Amex tried ripping me off!

[Cooneyca]

fyi.. Amex popped me with their top APR prime + 10.99% - currently 19.24% according to the disclosure pamphlet.  Understand though, I went very app crazy two Saturdays ago.  It started with Amex and the feeding didn't end until I ended up with 9 new cards and $53k in CL (Amex being the lowest there too).

[Anonymous]

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Cooneyca wrote:

fyi.. Amex popped me with their top APR prime + 10.99% - currently 19.24% according to the disclosure pamphlet.  Understand though, I went very app crazy two Saturdays ago.  It started with Amex and the feeding didn't end until I ended up with 9 new cards and $53k in CL (Amex being the lowest there too).

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You may have gotten an old disclosure booklet.  Their highest APR at 10.99 plus prime is now 18.24.  Call a CSR to verify though.

[Anonymous]

Not to be an a*s - but I think 10.99 + APR is 19.24.

My initial APR with Amex was 9.99 + APR, which was 18.24.

So in short, someone could get stuck with a 19.24 rate - which is their highest variable APR.

[Anonymous]

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@Cooneyca wrote:

fyi.. Amex popped me with their top APR prime + 10.99% - currently 19.24% according to the disclosure pamphlet. Understand though, I went very app crazy two Saturdays ago. It started with Amex and the feeding didn't end until I ended up with 9 new cards and $53k in CL (Amex being the lowest there too).

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I would call and see if you qualify for a lower one - you probably do - its worth a try.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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pjriverap wrote:
Not to be an a*s - but I think 10.99 + APR is 19.24.

My initial APR with Amex was 9.99 + APR, which was 18.24.

So in short, someone could get stuck with a 19.24 rate - which is their highest variable APR.

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It WAS 10.99 + Prime.... Prime WAS 8.25, prime has since been reduced to 7.25 so the current rate is 18.24... make sense now?  It is a variable rate card, fluctuates with the prime rate.  Since Prime was just recently reduced, I'm sure they haven't had time for a reprint nor would they bother since the rate is based on prime.  The disclosures should also give you an effective date, maybe even a 'no lower than rate'.

The highest interest rate on the card as of 09/30 is 18.24

From Amex

** The Prime Rate for each billing period is the Prime Rate published in The Wall Street Journal on the first day of that billing period or two days prior to the closing date of that billing period, whichever is higher. For either of those days that is not a customary publication day for The Wall Street Journal we will substitute the closest preceding customary publication day.

If the CSR says the rate is 19.24 I would ask why since in the online T&Cs it shows the highest rate on this card as 18.24

Message Edited by Brammy on 10-16-2007 09:57 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
It WAS 10.99 + Prime.... Prime WAS 8.25, prime has since been reduced to 7.25 so the current rate is 18.24... make sense now? It is a variable rate card, fluctuates with the prime rate. Since Prime was just recently reduced, I'm sure they haven't had time for a reprint nor would they bother since the rate is based on prime. The disclosures should also give you an effective date, maybe even a 'no lower than rate'.

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Yes, that's how my HELOC works--it's WSJ prime less 0.95%. When I got it, prime was 8.25%, and my rate was 7.3%. One week later, they dropped the rate, so now my rate is 6.8%.

[Anonymous]

Interesting - thanks for the clarification - well the Rep lastnight, over the phone, said my rate was determined with a prime of 8.25% (my rate is 5.99 + prime (8.25) = 14.24%)- maybe Amex hasn't fully implemented/infused the prime rate into their APR calcuations (which I think lenders, sometimes, get a little time to do so depending on their member agreement terms).

[Anonymous]

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pjriverap wrote:
Interesting - thanks for the clarification - well the Rep lastnight, over the phone, said my rate was determined with a prime of 8.25% (my rate is 5.99 + prime (8.25) = 14.24%)- maybe Amex hasn't fully implemented/infused the prime rate into their APR calcuations (which I think lenders, sometimes, get a little time to do so depending on their member agreement terms).

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Usually the prime rate is adjusted on the next billing statemnet.  But if they are charging a 19.24 on the previous poster, I would want to know why.

Some banks have a caveat that the rate will never be lower than 'X', in those cases, the banks are the only ones who profit from a reduction in prime.

Message Edited by Brammy on 10-16-2007 10:23 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

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@pjriverap wrote:
Interesting - thanks for the clarification - well the Rep lastnight, over the phone, said my rate was determined with a prime of 8.25% (my rate is 5.99 + prime (8.25) = 14.24%)- maybe Amex hasn't fully implemented/infused the prime rate into their APR calcuations (which I think lenders, sometimes, get a little time to do so depending on their member agreement terms).

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That is VERY surprising, coming from Amex, after all the commentary about how thorough and professional they are! The USAA rep told me about the upcoming rate change the week before it happened. I was still trying to figure out how all this would work, and she said that the Fed (I think it's the Fed) would be meeting, and that the expectation was that the rate would be lowered, and that once it happened, my HELOC rate would too. This has been, what, 3 1/2 weeks now? They ought to know, IMO.

[Anonymous]

good points and I agree. But I also remember reading somewhere that banks have an option (per their member agreement) to sometimes take upto 90 days to adjust their APRs per the prime. Hoepfully, this will not be case!!

However, last night I heard from Amex they are still calculating the APR with a 8.25 prime rate-

hauling - lucky for you, USAA changed their calculations starting yesterday. So I think you should be set to go with your USAA credit lines/cards (this includes the USAA Amex and MC).

Message Edited by pjriverap on 10-16-2007 07:32 PM