Yet more rate increases

[MattH]

My wife and I both got the exact same form letter from Citibank today: purchase APR will soon be 23.99% which is the highest I've seen yet.  Both of us have Über-clean credit histories, FICO scores over 780, pay all balances in full every month, etc., so if we are getting such an APR then I wonder who if anybody still gets decent rates on Citi cards.  Good thing our only debt is a fixed-rate mortgage!

In recent months I've had my APR raised by AMEX, Chase, and Citi.  So far Discover hasn't ratejacked me, and so far nobody has cut my limits or my wife's limits.

[wmarat]

MattH, as far as I remember, you are a PIFer, so RJ is meaningless.

US Bank sent me note that my rate going to be 14.xx%. I was in a mood, and called CS to ask what my current APR is. Then, I told CSR that I am very unhappy with RJ. Poor gal mumbled something about state of economy and loses and profitability, then I asked her when last time, according to their computer I paid interest on their card - never, then I asked her what's the point to increase my APR if it is clear that I PIF before statement is cut and I learnt that THE COMPUTER is guilty.

I do not know and honestly do not care about APR. As a plan B I have Addison Avenue with 5.24% and that's enough for me.

[Anonymous]

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@wmarat wrote:

I do not know and honestly do not care about APR.  

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Same here. When I get a notice from any of my banks, I skim it to make sure that my grace period hasn't changed. When I'm satisfied that it hasn't, I stop reading. 

[hvacrsteve]

Citi has raised mine,

My credit Union actually dropped to 6.75, was 13.2

I don't check the others since we pay in full every month!

[Anonymous]

I recently closed my Citi card as well as a few others and now I just have my USAA MC, USAA AMEX and PenFed VISA. Part of my decision to close my other cards was based on wanting to simplify my life but an ever growing part was wanting to only deal with companies I feel are fair.

I'm not saying a RJ is impossible with the above companies and ultimately I know they are not my friend. I do figure I'm minimizing my risk but not eliminating it. For people who feel companies like Citi are betraying their trust and for people who are truly unhappy with the sudden RJs I'd say let Citi (and the other companies) know how you feel by your choice of CC.

I almost always PIF but occasionally due carry a balance (sometimes a substantial one) and so there is money to be made off of me......just not by companies like Citi. I'd rather it go to USAA or PenFed as they've always been fair (yes I know I've been with PenFed for 3 weeks but I've been with USAA for years)    

[score_building]

MattH wrote:

My wife and I both got the exact same form letter from Citibank today: purchase APR will soon be 23.99% which is the highest I've seen yet.  Both of us have Über-clean credit histories, FICO scores over 780, pay all balances in full every month, etc., so if we are getting such an APR then I wonder who if anybody still gets decent rates on Citi cards.  Good thing our only debt is a fixed-rate mortgage!

In recent months I've had my APR raised by AMEX, Chase, and Citi.  So far Discover hasn't ratejacked me, and so far nobody has cut my limits or my wife's limits.

do ya'll also have cu accts?  i'd imagine a good one would be more willing to reward your v. low risk status and perfect payment history without punishing you stridently with 'market condition' AA.

the big boys have their place, but with increaing frequency that may be the SD, at least until they pull it together.

[Anonymous]

US Bank is still making money in this recession, in fact in the past quarter they had 603 million in net income. They even paid back the TARP funds. So they're not suffering, and while the increase to 14.9% is annoying, contrast that to Citibank who RJ many cardholders rates to almost 30%. And they got billions of taxpayer funds they're still using. That would be infuriating. Fortunately I'm not a citibank cardholder.

But no RJ is preferable especially when a good history on the card.