Chase APR Increase for No Apparent Reason

[Anonymous]

So I got a letter in the mail today along with my brother-in-law that Chase is gonna rase the APR on my Freedom account from 17.99% to an astonomical 24.99% Thats kinda crappy especially since this is one of my oldest accounts I'm kindda being forced into accepting these new terms. The only time i've ever carried a balance on it was when it was still under 0% promo. 

I think they are just ticked cause they have not made a single penny off of me. Never carry a balace unless its on a card with a 0% promo. 

Plus my scores havent changed. They fluctuate +/- 5-10 points every month but I dont see how that would hold any significance. they are all around 710. 

Well im seriosuly considering closing this card since I don't use it as my promary card anymore and this quarterts 5% categories suck anyways (getting 10% with discover on amazon. Freedom=useless).  Ill see if they can transfer the limit to my Southwest card. 

This would be my highest interest rate card. I mean American Express has me at 12.99% on my BCE and all my other cards are 17.99 and lower. I have a venture at 22.99% but thats because I cold apped for it and in my experiecne Cap One gives me higher APR when I dont go through their prequal. 

Has this happened to anyone else recently?

[gdale6]

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/chase-freedom-wants-to-raise-apr-or-close-account/td-p/...

[Anonymous]

This is helpful. Didnt come up when I searched for it. Thanks! 

[Anonymous]

I really doubt "I think they are just ticked cause they have not made a single penny off of me. Never carry a balace unless its on a card with a 0% promo. " as increasing the APR wouldn't help them make any more with your history.  And, if you have used the card, they made money from the swipe fees.

Almost certainly your apparent risk has increased (or their thresholds have decreased).

[kdm31091]

It sucks but remember the APR is mostly psychological on rewards cards, or it should be. Outside of emergency situations, carrying a balance washes out your rewards whether its 17.99 or 24.99 percent APR.

That said, it cracks me up that chase will NOT ever lower one's APR but they have no issues raising it.

Id say close it if youre unhappy. As you stated, discover is the better rotating 5 percent card IMO.

[Anonymous]

Wow, that APR is definitely gross. I didn't even know Freedom could have an APR that high that wasn't a penalty APR. The highest APR on chase.com for the Freedom is 22.99%. Of course, one thing that should be of solace to you is that if you don't carry a balance as you say you don't, than the APR does not matter too much other than aesthetic reasons.

[Anonymous]

Why close the card, punish them by using only the 5% category.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Why close the card, punish them by using only the 5% category.

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LOL. I should. but they might just cancel the account for me after this. 

[kdm31091]

Using only the 5 percent category only works if they actually gave useful categories

[CreditCuriosity]

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@kdm31091 wrote:
Using only the 5 percent category only works if they actually gave useful categories

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Amazon is useful.. Just charged a few hundred and some change this prior month and just get $10.40 back transferred the 1040 points to my CSP and well you know how much UR's can be worth.. Amazon and Food and gas are the only things I use the card for.  Every bit adds up for a sweet trip paid for by the CC issuers on my already needed purchases!