feel insulted by amex, should i call them?

[LawStudentCivilis]

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@scenery_guy wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

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@parakleet wrote:

While I completely agree that having an emergency fund is absolutely essential, sometimes, it's just not practically feasible to do so. And that doesn't make those people who are unable to save terrible people or anything. 

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*Off topic, but can't resist*  

This goes against all the pontifical financial advice every parent gives, but when starting out in life, it's best without a safety net.  

Necessity makes even the timid brave.  Cortez upon reaching the "new world" burned his shops ships to ensure his men didn't have "plan b" to fall back upon.  I've always believed that in America, the only safety net necessary is the willingness to work hard, take chances, and survive on one's wit.

The best safety net is the belief that if you take away everything I've got (which can always happen), I'll just go out and make it back.  But, this time, with the advantage of prior experience, I'll make it all back in half the time.

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+1 as I have done this once. Actually Twice. I hear the third time's the charm. 

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I'm sure you can give me a few pointers. And I'm sure you have great stories to tell.

[Dubious]

I have a different take on this.

I don't see a problem with seeking lower APRs, even when you always PIF. My reasoning is more in the "why not?" camp. For us myFicoers who consider credit stuffs a hobby, and we've exhausted all possible soft CLIs for the time being, or have the highest credit lines in tune with income, or don't want any new credit cards, then why not pursue lowering APRs? Yes, rewards cards have high APRs in general, and I also would not consider or recommend carrying balances on them, but I don't see the harm in trying to get the lowest APR available for each card you have. I mean, might as well. Nothing wrong with having all your credit cards in tiptop shape, and by that I mean lowest APR and highest credit line (possible for you). 

[09Lexie]

There's nothing wrong with requesting or asking for more favorable terms. Why, not? If the general consensus is Amex will not entertain the idea until the promo period ends- then that's their policy and I would work on being in the optimal position in 9-12 mos.

We all know Amex does NOT like carried balances. If that is OPs concern, then I'd suggest a low APR card for those emergencies. Amex would never be a cc I'd use for those type of emergencies.

If OP is insulted over a slightly higher APR and feels like calling would ease the sting- call. Hopefully, it will a favorable outcome. If the call results in no change; what then?Cancel the card?

[longtimelurker]

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@09Lexie wrote:
There's nothing wrong with requesting or asking for more favorable terms.

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I think the crux of the issue, as discussed here, is whether there are potential negatives in asking.  Clearly opinion here is mixed!  So, just like a recon which might result in unexpected HPs, it may not (or may) be "free" to do this.    I would suspect that asking once for an APR reduction won't put you into the "bad customer" bucket, but we have no info one way or the other.

So you need to evaluate the risk/reward.  The risk part has almost no info, and the reward part depends how much you think you will one day need to carry a balance, and how much a 2% APR reduction saves you, vs your perception of the risk of getting in the issuer's bad books.

[enharu]

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@LawStudentCivilis wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

In my view, if you PIF, aside from nominal reasons, the APR is meaningless.  I wouldn't waste time or effort on it.

In this day and age, where every phone call will be logged and detailed with notes, it's best make requests for things that truly matter to you.  I surmise that each of us as customers has certain number of requests, where once we go beyond this threshold, we're tagged as "troublesome."  

This is the last list you'd like to be on, if the particular issuer has any value to you.

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Hi Open123, my miyagi to my credit! ^_^ I believe you are overthinking this one. I've worked for ATT and have had friends work for other companies where every call is notated and this is not true.  It would be unethical to do so, and the average customer is thought of to be unreasonable and they can call and complain about whatever they desire to.  There is nothing wrong with stating your APR is unfair, a company cannot deem you as "troublesome" for voicing your opinion about being unhappy with a product.  And this if the rep even takes time to read the notations at that.

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Sidetracking a little bit here, but it depends on which and the type of company you're talking about.

Some companies, such as the one with the fruit logo, enjoy high profit margins. They can have tech support employees stationed in stores to answer your questions nicely and patiently, simply because of the "healthy" profit margin they earn.

Some companies on the other hand, such as Amazon.com for example (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AMZN+Key+Statistics), have razer thin profit margins, so that is where every cent counts. People might argue that their CSRs are cheap since they are outsourced, but contrary to popular beliefs, even outsourced call centers are expensive to set up and maintain from the company's perspective. Every single calls are notated and recorded, and the "cost" of each call is also included into each customer's internal scoring statistics. Try calling Amazon CSRs many times, especially for frivolous requests, and they will ban all accounts associated with your household. Just look at the number of people crying about Amazon on other sites, such as fatwallet. They are the most customer-centric company, but that doesn't mean bad customers are tolerated either. Their tolerance is considered very low as well, simply because their profit margins do not allow for these "loss leaders" to continue wrecking havoc. Get rid of 5 bad eggs, and make the other 95 happier with lower prices. 

That being said, I don't mean give up on your rights as a customer. Feel free to call them for any legitimate requests. A lot of people whom got into trouble were those who kept asking for discounts because a box was dented or something stupid, or items were somehow missing / defective at an unusually high rate. Banks keep an internal scoring as well. 

