<p>I just received announcement of “changes to your Account” for DW’s Xxxxxxx card. Let’s see:
(a) new Cash Advance fee 5% … up from 0%
(b) new Interest Rate 23.9% variable … up from 7.9% fixed</p>
<p>Anyone else really annoyed with Credit Card companies?</p>
<p>It’s kind of hard to rant against banks taking irresponsible risks with lax credit and bringing down the financial system and at the same time rail against them when they tighten credit.</p>
<p>Why to use the card that bothers you? I would either switch to another or do not use it at all. But this is too unimportant to pay any attention in a bigger picture. Just praying every day that we have our jobs tomorrow. Anything else is way below any kind of attention span.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that banks were in the business of PROVIDING credit. Can’t wait until banks decide mortgage rates should be at these levels. (BTW, these are the most generous terms of any credit card DW and I have. Looks like we need to look into a Federal Credit Union, where interest rates are limited to 15.9% by law.)</p>
<p>I don’t care what interest rate is charged on my credit cards because we make sure to pay them off in full every month. Financing purchases through a credit card is a very bad financial decision.</p>
<p>They are in the business of providing it. This is simply the new price. Take it or shop for credit elsewhere.</p>
<p>The terms themselves wouldn’t irritate me since they’d not affect me since I don’t get cash advances and never pay interest but if I was annoyed with the CC provider I’d exercise the small amount of power I have as a consumer and shop for a more appealing one elsewhere. If enough people did this they wouldn’t be able to charge these terms.</p>
<p>I recommend to people to never pay interest on a CC unless it’s an absolute last reort for an absolutely necessary item and ideally, get a CC that pays cash back like the Costco AmEx where THEY pay YOU to use the card.</p>
<p>I also don’t know why more people don’t switch from banks to credit unions since the CUs are usually a better deal all around with fewer fees, etc.</p>
<p>You bring up a good point though - some companies are changing the rates so we should keep our eyes out for increases in rates we’ve become accustomed to and be willing to switch to better deals.</p>
<p>Since I always pay my bills in full and have credit limits that are far more than I ever plan to spend and never use cash advances I don’t really care. Various cards I have changed their rates in the last year, but the changes make no difference to me.</p>
<p>I never pay interest so I guess that I should look for the credit card with the highest fees and interest rates as they probably provide more freebies. I just use Discover Card as they give me generous cash back for college tuition and they provide throwaway card numbers for ordering things over the internet. My Visa is with the local credit union and that works fine.</p>
<p>Not only is it incredibly annoying, it is bad business. The banks will now be accruing interest on their credit card loan portfolios at 23% which will produce terrific profits, these profits will be further enhanced by all the late fees, until eventually they will face defaults at an extraordinarily high level. Only the weakest borrowers will keep their credit card balances at banks raising rates from 7% to 23%. Meanwhile some of the more clever bankers will figure out a way to securitize these high yielding assets and pass the problem on to the next genius portfolio manager. When tbills yield less than 1/4% per year and even 2 year notes around 1% who can resist an asset backed security (with a AAA rating??) that yields 10% ? This will be a replay of the subprime mortgage fiasco, brought to you by zero interest rates.</p>
<p>So banks get in trouble by making unsound mortgage loans, and the Treasury and Fed keep these banks alive via capital injections of taxpayer money, then subsidize them further with a near zero cost of funds, at the expense of savers. Yes, it makes me angry to see the banks accept all this charity and then raise fees and rates to their customers.</p>
<p>I use the Costco Amex and never carry a balance, so I am perfectly happy on the consumer end. As a small business owner who accepts credit cards (only 10% of my business) I am extremely irritated by the bank and credit card fees and charges that have DOUBLED this year.</p>
<p>Pay them off. I haven’t paid interest in 25 years and I refuse to ever. I do use a cu card that gives me miles. I never use a c card to obtain cash. I drive a car until I can pay cash to replace it. The present one is a 2003 and it will have to last a while. My mortgage was a straight 15 year. I did not overbuy. No material things feel as good as being debt-free.</p>
<p>Never did a cash advance on a cc (there was always a fee). Always pay off card in full each month, so I don’t even know what my interest rate is. I have never used the “convenience checks” they attach from time to time. But I do get some nice rewards with my card. So at this point, I have no complaints.</p>
<p>However, I do check the new “terms” they send each time. When the terms start to affect me, then I may look elsewhere.</p>
<p>crescent22 said: “It’s kind of hard to rant against banks taking irresponsible risks with lax credit and bringing down the financial system and at the same time rail against them when they tighten credit.”</p>
<p>Nope it’s easy: stupid banks took too much risk. Now stupid banks take away my credit even though I’ve been a good customer.</p>
<p>So glad I’m with a small local bank; they are Steady Eddies.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s as easy as you think for them to tell who is a good customer and who isn’t. What if kei o lei loses her job. Is she still a good customer of a stupid bank?</p>
<p>I would never take out a loan on a credit card. A thousand ways to get a better interest rate if I needed one. This might be a good reason to cut up your card though. </p>
<p>They should be a convenience, never a source of credit (unless you absolutely have no other genuine choice in an unusual situation).</p>