topic Re: Advice for when I get new CCs. in Credit Cards

Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:23:19 GMT

I've been reading lots of horror stories about people who get new cards (Chase in particular) whereby they don't send the first bill out in time in order to generate a late-fee/charge and raise the APR.

Any ideas on what to do *immediatly* upon getting a card?

I'm thinking something like setting up auto-payments online immediately, using my bank debit card to do so, before I ever get my first bill. Is this possible?

Any other techniques to make sure i get off on the right foot appreciated.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:28:28 GMT

Be very carefull with Chase they really have horrbilble service and cards. Before people jump on me I'm tkaing form personal experience you might have a different opinion. Tha happened to me once I opened up the Continental Card to get the 20,000 bonus and the yearly was applied to my account while I was out on buisness. I got back and saw online this horroble charge I called and it was reversed but they wouldnt reverse the APR. No budging on that, I literally charged a pack of 1.30 gum at 7-11 and waited to ge the miles put into my One Pass account. I canceled right after that. I have canceled several cards I play the promotions game allot. The only one I really like is my southwest Card I get travel rewards much faster.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

kbell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:53:54 GMT

I have nothing but good things to say about Chase despite the Freedom card being my lowest CL card. A few years ago, two unauthorized transactions occurred on my card and Chase Fraud Dept called me regarding the charges. They removed both charges--zero liability on my part. The experience was almost like that American Express commercial with Tina Fey.

nyccc2, as soon as you get your card, sign up for online banking. I've been banking online with Chase since 2001 and never had a payment problem. Do sign-up for paperless statements to save some trees and to prevent paper statements from getting lost or stolen.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:59:26 GMT

Always check the due date -- I've got only a 2-week grace period on my Chase card.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:03:20 GMT

Hi, thanks, I do already have online banking. I don't like that as an option in this case because who knows if/when they cut the check, mail, etc. I'd just as soon set up to do ATM/Debit or even CC charge on an exact date.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

llecs — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:32:10 GMT

I'd do the online bit. I do not use online banking, but I check each of our CCs weekly online directly via their site. And when we pay, we pay online via their site. For a while I was beginning to think I was wasting my time. After all, we had the statements from the issuer. However, this month, Citi sent us a statement with a due date of Feb. 7. As before, I went online to copy the balances and track util%, look at the balances to see what they would report to the CRAs, and verify the due date. This time, Citi changed the due date back by one week. Had I not been on top of it, we would have the hassle of fighting a potential late including fees.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:33:50 GMT

nyccc2 wrote:

Any ideas on what to do *immediatly* upon getting a card?

Max it out.

JK.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:34:15 GMT

masdeocho wrote:
Always check the due date -- I've got only a 2-week grace period on my Chase card.

So your due date is only 2 weeks after your statement date?

Wow! That's crazy.

Do the T&C on that card actually say 14 days grace? Which card is that?

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

kbell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:44:45 GMT

nyccc2 wrote: Hi, thanks, I do already have online banking. I don't like that as an option in this case because who knows if/when they cut the check, mail, etc. I'd just as soon set up to do ATM/Debit or even CC charge on an exact date.

What do you mean by not liking that as an option? Paperless statement means doing everything online only. Nothing is mailed.

Message Edited by kbell on 01-30-2008 02:44 PM

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:45:21 GMT

cheddar wrote:

masdeocho wrote:

Always check the due date -- I've got only a 2-week grace period on my Chase card.

So your due date is only 2 weeks after your statement date?

Wow! That's crazy.

Do the T&C on that card actually say 14 days grace? Which card is that?

The due date is not quite 3 weeks after statement date, but I see this only if I check online. If I wait for the statement to arrive in the mail, the grace period shrinks to 2 weeks.

Who knows what the Ts & Cs say, and I'm sure they have changed since the original fine print.

It's the Chase Freedom Signature Visa, and DO NOT get me started on another rant about the trouble I've had getting them to report the account type as revolving rather than open.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:47:05 GMT

1/15/08 FICO = EQ: 621 - TU: 627 - EX: 630 (Up from 40+ pt loss due to 7 new CCs since 8/1)>

Can you tell me how long it took to recover from the 40 point hit from new CCs?

What do you mean by not liking that as an option? Paperless statement means doing everything online only. Nothing is mailed.>

I thought you meant using online banking as in paying by check via online banking account. I gather you mean simply paying the ccs online from their own sites.

I think checking each week makes a lot of sense, no way for anything to get by you then.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

llecs — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:48:03 GMT

masdeocho wrote:

cheddar wrote:

masdeocho wrote:
Always check the due date -- I've got only a 2-week grace period on my Chase card.

So your due date is only 2 weeks after your statement date?

Wow! That's crazy.

Do the T&C on that card actually say 14 days grace? Which card is that?

The due date is not quite 3 weeks after statement date, but I see this only if I check online. If I wait for the statement to arrive in the mail, the grace period shrinks to 2 weeks.

Who knows what the Ts & Cs say, and I'm sure they have changed since the original fine print.

