WTF? STUPID credit card terms

[spidey07]

I think this is normal for most cards. It's why you never use a cash advance.

If you look in the terms and conditions you'll probably see there is no grace period for cash advances, meaning as long as there is a average daily balance, you''re getting hit with a finance charge no matter what.

 

[jiggahertz]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: leftyman
debit card FTW

debit cards give rewards?

no and they dont hit you with senseless charges either.

yeah but if i read the op correctly, he used the CC cash advance by mistake? normally eh wouldn't be using the CC to get cash, so a debit card wouldn't help.

wait a minute...isn't a debit card like a credit card except it draws from your bank account? he wanted cash, not to put something on credit...

he wanted to use his atm card but grabbed his credit card by mistake. so yes a debit card would have been FTW

can you get cash from a debit card?? i never had one so i don't know.
if you can, then yes, in this particular instance, a debit card would have been better, but based on what else he said, replacing his CC with a debit card isn't what he wnats.

a debit card is typically the same as the ATM card for your account

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney
hmmm does this apply to all CC? I better read my terms and conditions on mine, because this is highway robbery.

just don't use the CC for a cash advance.

Paypal is considered a cash advance though.

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I think this is normal for most cards. It's why you never use a cash advance.

If you look in the terms and conditions you'll probably see there is no grace period for cash advances, meaning as long as there is a average daily balance, you''re getting hit with a finance charge no matter what.

I thought the grace period was only from the time the monthly payment is due?

 

[lokiju]

I find their corporate number online and call them up and raise hell. I had a situation with DirecTV where they were basically telling my I'm SOL and within one call to corporate, everything was cleared up.

 

[OutHouse]

so your debit card and credit card have the same PIN?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney
hmmm does this apply to all CC? I better read my terms and conditions on mine, because this is highway robbery.

just don't use the CC for a cash advance.

Paypal is considered a cash advance though.

explain

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney
hmmm does this apply to all CC? I better read my terms and conditions on mine, because this is highway robbery.

just don't use the CC for a cash advance.

Paypal is considered a cash advance though.

explain

Explain what?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney
hmmm does this apply to all CC? I better read my terms and conditions on mine, because this is highway robbery.

just don't use the CC for a cash advance.

Paypal is considered a cash advance though.

explain

Explain what?

how or why is it considered a cash advance?

if i pay someone via paypal with my credit card, thats a cash advance?
it doesn't work that way with my credit card.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Looney
hmmm does this apply to all CC? I better read my terms and conditions on mine, because this is highway robbery.

just don't use the CC for a cash advance.

Paypal is considered a cash advance though.

American Express doesn't seem to think so.

 

[middlehead]

Paypal never posted as a cash advance with my MBNA card, which is now a BoA card and still doesn't post as cash advance.

 

[Jeraden]

Can you just overpay them, so you'll have a negative amount due? That way there isn't a constant positive balance to continue to accrue finance charges on? Basically pre-pay your next months credit card bill.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Strk

Originally posted by: spidey07
I think this is normal for most cards. It's why you never use a cash advance.

If you look in the terms and conditions you'll probably see there is no grace period for cash advances, meaning as long as there is a average daily balance, you''re getting hit with a finance charge no matter what.

I thought the grace period was only from the time the monthly payment is due?

grace period means that you can buy something on credit card, and as long as your balance started at 0 that month and you paid it off in full by the due date, you won't have any finance charges.

grace periods do not apply to any cash advance i've ever seen.

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Quite a racket of loan sharking by these Corporations the U.S. Government has allowed eh?

Americans enjoy being screwed over.

you're only fscking yourself. it's in the terms and conditions. if you don't like them don't get a credit card.

 

[dullard]

Rule #1 for CCs, most loans, and IRS bills: They have interest tacked on DAILY. Thus, if you get a bill, and pay it off in full, you didn't pay it off in full.

Why? Because they printed the bill and it took several days to reach you. Even if you paid it instantly when you received the bill, the debt is higher by the time you got the bill. If you follow the standard practice and waited a bit for paying and/or mailed in a check, then even more time passes.

Example: You owe me $100 today at $1/day interest. I mail you a bill today and you get it in 3 days. By they time you get it on Friday, you owe me $103. If you pay only $100 (even if you pay it on Friday) you still owe me $3. Thus, next month you owe me $3 plus interest on that $3. Rinse and repeat. [/b]You can never pay off a loan by paying a bill in full, unless the bill gives you a specific ADDITIONAL grace[/b].

Solution #1: Pay MORE than you owe. Then I'll refund you the difference. In my example above, if you paid me $105 on that Friday, you'd have a -$2 balance. Then I'd mail you back $2.

Solution #2: Support the politicians who introduced legislation to outlaw this practice this week.

 

[courtjester123]

Originally posted by: dullard
Rule #1 for CCs, most loans, and IRS bills: They have interest tacked on DAILY. Thus, if you get a bill, and pay it off in full, you didn't pay it off in full.

