Is Chase freaking nuts???

[Anonymous]

Chase sent me an invitation to apply for an BT on my 3 yr old Amazon card with 0% till 01/17 and was considering possibly taking an HP on the card so I could take the offer. Card limit only 2000.
Then I get an change of account terms in the mail from them 2 days ago saying my apr was being increased on the card to 24.99.
Are they nuts? Both my cards with them are both at 0 balance and I have perfect payment history with them and all my creditors, good scores,and always pay way more more than minimum. What possible reason could they have to do that.? Absolutely none.
Needless to say,I'll be calling them up Monday and cancelling both my cards with them. They should be lowering my apr not raising it. Doesn't make sense.

[enerey]

Why cancel the cards? if you don't carry a balance then the apr does not really matter. You can always call and ask for apr reduction later.

[FinStar]

Be sure to check whether it's your PURCHASE vs CASH ADVANCE APR.  There has been lots of confusing posts with folks not reading the correct terms & conditions regarding some of these APR changes.  If it is indeed your standard purchases APR then I suppose you're SOL.  Lenders can increase APR based on a variety of reasons so as long as it adheres by the CARD ACT.  Otherwise, if these accounts no longer fit your long term goals or overall profile then close them.

[kdm31091]

It sucks, but it's within their right. Closing the accounts out of spite does nothing except cease to give you the benefits. The issuer is not going to care one way or another.

If you don't really get use out of the cards anyway, then by all means move on. But the APR doesn't really matter if you aren't paying interest regularly. I totally get where you are coming from -- my quicksilver has 22.99%, and even though I've never paid interest on it, it still bothers me in a way. However, threatening to close is not going to move capital one or change their mind, so it is what it is. For now, it's in the SD and getting a small charge to keep it alive. Long term, probably won't be keeping it as I get 2% on anything with my double cash anyway.

Chase almost never lowers anyone's APR, unfortunately, so the odds of them reducing it again for you are pretty much zilch. So you either have to live with it and just not pay interest, or close the card. Please note though -- the amazon card's terms list APR from 14-24% and I have heard of literally zero people who actually have the 14%. Most people seem to get 19-24% with the amazon card unless their credit is truly, truly excellent. Point is, I wouldn't take it personally. They just charge a high APR for the card for a majority of people.

[elim]

I just received the same letter on amazon card (i think we all did).  it doesn't change purchase APR.

changes are to the following...

cash advance APR

overdraft advance APR

balance transfer fee

late payment fee

return payment fee

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Chase sent me an invitation to apply for an BT on my 3 yr old Amazon card with 0% till 01/17 and was considering possibly taking an HP on the card so I could take the offer. Card limit only 2000.
Then I get an change of account terms in the mail from them 2 days ago saying my apr was being increased on the card to 24.99.
Are they nuts? Both my cards with them are both at 0 balance and I have perfect payment history with them and all my creditors, good scores,and always pay way more more than minimum. What possible reason could they have to do that.? Absolutely none.
Needless to say,I'll be calling them up Monday and cancelling both my cards with them. They should be lowering my apr not raising it. Doesn't make sense.

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I would advise against closing your Chase card at this time. It is usually best to maintain the credit history - just let the card fade away if there is no annual fee.

I made the mistake of closing a high CL Chase platinum card with 19 years perfect payment history in 2005. They pissed me off because they notified card holders certain information was going to be shared with their "partners". The card has now dropped off my report - all that history gone.

I am a Charter member on an AT&T Universal (Citi) card from 1990. I am upset with the 18.1% APR they list for my account [all my other cards are 11.99% or less]. However, I learned my lesson. There is no way I am dropping that card. Becides, I always PIF - so I just suck it up - pride be damned.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Finstar. I looked closely,the apr change was for both purchase and apr. Not closing out of spite at all,just cant deal with a bank that will raise your apr like that. I'd have no problem with it if I was the reason for the increase.

[Anonymous]

I sometimes do carry a balance, thats why I have a problem with them raising it. May not have balance now but thats not always the case.

[Anonymous]

I understand all that for sure but I think I'd be ok closing them. The freedom i just opened in may with a bunch of others and the amazon might hurt me some though because it's one of my oldest cc.
Might have to suck it up and like you said,let them fall apart in my sd.

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I sometimes do carry a balance, thats why I have a problem with them raising it. May not have balance now but thats not always the case.

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But if you carry a balance -- even the low end of amazon's APR is 14% -- you'll want a low APR card, not a rewards card. Paying 14% or 24% doesn't really matter, as either one wipes out any reward benefits.