It's the Chase Freedom Signature Visa, and DO NOT get me started on another rant about the trouble I've had getting them to report the account type as revolving rather than open.

Someone else posted a similar situation...doesn't WAMU do this too?

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:55:04 GMT

nyccc2--

You might also want to sign up for free online account alerts at your credit card issuers' websites.

Here is what Chase offers--

Choose an Alert that reminds you when:

The credit limit you choose is reached.
The credit balance you choose is reached.
Your credit payment is due.
Your credit card payment is posted.
And more!

I receive these types of alerts from Chase, Bank of America, and American Express.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

llecs — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:06:11 GMT

nyccc2 wrote:
1/15/08 FICO = EQ: 621 - TU: 627 - EX: 630 (Up from 40+ pt loss due to 7 new CCs since 8/1)>

Can you tell me how long it took to recover from the 40 point hit from new CCs?

What do you mean by not liking that as an option? Paperless statement means doing everything online only. Nothing is mailed.>

I thought you meant using online banking as in paying by check via online banking account. I gather you mean simply paying the ccs online from their own sites.

I think checking each week makes a lot of sense, no way for anything to get by you then.

Clarifications.....

My siggy has "1/15/08 FICO = EQ: 621 - TU: 627 - EX: 630 (Up from 40+ pt loss due to 7 new CCs since 8/1)"

I haven't updated but loss was closer to 50 pts on avg. I haven't recovered yet but am getting closer. Started to notice slowdown at #3 (reported in early Nov.) and a drop thereafter. However, scores are bumping up and expect full recovery and beyond by April. There is no real way to guage true loss as I was still in repair mode when apping. I do expect scores to rebound. Scores bumped 19 - 2 - 13 (EX-EQ-TU) in past 2 weeks. I am scheduled to pull tomorrow or Friday and will post an update in the siggy then. I'm taking bets. Expecting an additional 5-15-5 pts between the 15th and 31st (only 2 CCs reporting updates during this period).

KBell wrote not liking the option of paying online, or similar statement.....

Personally, I don't necessary trust online bill pay via the banks. I hear too many bad stories of missed payments. I figure a check online directly to the CC through their site works well, so as long as it is not scheduled.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:21:25 GMT

llecs wrote:

Personally, I don't necessary trust online bill pay via the banks. I hear too many bad stories of missed payments. I figure a check online directly to the CC through their site works well, so as long as it is not scheduled.

Ditto.

When I opened my WaMu checking, they were really pitching their online bill pay. They convinced me to let them show me how it worked, so with their guidance, I set up a bill pay to myself for $1.00, to be mailed to my home address.

Payment was never processed. Check never arrived. I never received any notification that the payment didn't go through for whatever reason. At that point I decided that's one service that could do more harm than good.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

kbell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:25:39 GMT

@llecs wrote:
KBell wrote not liking the option of paying online, or similar statement

Nope. I meant signing up with Chase Online and paying via their website, not billpay via checking/mm account. I prefer downloading online statements rather than receiving statements through the mail.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:50:50 GMT

Ah that makes sense then.

Plan is to go online with any new cards I get, and check each monday.

Am I 'allowed' to set up min payment for statement date automatically and make an additional payment manually to keep balance down?

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:52:03 GMT

nyccc2 wrote:
Ah that makes sense then.

Plan is to go online with any new cards I get, and check each monday.

Am I 'allowed' to set up min payment for statement date automatically and make an additional payment manually to keep balance down?

Yep, you can do that.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:17:12 GMT

I'm not sure if I untangled myself from the various payment options discussed above, but the rule of thumb is to pay from the credit card site, rather than from your banking site. If you do this, it generally credits that day (if you pay by their stated time of day.)

The problem is when CCC's are slow to set up the online payment option. This happens with AmEx, Citi (at least with my Sears card), and now apparently Chase. In this situation, I suppose the best options are (1) don't use the card at all until the site is up and running, yeah right! or (2) stick a check in the mail or pay from your online bank account the same evening after you use the card.

Either way, for sanity's sake, it sounds like it would be smart to not use the card much at all that first month. BTW, AmEx seems to report the previous month's balance, and since it's tough to pay off the first month's charges quickly, your util can really get hit until you can pay online.

Re: Advice for when I get new CCs.

Dawn — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:39:45 GMT

nyccc2 wrote:
Am I 'allowed' to set up min payment for statement date automatically and make an additional payment manually to keep balance down?

I don't care for the auto pay options with Chase. You can set up an automatic recurring payment to pay either the:

minimum payment or
the statement balance

With autopay, you can't specify the payment date ... it will be on the due date.

The other payment screen allows you to schedule a payment date and choose from:

Statement Balance
Minimum Payment
Current Balance or
Other Amount

I wish they allowed you to use autopay to schedule the minimum payment on a day of your choosing instead of reinforcing the very bad habit of putting it off until the due date. I would much rather schedule a minimum payment (or any other kind of payment) right after the date the statement is created than wait until the due date.

Message Edited by denbar2003 on 01-30-2008 10:39 PM