Advice for when I get new CCs.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[kbell]

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.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[llecs]

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.

[Anonymous]

nyccc2 wrote:

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

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Max it out.

JK.

[Anonymous]

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masdeocho wrote:

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

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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?

[kbell]

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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.

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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

[Anonymous]

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cheddar wrote:

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masdeocho wrote:

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

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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?

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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.