Au contraire. I just assume that my credit card – and I only have 1 – carries the maximum interest allowable in my state. It could be 19%, or 29%; no matter. Pay in full every month, so just don’t care.
I give up. Don’t read the fine print :)>-
Wouldn’t have to read the fine print. This was in large, bolded, boxed print. It’s why I noticed it. Had it been in the fine print I’m pretty positive I’d have missed it… 
But at least there’s a solution that will work even if it’s not my ideal “ditch the card” path. They still won’t get my business any longer.
I agree with you @Creekland. I wouldn’t use that card, on principle. Doesn’t matter what the interest rate is or that your credit score dropped 30 points. I would expect that a company that I was a long term customer at, not penalized me over a temporary drop in my credit score. That’s ridiculous and I wouldn’t give them my business anymore.
I had an emergency recently and had to put a very large amount (for me) on my credit card. Insurance will pay but it takes a while and the contractor wanted their money now. It wasn’t an amount I just keep in my checking account. If my credit score drops so be it. I wouldn’t expect my cc company to raise my interest rate because of an emergency outside my control.
Maybe some people keep five figures in their checking, I don’t and won’t apologize for it.
Call AmEx back and ask to speak to a supervisor. I had an issue with AmEx recently. First customer service guy had be call their insurance/Assurance company, fill out a form, which was ultimately denied for a ridiculous reason (the product- brand new and unused, the wrong item on the website but they wouldnt take it back) was deemed perishable” b/c it had some paint. BS. So I called AmEx back and go an “on shore” rep who wasn’t just reading off a list with a heavy accent. I explained the situation, that the company‘s site says its not returnable (small print and again its THEIR fault- error on their website) and I am the victim here. The CS person said “let me see what i can do”, talked to a supervisor, and then courtesy credited my account the almost $60. They said they have to also put it in dispute, and I realize they will not likely succeed with the vendor (they sent me what I ordered, it was just the wrong item on their website) but regardless, I got my courtesy credit. So dont give up. Call again and see if you can get another CS rep or supervisor who is reasonable. Try to get to whichever dept makes that decision. Might not work, but worth a try.
Also, post on twitter and facebook (their page). Their social media reps may respond and help.
It may not be worth your time, but dont cancel the card; just put it aside. Closing it hurts you.
But I suspect the issue here starts with the credit bureau. They dropped her score for unknown reasons, causing AmEx to respond. Apparently, other cards didn’t raise her interest.
So OP should be mad at the credit bureau. The fact that other cards didn’t change the rate may be more reason to address it with AmEx.
OP has other cr card choices so is free to put AmEx on the freezer (people really do this!) until her credit rating comes back up and then call to get the rate adjusted. But again, its no big deal since all bills are paid in full.
BTW, AmEx website says they use Experian, not TransUnion or Equifax.
Hmm… haven’t looked at these - maybe I should. They’re Cap 1, USAA, and our CU. All three are companies I’ve enjoyed dealing with - not that I call customer service often though. Only if we’re going overseas or if there’s an occasional question like what’s covered for rental cars or whatever.
Or I should perhaps just wait and see what the score is next month to see if it’s “fixed” and have less frustration. It really could be a momentary blip - and if so - I’m even more annoyed with AE considering I’ve been with them for 23 years without a single issue payment-wise ever. There was only the one computer issue that we had them get involved with.
My daughter’s credit score did a 50 point drop this month. Figured out it was the creation of a new account with a bank she already has several accounts with (credit score takes age of accounts as part of the formula).
As a safety measure, she created a new account with an extremely low balance to link to her Venmo account (Instead of using an existing account or linking Venmo directly to her on-line banking). So, doing something we thought was smart had negative consequences (not a big deal right now as she is not looking to get a loan).
Using a card in “credit” mode typically costs the merchant a 3% or so fee. Merchants typically put up with it because handling currency/coin or checks has costs and risks associated with it. They would prefer cheaper (to them) “debit” transactions, but customers are incented to choose “credit”. (Note: both credit and debit cards that have Visa or MasterCard on them can be used in either “credit” or “debit” mode. But using a credit card in “debit” mode costs fees and interest like a cash advance.)
