Dear Valued Credit Card Customer;

[Golgatha]

Funny... I'm still not getting any annual fees on my cards, and I honestly don't give a shit what my interest rates are because I don't take cash advances or keep a balance on my cards.

If anything, the cash back bonuses on my credit cards have actually improved over the past few years. I'm not one of those millionaires who's whines about their upcoming tax increases while hosting dinner parties on my yacht, either... I'm just an average guy with a good credit score and a six month emergency fund.

Are stories like these really normal?

Very normal. In fact I feel they should be the norm.

I posted awhile back about how my Chase Visa decided to charge an annual fee and reduced the cash back benefits. I dropped them and am happier using my AMEX Blue card for nearly all my credit card purchases now. No annual fee and better benefits. I was able to do this because I have an 800+ credit score, don't ever carry a balance, live within my means, maintain a network of good professional work references, and have well more than 6 months of liquid assets to carry me though any short term financial setbacks.

Thankfully I love working for my current employer. My last one, not so much (actually the employer was great, but my direct manager was a douche). I have found living frugally enables me to leave a bad work situation on a whim without worries, and makes life's small emergencies seem more like annoyances. e.g. I just spent $1,100 on car repairs between two vehicles this month and bought a new PS3 for $300 due to the old one breaking. Granted the PS3 was a want, but $1,400 extra dollars coming out of my pocket this month is a minor irritation in the grand scheme of things. For many people this extra outlay would be financially devastating and very, very stressful. For me, I'll put that exact amount back in the coffers as quickly as possible and continue to invest a portion of my excess.

 

[Mojoed]

Recently, I've gotten three letters from two of my CC companies.

AMEX credit line increased from $6000 to $20,000
Chase Freedom line increased from $10,000, to $12,000 to $16,000

Interest rate has remained the same.

Sounds like two different worlds out there

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Most merchant agreements prohibit this exact practice.

Ya but there are too many merchants to keep tabs on all of them. Plus if one merchant cuts you off there are 10000 more ready to fill there place.

 

[Svnla]

OP, why are you paying annual fee for CC? Unless it is a highly valueable reward card, I would not pay any annual fee for CC.

Now I am worrying that my 2% cashback CC may roll back to 1% or none at all.

 

[alkemyst]

Most merchant agreements prohibit this exact practice.

Cash discounts are fine...upcharging credit transactions are not.

Up until recently they couldn't require a minimum on credit purchases, now they can require $10.

IRT the other topic...most get the wrong idea about cards with Annual Fees. For most they don't make sense as you can just go to a higher rate slightly and save.

The very best cards usually have not only annual fees, but annual usage requirements.

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

Always pay off my balance within 30 days. So I can care less if my interest rate is 99%. If you don't like paying interest, then don't charge more than what you have in your savings.

 

[thraashman]

I just checked mine. March 09 my interest rate was 8.99% on my one card that I really use. Currently it is 8.24%, My credit limit is $17k, I've never once carried a balance, no annual fee. My credit rating is ~800.

Sounds like there must be some conspiracy to screw up the credit of people who don't like Obama. Either that or they're largely lying asshats spouting more bullshit because they don't like him. I think the second is more likely.

 

[rcpratt]

This is why I love USAA. I asked for a limit increase and it took them about 2 minutes to give me $17k. If I asked again if I could get more. My APR is 9% or something, and it hasn't gone up in the last 5 years. Although I wouldn't really care if it did. Plus there are no annual fees and I get the equivalent of ~1% cashback.

 

[alkemyst]

Always pay off my balance within 30 days. So I can care less if my interest rate is 99%. If you don't like paying interest, then don't charge more than what you have in your savings.

what the fuck are you a communist?

There are laws to fair interest rates here in the US as we are a capitalistic society. For many things the payoff period is not 30 days all of the time.

Running a balance is really only an issue if it's chronic.

 

[roguerower]

I just got out of college and have opened up two cards since I started my job. The first is a USAA Mastercard and the second is a Rewardzone Mastercard that I needed to pay for my TV. The rewardzone is completely paid off and likely won't be used for anything until it gets closed. My USAA card I use pretty religiously but I pay off the balance on payday. The USAA card is pretty nice to use and the online setup that USAA has is awesome. Right now I'm sitting just above 700 for a credit score which can be attributed to new accounts (duh, just out of school) and low credit limits ($500 on USAA and $500 on BB). Soooo...how do I raise the limit? Call up USAA and ask for a raise?

 

[ebaycj]

no cash back with debit card

I get cash back with my US Bank Cash Rewards Visa Debit.

 

[thegimp03]

I just got out of college and have opened up two cards since I started my job. The first is a USAA Mastercard and the second is a Rewardzone Mastercard that I needed to pay for my TV. The rewardzone is completely paid off and likely won't be used for anything until it gets closed. My USAA card I use pretty religiously but I pay off the balance on payday. The USAA card is pretty nice to use and the online setup that USAA has is awesome. Right now I'm sitting just above 700 for a credit score which can be attributed to new accounts (duh, just out of school) and low credit limits ($500 on USAA and $500 on BB). Soooo...how do I raise the limit? Call up USAA and ask for a raise?

Yeah you can call them up and ask. You'll likely have to disclose your monthly gross income to them and possibly any fixed major expenses you have (like rent and other bills), they'll probably run it through a program to determine how risky of a customer you are and then tell you whether or not they will raise it.

When I was in high school my parents had me on one of their credit cards to pay for gas or when I was getting groceries for them. During college I got my own credit card which had an $800 limit or something really low like that and I barely ever used it. When I got out of college and got a job, I think the issuer (which was also my bank) raised my limit automatically because they may have seen my paychecks hitting my accounts I held with them. I think my limit went to $8k or something, but that was back in 2005 when things were a bit different than they are now.

 

[Gillbot]

A few of ours tried that, we closed em. They backpeddled when they got that notice from us, we said shove it.

 

[Engineer]

LOL, Citibank sent me a statement today. Since I only get those when I have a balance, I opened it (I haven't used the card in a while). There was a $10 promotional credit on the sheet for being a good customer. Free $10 from Citi...wooohooo!

 

[Double Trouble]

I use CC's because they are convenient and offer me free 30 day loans on everything I buy. If they jack up my rate, reduce the limit or impose some nasty yearly fee, I'll just close the account and switch to something else. That's what competition will do, some company will offer a better deal if you're a good credit risk......