Citibank

[tedski]

Nice, plan, but then they will just close your account for you.

I had a Geico card that I used to pay my Geico insurance once a year. It was just canceled due to inactivity in the last 12 months....Funny thing is, the last charge was 10 months ago.

End result, consumer will not get the good end of the deal.

Perhaps ... perhaps not. I currently have other cc's that have barely been used during the past 2+ years and they are still active.

Even better ... I can just set up one of my utilities to charge to this card and then pay it off in full each month so no interest charges accrue.

 

[avid toker]

Just got the letter a few days ago. I got boosted to 20.99%.
I usually don't carry a balance but I don;t really use this card much anyway.
It's despicable these banks are fleecing the consumer so blatantly.

 

[Fox]

Perhaps ... perhaps not. I currently have other cc's that have barely been used during the past 2+ years and they are still active.

Even better ... I can just set up one of my utilities to charge to this card and then pay it off in full each month so no interest charges accrue.

I agree, Ted, that in the past the banks have kept the cards active. However, there is already talk among the large banks, notably Chase, Citi and BofA, of adding "administrative" fees to cards that are little used or do not carry a balance. My gut says the "other shoe" will drop soon and cards with little use will be canceled or you (global you) will be forced to pay the fees. Banks have become addicted to fee income and still see it as a way out of the current mess. It is not unusual for banks to over-correct and then have to scramble for business. The addiction to fees is one of the root causes of the mortgage fiasco.

 

[Starz26]

Banks have become addicted to fee income and still see it as a way out of the current mess. .

Agreed. Examples from 5/3 bank

1. Posting large charge before smaller ones causing each smaller one to overdraw account. Maximize overdraft fees
2. Overdrawing your account based on pending charges, but not depositing cash deposits until the next day.
3. Posting debits before deopsits even when they happen on the same day.
4. Progressive scale of overdraft fess but not returning items for insufficient balance
5. Allowing debit cards to be used even when the account is overdrawn

not all is specific to 5/3 but they are the ones who hit me the most as my wife cannot manage her account at all....

 

[Fox]

Agreed. Examples from 5/3 bank

1. Posting large charge before smaller ones causing each smaller one to overdraw account. Maximize overdraft fees
2. Overdrawing your account based on pending charges, but not depositing cash deposits until the next day.
3. Posting debits before deopsits even when they happen on the same day.
4. Progressive scale of overdraft fess but not returning items for insufficient balance
5. Allowing debit cards to be used even when the account is overdrawn

not all is specific to 5/3 but they are the ones who hit me the most as my wife cannot manage her account at all....

One of our cards is with BofA and we have already seen suspicious timing on posting of charges and payments as you note above. We do not carry a balance on the card and stay well below our low (by choice) credit limit. We have gotten into the habit of paying it well before due just to keep ahead of the fee games.

 

[Mast3r_Shake]

"In their defense, banking officials say they have no choice but to raise rates and limit credit. Because of the new rules and the prolonged economic malaise, they say it is now far riskier to issue credit cards than it was just a few years ago.

'We sell credit; we don’t sell sweaters,' said Kenneth J. Clayton, senior vice president for card policy at the American Bankers Association. 'The only way to manage your return is through the price of the product or the availability.'"


Awww, boohoo. When I was in school a few years ago they would hand out credit cards like candy. Now they are shocked that ppl couldn't pay them and they are losing out. FU you stupid POS's.

If only fight club were real....

 

[mfromwhere]

I had a similar (although less severe) problem with Bank of America recently.

When I got my card it was with Bay Bank, and it was consolidated into Bank Boston, then Bank of America.

So needless to say I've been with them for awhile.

I've always had great credit and alway paid off way more than my monthly minimum.

Screw that noise.

 

[Treinenwj]

To paraphrase South Park "Welcome to ShittyBank! Would you rike to try our Shitty Card?"

 

[dartfrog]

My parents and grandparents got along fine without credit cards.
Cash is king gentlemen.