Why? Because they printed the bill and it took several days to reach you. Even if you paid it instantly when you received the bill, the debt is higher by the time you got the bill. If you follow the standard practice and waited a bit for paying and/or mailed in a check, then even more time passes.

Example: You owe me $100 today at $1/day interest. I mail you a bill today and you get it in 3 days. By they time you get it on Friday, you owe me $103. If you pay only $100 (even if you pay it on Friday) you still owe me $3. Thus, next month you owe me $3 plus interest on that $3. Rinse and repeat. [/b]You can never pay off a loan by paying a bill in full, unless the bill gives you a specific ADDITIONAL grace.

Solution #1: Pay MORE than you owe. Then I'll refund you the difference. In my example above, if you paid me $105 on that Friday, you'd have a -$2 balance. Then I'd mail you back $2.

Solution #2: Support the politicians who introduced legislation to outlaw this practice this week.

Dullard, thanks for the details. Over-paying looks like the best possible solution. Since I have a checking account with Chase as well, I can make payments electronically but their silly online system will not allow me to over-pay. So I will have to pay the balance, stop using the card, and watch the balance every couple days and pay it off again to keep it at zero. It's probably faster than mailing an overpayment. Still, this is a huge inconvenience. Luckily, my statement cycle closes around mid-month so hopefully I can get this done in the span of about 2 weeks.

 

[courtjester123]

oops, the statement closes at end-of-month so this still sucks the big one

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

if that was your primary card, cancelling it will only hurt your credit score. Pay it off and keep it in a drawer unused.

 

[courtjester123]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
if that was your primary card, cancelling it will only hurt your credit score. Pay it off and keep it in a drawer unused.

thanks for the advice, yeah, my wife just freaked and wants to cancel the card, but I think we'll have to bite the bullet and get through this hullabaloo. It would be hard to switch over not to mention the credit report...would rather not mess with it at all

 

[dullard]

This aritcle describes the Democrats' push against this practice.

Better article.

So, for example, if a credit card holder has a balance of $5,020 one month and repays $5,000 on time, the customer could owe $55.21 in the next billing cycle, based on an interest rate of 17.99 percent, Levin said. That new balance includes 43 cents of interest from the $20 balance. But it also includes another $34.78 in interest that was based on the original amount of $5,020 even though $5,000 was paid on time, Levin said.

What is even worse than CC companies though, is the IRS. Try paying off an old debt to the IRS. You can't. Not unless you well overpay and hope they refund you back. Too bad, there isn't a push to stop that abusive IRS practice.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: leftyman
debit card FTW

debit cards give rewards?

How do you expect credit card companies to give rewards? Out of the kindness of their hearts? No. By charging FEES. Someone has to pay for all the rewards that others seem to think they are getting a steal on.

 

[TuxDave]

Call them and argue. I once put my credit card into the ATM for cash (my debit and credit card are both Bank of America) and I got a cash advance charge without knowing it. I pay off my balance every month but SOMEHOW the cash advance isn't included in the number when they say 'total balance due'.

I got fees and called them and asked what's going on. They reversed the fee, transferred it to a normal balance and I got rid of it. It's a pain but yeah, calling them usually resolves everything.

 

[courtjester123]

Originally posted by: TuxDave
Call them and argue. I once put my credit card into the ATM for cash (my debit and credit card are both Bank of America) and I got a cash advance charge without knowing it. I pay off my balance every month but SOMEHOW the cash advance isn't included in the number when they say 'total balance due'.

I got fees and called them and asked what's going on. They reversed the fee, transferred it to a normal balance and I got rid of it. It's a pain but yeah, calling them usually resolves everything.

I'm going to call them tomorrow - there is at least 1 charge from yesterday that isn't showing up on the account, so I will wait until that posts and make and electronic payment after it does. Then I'll call up and find out the current status.

Thanks for replying everyone.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Citrix
so your debit card and credit card have the same PIN?

That was my first thought.

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
if that was your primary card, cancelling it will only hurt your credit score. Pay it off and keep it in a drawer unused.

Not true. FICO doesn't have a "primary card" factor in its scoring method.

 

[courtjester123]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Citrix
so your debit card and credit card have the same PIN?

That was my first thought.

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
if that was your primary card, cancelling it will only hurt your credit score. Pay it off and keep it in a drawer unused.

Not true. FICO doesn't have a "primary card" factor in its scoring method.

Yes, the credit card has the same PIN as my ATM card, but not any more. I will also see if I can disable ATM capability for the credit card.

Also, I want to leave my credit rating(s) alone completely, so I don't want to open another credit card and cancel this one. This account has always been in good standing and I've had it for quite some time. I'll see if I can get through it instead.

 

[Vic]

So stop using the card for a couple of days until all the pending transactions post, call them up for the balance, and then make an electronic payment for that exact amount. You shouldn't have to wait a full billing cycle.

And yeah, it's good you got that PIN changed. Credit cards should never be used for cash advances, except perhaps in some kind of dire emergency.