringe.
Y'all can just run to Borders or B&N for a latte and read it. :P
For the most part they recommend getting your credit cards through your credit union. You ARE a member of a credit union, right? I swear by them. Haven't used a bank in 8 years.
Message edited by author 2007-09-11 17:31:30. |
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09/11/2007 06:45:30 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by Rebecca:
Heh, true. Easier said than done, though. At least I don't have high balances. I have a credit limit of $2000. ;-) |
Where can I get one of those? That would be great for limiting how much we use the cards each month! I currently have 4 major cards with limits between $20-25K each (all empty except for the one card I use and pay each month) and even when I get a store card like Best Buy they give me a $8-10K limit. I could buy a Ferrari or a small house on my credit cards! (I know I should close one or two of them, but I need to research to see how it will affect my credit. Closing is not always good, and there is a balance between having too much and too little available credit.) |
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09/11/2007 06:46:12 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by slide12345678:
it's called the universal default provision
they can raise your rate for just about any reason, and yeah you signed up for it :P
here's a good idea, stop using credit cards! yeah there are bad credit cards, but saying there are good cards is an oxymoron |
Not so. All my cards (I have quite a few) are good ones. That is why I have them. I NEVER EVER pay interest, and use my cards to my advantage.
I make several thousand dollars profit per year in interest earned through balance transfers which are deposited in an interest paying account, never touched until paying the card balance(s) in full. I also use that credit card balance as a savings incentive by making the minimum payments (on zero interest card balances, of course) out of my living money. For instance, I have one card that I transfered $19,000 from into the savings account, where it earns 5.5%. Rather than draw from that account for the $330/mo minimum payments, I pay it from my checking account. This way, when the card balance is due in full at the end of the 0% offer, not only have I earned the 5.5% interest for a year on the full $19,000, I have only to take out slightly more that $15,000 from the savings to pay it off due to the payments I made from living expenses.
So I have made $1045 in interest plus saved $4000. I do that for as many cards as I can get with special 0% balance transfer offers.
There are not as many really good deals as there used to be (at one time I was doing over $1,000,000 per year in balance transfers). Most now charge a balance transfer fee, typically 3% with a $10 min and $50-75 max. The trick is to only transfer a very large sum, so that the max fee is still very small compared to the interest earned. Thus my good cards all have credit limits of $8,000 or more.
Credit cards can be a very good friend - if you ALWAYS read the fine print, NEVER carry an interest charging balance, NEVER pay late, NEVER use a card for your daily living expenses while also having a balance transfer open on it.
Disclaimer: don't attempt the above unless you understand fully what you are doing. One mistake can blow the whole thing and you may have to pay two months interest for a couple of days tardiness (if your card uses the two cycle billing method - particularly devious, and more common than it used to be). Let's see...2 months interest on $19,000 at say 19%...~$600. OUCH!!! |
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09/11/2007 07:07:39 PM · #23 |
Go Jemison! Stick it to the man! I love the pure chutzpah of this. When online casinos were just getting going, they would give you "free" money if you agreed to place a certain multiple of that in wagers. If you knew stats you could calculate if you would have any money left by playing Blackjack until your requisite amount of wagers was up. I wound up making $5500 on the venture over two months.
Sounds like if we got together we ought to be able to come up with a great scheme. I've been working on one that takes bank transactions and rounds them down while depositing the fraction of a penny into an offshore account which accumulates over time.
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09/11/2007 07:39:48 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Sounds like if we got together we ought to be able to come up with a great scheme. I've been working on one that takes bank transactions and rounds them down while depositing the fraction of a penny into an offshore account which accumulates over time. |
Wasn't that the scheme in "Office Space?"
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09/11/2007 08:31:51 PM · #25 |
_eug:
I don't belong to a credit union. I work for a bank. I don't pay for anything account-related. However, we don't have a bank-sponsored credit card. We're quite small.
Creature:
How I got a super low credit limit? Easy. I wrecked my credit several years ago, and Capital One was the only company that would give me a card without making me pay for an outrageous "credit builder" card. I really needed one at the time because I was going to Italy and it was a safety thing - just in case. The credit limit was a whopping $300. But it was something. That was four years ago, my credit is now pretty spiffy, and they've been kind enough to raise my limit. I'm half expecting another increase this year, though I may call and tell them to please put it back when they do.
Message edited by author 2007-09-11 20:32:32.
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