@Walt_K wrote: ‘(2) WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY DUE DATES- If the payment due date for a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan is a day on which the creditor does not receive or accept payments by mail (including weekends and holidays), the creditor may not treat a payment received on the next business day as late for any purpose.’."   This is actually a fairly horribly phrased statute.  It's potentially inapposite to the situation.  If, for example, Chase does accept payments by mail on Saturdays, then the law doesn't apply.  So they could potentially be free to accept payments by mail on Saturday, but refuse to credit the cash payment on the Saturday.     To be clear, I'm on the record that the way Chase handled this is incredibly stupid.  But this law could have been crafted more clearly. If they do accept payment by mail, then they have to credit the payment the same day it was received. ... View more

You can still apply for the 5TY point version, so it confuses me.  I started a conversion to a Forward from the crappy Thank You card they turned my Driver's Edge into, and it should happen soon.  I hope it's still the 5 point version. ... View more

It would be illegal for them to charge you a late fee: Credit CARD Act Section 106: "(a) In General- Section 127 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1637) is amended by adding at the end the following:   ‘(o) Due Dates for Credit Card Accounts-   ‘(1) IN GENERAL- The payment due date for a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan shall be the same day each month.   ‘(2) WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY DUE DATES- If the payment due date for a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan is a day on which the creditor does not receive or accept payments by mail (including weekends and holidays), the creditor may not treat a payment received on the next business day as late for any purpose.’."   AND   From Section 202:   "(C) PAYMENTS AT LOCAL BRANCHES- If the creditor, in the case of a credit card account referred to in subparagraph (A), is a financial institution which maintains branches or offices at which payments on any such account are accepted from the obligor in person, the date on which the obligor makes a payment on the account at such branch or office shall be considered to be the date on which the payment is made for purposes of determining whether a late fee or charge may be imposed due to the failure of the obligor to make payment on or before the due date for such payment.’." ... View more

I probably score very highly on the strategic default scale.   I'm underwater.   Last FICO score was 801 (I have EQ ScoreWatch, and it's barely working now).  Should probably be lower since I just got a new CC. I generally only allow one card to report a balance each cycle. I have no retail balances. 2 CCs in the last six months. I've been in the house for about 3 years.   However, my lender is probably not worried about strategic default because I've been paying extra.  I wouldn't do that if I was planning on defaulting. ... View more

I have gotten several promos from Discover over the years:   Spend $800 per month for the next three months and get $20 each time.   Get $1 cashback for the next 15 purchases.   Double cashback for birthday.   Spend $1000 each month for 5 months and get $150 cash back.   Occasionally they'll send coupons or specific store cash back.  For instance, $10 off your next meal at Red Lobster when using your discover. ... View more

I'm silly, so I prepay all my cards except one. ... View more

I am currently converting my Citi ThankYou to a Forward. My Discover More and Citi Dividend cards have had promotions on restaurants, so when that's available, the rewards are better than ThankYou points. ... View more

I have gotten the offer a couple of times, but I didn't bother to sign up. I'm trying to PC my worthless ThankYou card to a Forward. Apparently they make you wait 45 days before it goes into effect. ... View more

@veracious wrote:   @athensguy wrote: @veracious wrote: I'm sure you read in the article that  strategic defaulters believe it to be in their best financial interest to simply walk away,          because they believe the consequences will be  minimal.   I don't understand this concept.  WTH????   It's a contract with provisions for non-payment. Sometimes the non-payment provisions are better than continuing to pay. It's not hard to understand. Sorry, but I'm not familiar with how non-payment provisions can be better than continuing to pay Please explain. Thanks Buying a house with a mortgage involves a contract. The mortgagee takes on a risk with the hope of some return by lending money to the borrower with a property as collateral. If the borrower defaults, the collateral is forfeited to the mortgagee. In non-recourse states, the collateral is all that a mortgagee may claim. In some states, the mortgagee may sue the borrower for a deficiency. A bankruptcy will prevent the mortgagee from filing a lawsuit in those states.   There are many situations where a borrower will be better off defaulting: 1) Not enough cash flow to make payments (doesn't have a choice in this case) 2) Reduced cash flow that causes the payments to be a hardship 3) The value of the collateral is significantly lower than the remaining mortgage and there is little chance of mortgagee recourse, or the borrower intends to file bankruptcy   If you are considering drawing down retirement accounts early to pay the mortgage, it's probably better to default.  If your two earner home went to a one earner home and you're barely floating by or are increasing other debt to pay the mortgage, it's probably better to default.  There is nothing wrong with exercising your rights under contract and bankruptcy law. ... View more

