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Same thing has happened to me. On my card, I had carried a small balance for a while and paid it off. Next thing I know, they lowered my limit. Grrrrrr...but as one poster said, if you don't keep credit cards, you can't get credit when you need it and your score goes down. And you need them to rent cars, etc. Very frustrating.
My CC is with my credit union. Had it for years and always paid in full every month. I don't know what the interest rate is offhand but I can tell you they have not lowered my balance.
I currently owe about $9500 on the card, so unfortunately the rate increase effects me in a big way.
The worst part about things like this is that people don't read the fine print, then come online and pass along wrong/bad/misleading information. Then other folks that don't read believe it and pass it on... it's a cycle and it is just another indicator of what is wrong with people in today's society. IMO you shouldn't HAVE a credit card if you don't READ the fine print. There SHOULD be a TEST!
The new law does NOT allow them to charge you the interest on an outstanding balance without giving you recourse. It is only on NEW purchases that the interest rate takes affect. Most cards will not even try to charge the new rate on the old debt. Here's what you do (according to the fine print)- You can call/write the company, give them notice that the new policies are unacceptable to you and cancel the card, but keep paying as agreed previously. You just won't be allowed to charge new debt.
Credit IS being extended to people. People ARE still getting home loans for little to ZERO down. The only thing that changed is the rules. If you are a "rule follower", things will continue as usual for you. If the credit card companies are not making money off of you, then they are not going to continue to give you a good credit rating. I don't see why people think they should get something for nothing. If you don't EVER carry a balance, then the credit companies don't make money... which is what they are in business for. They are NOT a CHARITY.
Only idiots don't think companies should be allowed to make money. Idiots, communists and those who voted for Obama.
I had a WAMU credit card with which I was very satisfied. Then Wamu was bought out by Chase and my APR skyrocketed for now apparent reason. It went up more than 6% although I never defaulted on any payments. I always pay my balance at the end of the month and even earlier, but it just not fair that a good customer has to pay such a high APR. When I confronted CHase about it they tell me the increases were due to recession, then the answer was that they are working on conforming to government regulation and never got to APRs yet. My conclusion is there is no point of holding a card like that, there are better companies anyway.
I had a WAMU credit card with which I was very satisfied. Then Wamu was bought out by Chase and my APR skyrocketed for now apparent reason. It went up more than 6% although I never defaulted on any payments. I always pay my balance at the end of the month and even earlier, but it just not fair that a good customer has to pay such a high APR. When I confronted CHase about it they tell me the increases were due to recession, then the answer was that they are working on conforming to government regulation and never got to APRs yet. My conclusion is there is no point of holding a card like that, there are better companies anyway.
As soon as I pay mine off this month its gone. Even though I have been with them since 1999. I got a new credit card with a 9.9% APR fixed rate. Thats almost a 15% difference.
I had a WAMU credit card with which I was very satisfied. Then Wamu was bought out by Chase and my APR skyrocketed for now apparent reason. It went up more than 6% although I never defaulted on any payments. I always pay my balance at the end of the month and even earlier, but it just not fair that a good customer has to pay such a high APR. When I confronted CHase about it they tell me the increases were due to recession, then the answer was that they are working on conforming to government regulation and never got to APRs yet. My conclusion is there is no point of holding a card like that, there are better companies anyway.
Using credit cards to finance things is pretty foolish, IMO. For small things, save the money and pay cash, or pay off the balance each month. For larger purchases, get a fixed rate loan if necessary. If that's unattainable, then you can't afford what you want to buy.
Cannot understand a persons problem with the higher interest rate on a CC considering that they pay the balance in full each month.
I have an Amex card that is paid in full each month and at times will pay extra so that next months bill has a credit and maybe a small payment is due.
I was rejected from a car loan from two banks because I hadn't had a car loan in almost 7 years. My credit score is around 800 and they said that was fine, but the banks actually wanted me to have more loans to pay so I can pay my new car loan. I just told them I don't have loans because I pay them off as fast as possible. I had taken a 3 year car loan out and paid it off in just over 1 1/2 years back in 2003.
As far as credit cards, I had one that raised my apr from like 6% to 13%. They said it was because of the economy. I called and told them I was getting 0% offers at least once a week. The guy at the credit card company actually said there was no way I could get that rate and he could do 3.9% or something fairly low on new purchases. I then told him I would just close the card. I got transferred to a manager and they actually kept my rate the same...although they did notify me in the future it could get raised again. I had never been even close to late on a payment and it was always paid off.
Right now I'm still getting 0% offers until fall of 2011 at least once a week.
I was rejected from a car loan from two banks because I hadn't had a car loan in almost 7 years. My credit score is around 800 and they said that was fine, but the banks actually wanted me to have more loans to pay so I can pay my new car loan. I just told them I don't have loans because I pay them off as fast as possible. I had taken a 3 year car loan out and paid it off in just over 1 1/2 years back in 2003.
As far as credit cards, I had one that raised my apr from like 6% to 13%. They said it was because of the economy. I called and told them I was getting 0% offers at least once a week. The guy at the credit card company actually said there was no way I could get that rate and he could do 3.9% or something fairly low on new purchases. I then told him I would just close the card. I got transferred to a manager and they actually kept my rate the same...although they did notify me in the future it could get raised again. I had never been even close to late on a payment and it was always paid off.
Right now I'm still getting 0% offers until fall of 2011 at least once a week.
I read a book that covered the Great Depression once, and it concluded that one of the reasons the depression dragged on for so long was that the businesspeople of that era were simply not good businesspeople.
It has dawned on me that we're in the same sort of era now. Our businesspeople come up with all sorts of fancy charts and analyses to justify stupid decisions and business practices. The subprime loan fiasco is just one facet of it. Businesses today seem to go out of their way to alienate good customers. They make it impossible to get in touch with them or resolve outstanding issues. They lend to people who can't repay in order to get today's sale, with the credit loss to come later. I could go on and on.
"Except as required by applicable law, and without prior notice, we may close your account or suspend your credit privileges at any time for any reason, including account inactivity."
So what is the level of inactivity that spurs the banks to close an account?
All depends. They closed my account on my emergency card which I'd used maybe once in the past 2 years. I don't blame them, there is a certain amount of overhead and if I'm charging very little I'm sure the $2 or so they made off my purchases isn't enough to cover that.
There will still be no-fee credit cards but you will have to charge enough to be attractive to the credit card company.
Lets say they make 2% off your purchases after netting costs etc. Well if you put 20k a year on a cc that's $400 so they'd be happy with that vs. someone spending 1k a year on the card and generating $20. The latter folks will get fees while the people that charge more will be able to get the no-fee cards.
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