Back to topic: OP, just use the card for 12 months, and then ask for an APR adjustment. Amex is kinda a bad safety net to be honest, simply because they're not very keen on the idea of customers dragging balances over an extended period of time. 

[dddewdrop]

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@LawStudentCivilis wrote:

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@scenery_guy wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

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@parakleet wrote:

While I completely agree that having an emergency fund is absolutely essential, sometimes, it's just not practically feasible to do so. And that doesn't make those people who are unable to save terrible people or anything. 

---

*Off topic, but can't resist*  

This goes against all the pontifical financial advice every parent gives, but when starting out in life, it's best without a safety net.  

Necessity makes even the timid brave.  Cortez upon reaching the "new world" burned his shops ships to ensure his men didn't have "plan b" to fall back upon.  I've always believed that in America, the only safety net necessary is the willingness to work hard, take chances, and survive on one's wit.

The best safety net is the belief that if you take away everything I've got (which can always happen), I'll just go out and make it back.  But, this time, with the advantage of prior experience, I'll make it all back in half the time.

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+1 as I have done this once. Actually Twice. I hear the third time's the charm. 

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I'm sure you can give me a few pointers. And I'm sure you have great stories to tell.

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      Non of us really has control over anything in life. What this poster is referring to is trying to have an attitude for success. I agree that this can help one get through financial difficulties as can a belief in a higher power. Howver having some cash stashed away or having access to credit are not bad ways of increasing one's feeling of wekk being and having some money saved also goes a long way towards creating a buffer to avert disaster. Everything doesn't always go as we plan it.

[Open123]

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longtimelurker wrote:I think the crux of the issue, as discussed here, is whether there are potential negatives in asking.  

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As with most things, it's issuer specific, since each lender has its own corporate culture.  In this case, calling Amex probably wouldn't hurt, unless it's everyday.  On the other hand, there's been reports of account closures and CLDs after a manual review initiated by a call to Barclays requesting a CLI.

[Open123]

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@enharu wrote:A lot of people whom got into trouble were those who kept asking for discounts because a box was dented or something stupid, or items were somehow missing / defective at an unusually high rate. Banks keep an internal scoring as well. 

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Right, and it doesn't matter whether or not these 5% high-maintenance customers cost more because of intentional fraud, abuse, or simply unlucky.  In any scenario, as a business, you just can't have them; so, the best thing is to purge them.

[scenery_guy]

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@dddewdrop wrote:

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@LawStudentCivilis wrote:

---

@scenery_guy wrote:

---

@Open123 wrote:

---

@parakleet wrote:

While I completely agree that having an emergency fund is absolutely essential, sometimes, it's just not practically feasible to do so. And that doesn't make those people who are unable to save terrible people or anything. 

---

*Off topic, but can't resist*  

This goes against all the pontifical financial advice every parent gives, but when starting out in life, it's best without a safety net.  

Necessity makes even the timid brave.  Cortez upon reaching the "new world" burned his shops ships to ensure his men didn't have "plan b" to fall back upon.  I've always believed that in America, the only safety net necessary is the willingness to work hard, take chances, and survive on one's wit.

The best safety net is the belief that if you take away everything I've got (which can always happen), I'll just go out and make it back.  But, this time, with the advantage of prior experience, I'll make it all back in half the time.

---

+1 as I have done this once. Actually Twice. I hear the third time's the charm. 

---

I'm sure you can give me a few pointers. And I'm sure you have great stories to tell.

---

      Non of us really has control over anything in life. What this poster is referring to is trying to have an attitude for success. I agree that this can help one get through financial difficulties as can a belief in a higher power. Howver having some cash stashed away or having access to credit are not bad ways of increasing one's feeling of wekk being and having some money saved also goes a long way towards creating a buffer to avert disaster. Everything doesn't always go as we plan it.

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I can't speak for Open123 but I was referring to total and complete failures in life. Bad ones. Lost clients, got stiffed on final job payments, spent my safety net trying to stay afloat and pay my employees, sold my cars and bought a junk truck, sold everything I owned of value to satisfy bills. Cashed out investments to try to keep housing. Flat broke, alone and a failure. Open 123 is correct as I overcame plus some and did it faster the second time as I identified and faced my mistakes. 

Safety nets, savings or whatever are great if you can do so but sheer persistence can't be banked. My credit was useless at that point as it was maxed out and took my savings to pay off leaving me broke. All I had was my drive and desire and it turns out that's all you really need. That and this ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine and the chair. I didn't need one other thing except my dog (dog growls). I don't need my dog. *

*name the movie. 

[Open123]

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@scenery_guy wrote: I overcame plus some and did it faster the second time as I identified and faced my mistakes. 

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Right, and the 2nd time around, you're older, time becomes more precious, and everything you do is more meaningful.  This time around, you correct mistakes, quickly identify the time wasters and leeches in life, and quickly sever them without remorse; unlike the first time when you may have tried to "empathize" with their concerns. 

"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster.  And treat those two impostors just the same."  -  Rudyard Kipling

PS - No idea from which movie the movie quote is from!