I need a new credit card
02-23-2006, 07:00 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
I need a new credit card
Okay, so here goes. I've had a Discover card since I was 18 (I'm 25 now). It was the first card I got, and up until recently, I've been very happy with them. Lately, I started realizing they aren't as good as they used to be. I originally got it because of the cash back bonus. I have a second card, a MasterCard, that gives me a higher credit line (by a lot), lower interest rate, and more cash back. Needless to say, I've been using that one a lot more.
Unless someone can give me a prudent financial reason NOT to get rid of my Discover, it's as good as gone. For the record, I have impeccable credit, and I'm doing this primarily as a financial exercise. This was all prompted when I called my MC company up and requested a lower interest rate just for the hell of it. The guy on the phone took about 30 seconds to come back and tell me he could lower it TWO full points right then and there.
I then called Discover, and they told me they don't do that over the phone, and that I'd have to fill out a form and send it in to them to request a lower rate. This is asinine. I don't wanna fill out a form. I want a lower interest rate NOW. With this happening, the gap between the two cards is even bigger than ever. If Discover doesn't want to play ball, someone else can take my $$.
I get about three credit card offers in the mail a day, all of them promising between 2-4% APR on my balance transfers until the transfer is paid off. I have been thinking about a few select cards, and would just like anyone's personal experience with them.
1. American Express Blue Cash - Pretty much same as Discover, but better service.
2. US Airways Visa - I'm not real big on miles or travel, but I might like to start accruing some just in case I want to take a trip somewhere.
3. Some other kind of card that GIVES me something (points, $$, etc.) for spending $$ on it. (Suggestions are welcome)
Is there a financier in the house?
Unless someone can give me a prudent financial reason NOT to get rid of my Discover, it's as good as gone. For the record, I have impeccable credit, and I'm doing this primarily as a financial exercise. This was all prompted when I called my MC company up and requested a lower interest rate just for the hell of it. The guy on the phone took about 30 seconds to come back and tell me he could lower it TWO full points right then and there.
I then called Discover, and they told me they don't do that over the phone, and that I'd have to fill out a form and send it in to them to request a lower rate. This is asinine. I don't wanna fill out a form. I want a lower interest rate NOW. With this happening, the gap between the two cards is even bigger than ever. If Discover doesn't want to play ball, someone else can take my $$. I get about three credit card offers in the mail a day, all of them promising between 2-4% APR on my balance transfers until the transfer is paid off. I have been thinking about a few select cards, and would just like anyone's personal experience with them.
1. American Express Blue Cash - Pretty much same as Discover, but better service.
2. US Airways Visa - I'm not real big on miles or travel, but I might like to start accruing some just in case I want to take a trip somewhere.
3. Some other kind of card that GIVES me something (points, $$, etc.) for spending $$ on it. (Suggestions are welcome)
Is there a financier in the house?
02-23-2006, 08:23 PM
#2
God knows how many credit cards I have. Now I only use 2 of them: Discover and AAdvantage MC. I've had the Discover card since 1999, the longest resident in my wallet. The AA card is there becuz of the mileage. I stay away from AMEX cards because most of them requires an annual fee, and additional fee for addtional cards. Not good when you are married. 
I also have an MBNA Worldpoints MC that I had transferred balance there earlier. Don't really use it, but it has no annual fee, fixed rate (9.9%), and earns points whenever you use it. I would recommend the MBNA card because of these reasons I mentioned. I don't know if they still offer them, as MBNA is part of Bank of America now.
I also have an MBNA Worldpoints MC that I had transferred balance there earlier. Don't really use it, but it has no annual fee, fixed rate (9.9%), and earns points whenever you use it. I would recommend the MBNA card because of these reasons I mentioned. I don't know if they still offer them, as MBNA is part of Bank of America now.
02-23-2006, 10:32 PM
#3
Registered User
I changed my discover to the 5% cash back on gas purchases card. It has no annual fee so you could keep it and just charge your gas to it. I don't carry balances on cards so I can't help you with low interest cards.
02-24-2006, 04:42 AM
#4
Registered User
Get the Citi dividends card. 5% cash back at gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies and 1% everywhere else. Maximum cash back is $300/year though. Interest is kind of high, but I pay mine off each month. so it doesn't matter.
02-24-2006, 06:18 AM
#5
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Here's what I have.
Capital One MC - 3.9% FIXED APR
Yahoo Visa - Points, World Points, 7.9% apr (soon to be closed)
Continental Chase - 12.9% variable apr 15,000pts part of OnePass so get even more pts. Don't care abt APR on this as I don't carry a balance. Get at least 2 free tickets per annum to Carribean.