 

[daniyal]

That blows! but if it any consolation mine charges 20%... interest rates are crazy here.

 

[cvm4]

Supply & demand... They are testing it. The supply of loose credit has dried up and the big creditcard banks are testing the demand if the interest rate rises. I hate it for you, but it's just like any product, if you don't like the terms, don't use it.

 

[Cigary43]

We should have seen this coming when the Gov't told the banks that they had almost a year and a half before they were going to put a cap on all credit cards. The banks were told that after july they could not increase the interest anymore so what did the banks do? You're seeing it now and there is nothing the Gov't is going to do about because they started this fiasco. Giving the banks all these billions of dollars to bail them out with our tax dollars and then letting them jack up the rates to almost 30% is worse than loansharking and your Congress let em do it. The only recourse we have is to cancel the cards and use a HELOC credit card as at least then you can write off the interest every year and the rates on a HELOC card are still viable. Problem with this,,,,the Banks and the IRS will go after this like white on rice and that will be one less write off we will have other than our home loans. That will come next I promise you.

 

[ciggy]

I friggin hate Citibank!!! They needed a bailout and still screwing the costomers....First chance I got I cancelled everything with them and even refinanced with a different bank. Citibank can kiss my ARSE!!:angryteet

 

[bballbaby]

Agreed. Examples from 5/3 bank

1. Posting large charge before smaller ones causing each smaller one to overdraw account. Maximize overdraft fees
2. Overdrawing your account based on pending charges, but not depositing cash deposits until the next day.
3. Posting debits before deopsits even when they happen on the same day.
4. Progressive scale of overdraft fess but not returning items for insufficient balance
5. Allowing debit cards to be used even when the account is overdrawn

not all is specific to 5/3 but they are the ones who hit me the most as my wife cannot manage her account at all....

I've experienced 1 thru 3 as we only deposit cash into the bank as needed. I have very little trust in the banking system at this point.

HOWEVER...

the one BIG advantage to living in a small town is that i can call up the brnach manager or the assistant manager and have them reverse the charges. we've done this several times now.

we did learn that in order to have instant access to deposited checks, you can tell the teller to "deposit this as cash" and it is immediately available. it's a 2 step process for the teller, in that they must show on paper that the check was cashed and then the cash was deposited, but it keeps from having that 3 day waiting period to be able to access the check that you just deposited.

jsut say those simple words...Please deposit this as cash.

 

[CAJoe]

Just wait homeowners. When the American economy was infused with an extra 35% cash intrest rates went to 20% to bring money back out of the system. Now thanks to the dumbass politicians we have had a cash infusion of 125% into the American economy. I wonder what the intrest rates will be in 2-5 years to get that money back out of the economy.

 

[SkyStorm82]

I got one of those letters too but they raised it to 20.99%. Of course the letter also said they would give me a "special rate" of 12.99% if I do a balance transfer of at least $5,000.

 

[derek]

I opted out. I also called Discovered and they said they sent letters in August and in December the rate for me was going to go up to 16.99%. I told them I didn't want it and they simply locked me in at my old rate.

 

[cvm4]

we did learn that in order to have instant access to deposited checks, you can tell the teller to "deposit this as cash" and it is immediately available. it's a 2 step process for the teller, in that they must show on paper that the check was cashed and then the cash was deposited, but it keeps from having that 3 day waiting period to be able to access the check that you just deposited.

jsut say those simple words...Please deposit this as cash.

Why do you not have next day availability for the checks you've deposited?

 

[Fox]

Why do you not have next day availability for the checks you've deposited?

It is very common among banks even in this day of instant electronic transfer. For example, BofA is still famous for the 10-day hold, which of course generates more fees since people overspend and have to use overdraft protection. You can find BofA horror stories everywhere. BofA corporate will tell you that does not happen, but the evidence appears overwhelming that it does. . .I use a CU and funds are instantly available.