The merchant fee is split between the network (e.g. Visa or MasterCard), the merchant’s bank, and the card issuing bank. The card issuing bank probably breaks even on such fees, but hopes that enough customers carry balances and pay interest (about 2/3 do).
If everyone paid the full bill on time, credit cards would probably have fewer or no rewards, and higher costs to customers and merchants. Note the historical example of American Express cards and their higher fees, back when they were charge cards where customers were not supposed to carry balances. It was not a coincidence that the first no fee American Express cards were those where one could carry a balance and pay interest.
I had a credit card reduce the credit limit for not using much of it. I do use it regularly, but only about 2-5% of the old limit or 4-10% of the new limit.
Our CCard issuer did drop our credit limit when they noticed we had only been using about 3-10% of it for several years. It didn’t affect us and we were 800+ credit score before and since.
We still don’t use much of our credit limit, especially if you include our $250k never-used home equity LOC.
having an open LOC can have negative effects on credit ratings or credit limits on cards.
I just looked at CreditKarma dotcom. They list factors that affect credit score.
Then I checked my Citibank card account that gives me my FICO score for free, and it recently dropped a bit. They list 2 factors, 1 is lack of recent installment loan information, which is absurd! Lower score because I don’t have a student or auto loan? However, the 2nd factor:
ALL of our balances are paid off before the due date, but just having the balances and having them on many cards will adversely effect FICO score.
I recently got a new credit card because it offered a 60,000 point signing bonus. I think that actually lowered my FICO score. I have since applied for another card that has a 60,000 American Airline miles bonus! I guess this might lower my FICO score even more. But wife and I are travelling a lot lately and using Airline miles for free flights is awesome!
And a PS. My credit is “frozen” at all 3 bureaus. When I applied for the new credit card they sent me a letter stating they needed to access my Experian report before they could approve me. Experian gave me a one-time pin that I gave to the credit card folks so they could access my credit report one time and I didn’t have to “unfreeze” my credit to get the new credit card.
Possibly relevant article:
https://www.consumerreports.org/credit-cards/how-to-cancel-your-credit-card/
Well we’re on another trip away from home - with my mom, so not really a “trip,” but the AE card is in my bedside stand. First time I can think of that it hasn’t traveled with me. I don’t miss it. Visa paid for gas, shopping, and meals just fine. No regrets.
In spite of how it might affect my credit score I’m seriously considering cancelling it anyway, but will give it time to think it over rather than making a rash judgment. I’m not totally convinced we need so much available credit even if it tamps the score for a tad. In another year or two we’re seriously thinking of buying a vacation condo or sailboat. Since I’m not sure yet if we’ll finance part of those purchases or pay for them outright (will depend upon inheritance TBH) I’ve got to mull over the pros and cons. I suppose it could make sense to see what the inheritance is first, but that’s the only thing I can think of that could make the credit score matter.
If you take a cash advance on a credit card, you definitely need to pay attention to the interest rates, as you accrue interest from the date of the transaction.
DH uses our USAA card to get cash when he is overseas for work – no tx fee, low interest and it is the cheapest way to get cash, esp since his work-issued card doesn’t allow cash advances. It’s the only time we pay interest.
@CountingDown USAA is nice the way they send checks to be able to access their cc if needed. I haven’t had to use one, but considering ccs are our major (quick) emergency fund if something goes wrong over 2K, it definitely makes it comforting to have easy access if whatever emergency doesn’t take credit.
Sears nationally didn’t close. We still have a store and I probably still have an account although it has been probably twenty years since I used it.
@Onward It was Sears that closed my account because I hadn’t used it. Beware if shopping there thinking you’re going to use that card. It’s kinda embarrassing to get to the check out counter - in a line - and find that your credit is not accepted. Fortunately, I have the other cards I carry on me, but I can still imagine what other shoppers might have been thinking. When I called once back home I was told the reason and asked if I wanted it reopened. No thank you. It didn’t bother me at all when our local store later closed. I had no intention of shopping there ever again anyway. I don’t take kindly to being embarrassed.
The same day Sears rejected my card JCP had no problem with theirs. We don’t shop for clothing often - even less often for those stores than Kohls or at my Outlet Mall. JCP was ok with it. Sears was not.
It’s possible they had sent some letter or something telling me about it, but I don’t always read junk mail TBH.