posted on
October 01, 2009 at 11:36PM
Folks... How did y'all get off track here? We're not trying to make a point that all credit cards are evil or overpriced. My wallet is full of both generic and affinity Visa, MC, and AMEX cards from multiple banks. Overall, their standard interest rates and terms haven't gone up much at all in the past year or two. My "standard" rate (when you make your payments on time) is about 15%. It's the new "default" usery rates (when you miss payments) that are jacked up to 30% nowadays. Although I personally feel it's extreme, that's life in the big city, folks. Don't miss the payment, and better yet, don't carry a balance into the next month, so interest rates will be a non issue. If you can't do that, roll it into a private loan at a competitive (10%-12%) interest rate.
The real issue here is annual fees on top of usery interest rates cited above. Outside of alirline frequent flier cards that earn travel, there is no excuse or tolerance for annual fees. Not a single one of my dozen charge cards carries an annual fee. How about yours? Outside of Sears, no big box store affinity cards (Home Depot, Macy's, Lowe's, Kohl's, Penny's, Radio Shack, etc.) from any retailer in the market today has annual fees. They're dispicable, dishonest, and sneaky. Just like the bankers who impose them. Don't accept this behavior - speak up now!
Guess what? Sear's Mastercard by Citibank is the first in the Nation! Doesn't seem true? Call them right now to find out how much they're going to add to your monthly statement starting in January, no matter if you placed Christmas purchases on the account or not!