BTW, Discover sucks ass. Dump em. No benefit whatsoever to having that card unless you can't get Amex, MC or Visa.
Capital One MC - 3.9% FIXED APR
Yahoo Visa - Points, World Points, 7.9% apr (soon to be closed)
Continental Chase - 12.9% variable apr 15,000pts part of OnePass so get even more pts. Don't care abt APR on this as I don't carry a balance. Get at least 2 free tickets per annum to Carribean.
BTW, Discover sucks ass. Dump em. No benefit whatsoever to having that card unless you can't get Amex, MC or Visa.
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02-24-2006, 07:23 AM
#8
I have been researching credit cards a lot recently.
I own a mortgage company and see a lot of different cards and hear a lot of tales PLUS I just had one of my credit cards hit me out of the blue with a penalty interest rate. The 2 things I found out are 1) there ain't nothin free. 2) the laws changed in November and everyone will soon be hit with some very strange terms if they haven't been already. The status quo has been changed.
1) there ain't nothin free - if you are getting cash back or anything like that then you are paying a higher rate.
2) the laws changed in November - The bankruptcy laws were changed at the urging of the credit card companies and now it will be very tough to include credit cards in a Bankruptcy. But that isn't the law change I was talking about. The credit card lobbyists have been very busy. In November the got to add a host of "protections" for them that WILL come back to haunt you.
They have always written the credit card agreements so that they could change them later, but they changed gradually and the agreement you signed was basically the agreement you lived with forever except for minor changes. NOW the initial agreement is just that, an initial agreement to sucker you into one of their credit cards and in no way resembles the agreement as it will be changed in a few months. Bait & Switch plain & simple. They intend to change the agreement on you.
Get a fixed rate card because they still have to give you 45 days notice of an interest rate change even tho they can change all the other terms without your consent or knowledge. With a variable rate they don't have to warn you at all.
Let me give you a couple of real life examples of things I have seen just in the last couple of months (since the law changes).
One of my customers had 3 credit cards take him to Default rates (27-30%) overnight not because he was a bad risk or had ever been late to them, but because another credit card company had made a mistake. He was an authorized signer on one of his Mother's cards. An authorized signer has no liabiltiy for the account, it is a convenience factor only. But American Express suddenly placed a 30 day late on his credit. They later admitted the late was in error and also that it shouldn't have been placed on his credit and removed it but the damage had been done. The new agreements give them the right to continually check your credit and if there is ever any negative information placed on it or if they feel you are getting too much credit they place you in default. My customer had 3 cards that placed him in default and gave him rates that ranged from 27% to 30%.
Even with the letter from AE saying it was in error all 3 companies refused to lower his rate. They can keep the rates up for a 6 month period so they will. They aren't required to lower the rates after 6 months so, based upon attitudes, we are guessing they will keep the rates up until he threatens to transfer balances and then will lower it.
Why did I get a penalty rate? I had never been late, but I had never been early enough either. Yes, now many of the card companies (Cap One in my case) give you X number of days from the time they mail the statements out and if you don't get your payment in within that many days you are considered late- from an interest rate standing, not from a credit bureau standing. If you have 2 dings of any kind in a 6 month period (not paying early enough is just one of many things Cap One has on their ding list - how about getting close to your limit as another) you get the default rate PERIOD end of discussion. You can be on time and yet be late. Plus they share this data with other credit card companies and other companies can raise their rate too.
From now on plan on changing cards frequently. You will have to work the bait and switch periods, you have no choice. All your old standbys you have used for years won't/don't look like themselves any more. And if you didn't like Discover for making your REQUEST I can't imagine you having an AE card, much less their Blue card. AE is so anal about contact procedures and so big brother about any requests. BTW the Blue card is their most expensive card.
I just got 2 new cards. I got them from local credit unions and both are fixed rate. How did I pick them? It sure wasn't their reassurances that they would never do things like the stories above, no it was their default policies. I read the fine print very carefully and got the cards with the best gotchas!
I didn't get a Wells Fargo card because no one there knew or had access to the default policies. They told me that they were so new they weren't on the website and they didn't have printed materials yet, but not to worry, they'd been in business umpty million years and would never do anything like that to us. Yeah, right!!
May you live in interesting times.
I own a mortgage company and see a lot of different cards and hear a lot of tales PLUS I just had one of my credit cards hit me out of the blue with a penalty interest rate. The 2 things I found out are 1) there ain't nothin free. 2) the laws changed in November and everyone will soon be hit with some very strange terms if they haven't been already. The status quo has been changed.