@veracious wrote: I'm sure you read in the article that  strategic defaulters believe it to be in their best financial interest to simply walk away,          because they believe the consequences will be  minimal.   I don't understand this concept.  WTH????   It's a contract with provisions for non-payment. Sometimes the non-payment provisions are better than continuing to pay. It's not hard to understand. ... View more

@haulingthescoreup wrote: Ahem.   OK, guys, can we agree that each of you have made your points, and that neither of you are going to change your minds??   Just asking.  ;) I have no worries that good ol' Portfolio will actually get in trouble. I was just trying to get someone to agree that lying thousands of times in court documents was wrong ... View more

  @stan_the_man wrote: Back to the original point. They couldn't find one case of material misrepresentation -- which would be required for one to commit perjury.   Ok, so they get a pass on submitting falsified documents attesting to the accuracy of hundreds of documents of unkown veracity.   I suppose they get a pass on forgery, too? ... View more

  @stan_the_man wrote: @athensguy -- Neither of us can claim to know that the CA knew that the OC provided them with bad documentation. You can't presume that they knew, and -- again -- my point is that there was no claim of a material misrepresentation.   The debtor is only going to get saved by the lack of documentation or expired SOL.   Says right in the article that Portfolio knew all of those documents signed by that person were false in 2008 and sued the subject of the article in July.   I'm pretty sure I'd be in jail for perjury or forgery if I forged someone's signature on an affidavit attesting to something and presented it to the court. ... View more

  @stan_the_man wrote: Not necessarily. If the information contained in the affadavit was correct, there was no material misrepresentation. All they would likely be able to achieve would be to have any judgement against them set aside and the suit could be refiled (courts might award the attorney fees related to defense of the original lawsuit).   The only way they'd be saved from still owing the money is if the SOL had since expired. Ah, I never realized it was fine for plaintiffs to submit evidence and testimony they know to be false, and if revealed to be false, they get a do-over.   ... View more

@stan_the_man wrote: "There is a story out right now about a collection agency using the robo-signature of someone that died in 1995."   That's the article we were discussing. It's hard to tell from the article, but it appears that -- since the long-dead signer worked for the OC -- it was actually the OC who screwed up.   Again, my point was that they can't find one person who was actually defrauded and didn't owe the money out of these thousands of cases. Everyone involved in a lawsuit where forged paperwork was entered into evidence by the plaintiff was defrauded. ... View more

Whether or not the borrowers owed the money is not that important if the foreclosure proceedings are invalid.  So honestly, if a robo-signer was involved, there is no point in worrying about whether the mortgage is owed.   Signing off that you personally verified a document without having personally verified that document seems to require intent, and there have been several foreclosures that were entirely incorrect, which is a material misrepresentation.   If the mortgage company foreclosed on a house they did not even have a mortgage on, that seems to be a claim that at least some of the homeowners were not late on a mortgage.   There is a story out right now about a collection agency using the robo-signature of someone that died in 1995. ... View more

  @stan_the_man wrote: I'm not defending the practices of Providian (it's ridiculous that someone was that sloppy or unethical with their business practices), but I find it interesting that no allegation was made that the debt was not actually owed.   It seems that most (if not all) of the issues of "robo signing" are complaints with the process.   Not paying is a civil matter.   Robo signing is a criminal matter.  It's perjury or falsifying evidence. ... View more

