@Karatz wrote:
Since I figured this is possible with any CC, I went and opened an IRA and got a $1000 Money Market with Citibank. Sure enough, I got a letter jacking my rate from 7.99 to 14.99 effective sometime in December. The rate increase, however, is still not showing up online. The rep that opened the MM and IRA keeps calling me to see if all is well etc, but I've been working and just finished finals. I plan on paying her a visit next week with the rate increase notice.
Points to mention: My balance is low, <1000; tax payers bailed out her company, the interest rate they are giving me on my IRA and MM is pretty low (will that go up by 7% too?); and I have a 726 FICO.
I figure I'm just gonna tell her that I'm pretty disappointed in her company - see what she can do about it.
You'll obviously get a higher return on your money by Paying in Full instead of opening a new low interest Money Market account. I've always paid in full, and could care less if my CC interest rates were to go up to 29%. Don't spend money you don't have. If you can't pay it off at the end of your next statement, then don't buy it. Save until you can & you'll also find you'll end up buying less junk you don't really need to begin with.
By all means, do try to negotiate a lower interest rate if you can and are unable or unwilling to pay in full every month. They're a business whose sole purpose is to maximize profit and shareholder value within the limits of the law. Take your business elsewhere if you're not satisfied. But if you just learn to spend responsibly by never charging items you can't pay in full until you've saved up for them, you'll see that you'll stop thinking of financial companies as adversaries.