1) there ain't nothin free - if you are getting cash back or anything like that then you are paying a higher rate.
2) the laws changed in November - The bankruptcy laws were changed at the urging of the credit card companies and now it will be very tough to include credit cards in a Bankruptcy. But that isn't the law change I was talking about. The credit card lobbyists have been very busy. In November the got to add a host of "protections" for them that WILL come back to haunt you.
They have always written the credit card agreements so that they could change them later, but they changed gradually and the agreement you signed was basically the agreement you lived with forever except for minor changes. NOW the initial agreement is just that, an initial agreement to sucker you into one of their credit cards and in no way resembles the agreement as it will be changed in a few months. Bait & Switch plain & simple. They intend to change the agreement on you.
Get a fixed rate card because they still have to give you 45 days notice of an interest rate change even tho they can change all the other terms without your consent or knowledge. With a variable rate they don't have to warn you at all.
Let me give you a couple of real life examples of things I have seen just in the last couple of months (since the law changes).
One of my customers had 3 credit cards take him to Default rates (27-30%) overnight not because he was a bad risk or had ever been late to them, but because another credit card company had made a mistake. He was an authorized signer on one of his Mother's cards. An authorized signer has no liabiltiy for the account, it is a convenience factor only. But American Express suddenly placed a 30 day late on his credit. They later admitted the late was in error and also that it shouldn't have been placed on his credit and removed it but the damage had been done. The new agreements give them the right to continually check your credit and if there is ever any negative information placed on it or if they feel you are getting too much credit they place you in default. My customer had 3 cards that placed him in default and gave him rates that ranged from 27% to 30%.
Even with the letter from AE saying it was in error all 3 companies refused to lower his rate. They can keep the rates up for a 6 month period so they will. They aren't required to lower the rates after 6 months so, based upon attitudes, we are guessing they will keep the rates up until he threatens to transfer balances and then will lower it.
Why did I get a penalty rate? I had never been late, but I had never been early enough either. Yes, now many of the card companies (Cap One in my case) give you X number of days from the time they mail the statements out and if you don't get your payment in within that many days you are considered late- from an interest rate standing, not from a credit bureau standing. If you have 2 dings of any kind in a 6 month period (not paying early enough is just one of many things Cap One has on their ding list - how about getting close to your limit as another) you get the default rate PERIOD end of discussion. You can be on time and yet be late. Plus they share this data with other credit card companies and other companies can raise their rate too.
From now on plan on changing cards frequently. You will have to work the bait and switch periods, you have no choice. All your old standbys you have used for years won't/don't look like themselves any more. And if you didn't like Discover for making your REQUEST I can't imagine you having an AE card, much less their Blue card. AE is so anal about contact procedures and so big brother about any requests. BTW the Blue card is their most expensive card.
I just got 2 new cards. I got them from local credit unions and both are fixed rate. How did I pick them? It sure wasn't their reassurances that they would never do things like the stories above, no it was their default policies. I read the fine print very carefully and got the cards with the best gotchas!
I didn't get a Wells Fargo card because no one there knew or had access to the default policies. They told me that they were so new they weren't on the website and they didn't have printed materials yet, but not to worry, they'd been in business umpty million years and would never do anything like that to us. Yeah, right!!
May you live in interesting times.
02-24-2006, 07:38 AM
#9
Registered User
Wild N Crazy very good post. I work with credit cards everyday
and everything said in the above post is true.
IMO the best place to get a credit card is through a credit union or small bank because that is where you keep your money so they would want to take care of you.
Some of the things Ive seen these card companies do is borderline loan sharking IMO.
and everything said in the above post is true.
IMO the best place to get a credit card is through a credit union or small bank because that is where you keep your money so they would want to take care of you.
Some of the things Ive seen these card companies do is borderline loan sharking IMO.
02-24-2006, 07:42 AM
#10
Registered User
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by clawhammer,Feb 24 2006, 08:42 AM
Get the Citi dividends card. 5% cash back at gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies and 1% everywhere else. Maximum cash back is $300/year though. Interest is kind of high, but I pay mine off each month. so it doesn't matter.
Thanks for the suggestions on cards. I'm tempted to take CapitalOne up on their offer of a low fixed rate. FWIW, I don't have huge balances on each of these cards, only $4k between the two of them. The rate on the Discover right now is in the 16-17% range (which BLOWS), and the Citibank is now at 12-13 (not too bad for a cashback card). I was leaning towards the Amex because I don't need additional cards, and there is no annual fee with the Blue cards. Please keep the recommendations coming; I've gotten a lot out of this so far.
