Readers: Tell Us Your Credit Card Experiences

WaMu was bought by CHASE and I have 2 credit cards from them. So I called CHASE and talked to a C/S and asked them if they could lower my interest rate? Their C/S said they don't talk to customers about that. They are the ones who decide when and if they will lower the rates and they NEVER, NEVER discuss this with the customer. Unfortunately, She must have annotated my file because sure enough they changed my rates --- THEY RASED THEM!!!!! Just think we bailed them out over and over and they are doing this to us.

Well, AMEX recently raised my APR. This has no practical effect on me because my wife and I don't carry balances on our credit cards, so the only interest we are paying at present is on our mortgage. But still I am peeved at AMEX: my FICO scores are consistently near or above 800, I've been an AMEX customer since 1982, and I have never defaulted on any financial obligations. If AMEX is raising my APR they must be raising rates on just about everybody.

1. Amex lowered my limits and took away the pay over time perk six months after I bought a home. Hello? I bought a home and had significantly paid down on the loan. This information was clearly visible on the credit report. One month after I paid off the mortgage, my pay over time perk was reinstated. (I paid off my mortgage in 13 months.)

2. Chase bank just canceled my credit card. We had a long, happy history together. Always paid the bill in full, before it was due. When I called them, the c/s rep said it was a "business decision". That many people had been canceled -- a) if you did not owe them any money, and had not used the card "recently" b) if you were close to your limit or over your limit -- you were canceled and then sent notification AFTER the fact! She also said that Chase was NOT accepting any new applications for credit and would NOT reconsider re-opening the card.

3. My husband's store Mastercard credit card -- again excellent history, al...(Read more of this comment)ways paid before it was due -- had his credit limit cut in half. The reason was "he had a large balance on another card".

4. Discover card canceled my parents card and demanded payment in full. When called and asked why, they cited that my parents had been late with a mortgage payment.

5. Bank of America told me (I was calling for a client) that it was much better to wait until 2 months after the promo rate expired before asking for a payment plan. I pointed out that once a statement is generated at the higher interest rate, that money is due regardless of whether the customer is on the payment plan. The whole purpose of the payment plan was to avoid being late or irresponsible on the debt. Sheepishly, the c/s rep acknowledged, that yeah, that would make the customer "late". BA would report a "30 day late" for next 6 months if the customer went this route. (They did this for another one of my customers and said that was the "punishment" for going on a payment plan.)

6. Car insurance cancelled the policy. Reason cited -- father got a speeding ticket. Uh, dad and I live at different addresses, have different policies with different companies. How does his speeding ticket affect me?? Dad did not even see an increase in his premiums and I got canceled?? How many years had I been with them, accident and ticket free?

I have more stories that I can share. I help people with financial planning -- budgets, get out of debt, things like that. I have seen a lot of things over the years that are absolutely absurd!(Show less of this comment)

Amex has told me in no uncertain terms they do NOT want my business. They dropped one Blue account from $29,500 to $500! They cut off my Gold's pay later feature, and my credit score has gone up since I opened them! Apparently they want me to give Discover a try.

Citibank canceled one of my VISA accounts. I have not used the card for over two years and have a zero balance since 2006. Never late and never had a problem with them. $12K credit limit.

I also just purchased a new home (August 2008) and perhaps they thought the temptation was too much. No problems with any credit or loans so I'm not sure the exact reason.

Oh well.