  @stan_the_man wrote: "A Government ran company that's a mess."   Technically, the USPS is an independent agency chartered by the federal government and not part of the federal government per se. In any case, it and a large chunk of the federal government is a mess for the most part. I'm sure we'd be better off it it was run like Countrywide.   ... View more

  @My2cents wrote: I would say the Chase Freedom, which pays 3% on gas, restaurants and some other categories.  This is CASH back, and not gift cards.  I like to use my CASH back rewards for back to school or Xmas or to just pay a bill.  Anyways.   Ole My2cents.   The BP card rewards are redeemable for a check in $25 increments.   The Shell card gives a discount at the pump, so you don't have to wait to get your rewards.   The Citi Driver's Edge rewards (6% equivalent for Gas) are redeemed for a statement credit but you have to send in a service receipt.   The Fort Knox card is underwritten by Penfed. ... View more

BP Visa is 5% at BP Shell MC is 5% at Shell   It just depends what places are nearby. There are other gas cards with similar rewards structure. ... View more

I used to be able to pay my mortgage with Billpay Choice using a CC as a funding source, but now they don't allow the CC to be used for funding. No points were earned, but it helped simplify budgeting. ... View more

I opened in Firefox and got nothing (Noscript probably kept that line from loading).   I opened in Chrome and got $100. I've probably been to the Discover website before in Chrome.   I opened in Safari and got $150. I've probably not been to the Discover site in Safari. ... View more

I would say that I don't ascribe a prestigious reputation to Amex Centurion Bank because they don't offer any cards that would improve my rewards portfolio. ... View more

  @dizzier wrote:   @athensguy wrote: Forcing a customer to show ID has a higher chance of harming the customer than helping, like most security theater.   How? Unless they have a photographic memory they wouldn't have a chance to get any info from it, and if they do have such a memory they already have your card information, so what's difference does it make?   I prefer my stores to check my ID. As a matter of fact, I write it on the back of my cards. My camera has a photographic memory.  It takes a lot more work to get a new address than it does to get a new CC.  I don't worry about CC fraud nearly as much as real ID theft.  Birthday + address + DL Number is enough information to perform real ID theft.   ... View more

If I get forced to show ID more than once at the same merchant, I quit going back.  I refuse to show my driver's license to anyone except for traffic cops.   Forcing a customer to show ID has a higher chance of harming the customer than helping, like most security theater. ... View more

The older your cards are, the more likely the issuer has had time to ratejack them.   A couple of years ago I had 4 cards with a rate under 10%.  Only one of those made it to now with a rate that low intact. ... View more

8 CCs and 1 AU.   DW has 4 or 5 other cards.   My primary card is the former Schwab card.   Primary for Gas+Grocery is a Citi Driver's Edge.   *edit for formatting. ... View more

It's very common for people that receive windfalls to go bust. ... View more

Now it's time to get in line! ... View more

@Anonymous wrote: I was reading a personal finance book which suggested that you not only make your usual monthly credit card payment, but that you take the money you set aside for your usual expenses (like gas, groceries, tolls, etc.) and use it as a payment for a credit card (as an addition to the minimum payment made). Then instead of using cash or your debit card for gas, etc. you would use the credit card to pay for things you usually pay with cash or your debit card. Though in essence you are still basically making only the minimum payment (and charging the extra cash paid for your expenses) you would be charged a lower interest rate since the daily balance would be lower. Has anyone tried this or heard of this method? Is it effective? If you pay earlier, your average balance will be a little lower assuming the same charges are made. You will have a slightly smaller finance charge.  This assumes that you are not paying the "New Balance" by the due date.  If you are, then the timing of your payment doesn't matter as long as you pay by the due date. ... View more