feel insulted by amex, should i call them?

[dds2be]

Hi, new to the forums, but actively read.

I just received my new amex spg in the mail this thursday with a credit line of 5k and an apr of 17.24. Why would they give me the 17.24 apr when i have the costco TE amex since 2009. I run at least 1500 on that card every month, and pif every month, and the apr on that card is 13.24. When i got the spg, my experian score that was included  was 776. I feel like with a score like that i should get the lowest apr, even though i pif 97% of the time on all my cards, and i could care less about apr cuz i dont like paying interest, i'd still like the lowest apr in case i ever wanted to carry a balance. has anyone ever been able to lower their apr or even request amex to match highest credit line after receiving the card? or is there a time frame on lowering apr as there is with cli's from them.  do you call the # on the back of the card, or the amex recon #?

thanks!!

little summary of my credit reports

im only 23, and have only had credit for 5 years, but i have no baddies, no late payments, nothing!  and i got  about 50k of available credit. the only credit card i have with a balance is a ge capital financing furniture store card and thats only because it had 0% interest for 48 months. 1 open car loan, 1 pif car loan, and about 30k in student loan debt. and about 2 or less inquiries on each report.

[enharu]

Don't worry too much about it for now since you do not leave a balance. Use the card for 6-12 months, and you should then be eligible for an apr adjustment. If you try to have your apr adjusted now it might just involve a lot of unnecessary hassle.

[OptimalCS]

+1

[LawStudentCivilis]

I think if you feel so strongly, maybe give their backdoor number a call.  If they don't lower it, then wait the 6-12 months and call again.

[longtimelurker]

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@LawStudentCivilis wrote:

I think if you feel so strongly, maybe give their backdoor number a call.  If they don't lower it, then wait the 6-12 months and call again.

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But if you do, don't use the "at least $1,500 a month" argument.   Though it may be a lot to you, it is very light usage by their standards!

[navigatethis12]

Annual percentage rates are not only tied to scores and aren't tied to how long you have been a customer with a company either. If you want the option to carry a balance, do it on a card with a low rate, like the Barclay Ring or a card with no rewards. Reward cards are not the best choice to use for carrying a balance. I never get why people feel insulted over something that they don't care about anyway. I would be more concerned about the limit since that is what you will use. 13.24 is not low anyway.

[Open123]

In my view, if you PIF, aside from nominal reasons, the APR is meaningless.  I wouldn't waste time or effort on it.

In this day and age, where every phone call will be logged and detailed with notes, it's best make requests for things that truly matter to you.  I surmise that each of us as customers has certain number of requests, where once we go beyond this threshold, we're tagged as "troublesome."  

This is the last list you'd like to be on, if the particular issuer has any value to you.

[LawStudentCivilis]

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@navigatethis12 wrote:

Annual percentage rates are not only tied to scores and aren't tied to how long you have been a customer with a company either. If you want the option to carry a balance, do it on a card with a low rate, like the Barclay Ring or a card with no rewards. Reward cards are not the best choice to use for carrying a balance. I never get why people feel insulted over something that they don't care about anyway. I would be more concerned about the limit since that is what you will use. 13.24 is not low anyway.

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Generally myfico members are helpful but I have noticed since I joined everyone seems to get real snippety when someone complains or seeks advice about an APR they're unhappy about.  OP already stated he (or she) believe it to be plausible to one day carry a balance, and this APR would not be ideal if this was ever to happen. I know myself personally or anyone wouldn't want a perceived high APR because we don't live in a perfect world and there are unforeseen circumstances that may cause someone to carry a balance on their card.  

[LawStudentCivilis]

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@Open123 wrote:

In my view, if you PIF, aside from nominal reasons, the APR is meaningless.  I wouldn't waste time or effort on it.

In this day and age, where every phone call will be logged and detailed with notes, it's best make requests for things that truly matter to you.  I surmise that each of us as customers has certain number of requests, where once we go beyond this threshold, we're tagged as "troublesome."  

This is the last list you'd like to be on, if the particular issuer has any value to you.

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Hi Open123, my miyagi to my credit! ^_^ I believe you are overthinking this one. I've worked for ATT and have had friends work for other companies where every call is notated and this is not true.  It would be unethical to do so, and the average customer is thought of to be unreasonable and they can call and complain about whatever they desire to.  There is nothing wrong with stating your APR is unfair, a company cannot deem you as "troublesome" for voicing your opinion about being unhappy with a product.  And this if the rep even takes time to read the notations at that.

[Open123]

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@LawStudentCivilis wrote:

Generally myfico members are helpful but I have noticed since I joined everyone seems to get real snippety when someone complains or seeks advice about an APR they're unhappy about.  OP already stated he (or she) believe it to be plausible to one day carry a balance, and this APR would not be ideal if this was ever to happen. I know myself personally or anyone wouldn't want a perceived high APR because we don't live in a perfect world and there are unforeseen circumstances that may cause someone to carry a balance on their card.  

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The SPG's lowest possible APR is 15.24%.  In the event OP would opt to carry a balance, this would be the last card in which to do it.  Infinitely better options would be to (1) app for the many 0% promos; (2) utilize one of the many BT promos; (3) and/or, apply for a card geared toward carrying a balance, not the rewards.

Rewards cards such as the SPG will always come with a higher APR than a non rewards card.