MBNA raises rate, no reason

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Frugal Yuppie,
Don't underestimate the power of a written budget if you aren't already on one. Are you writing down every single dollar you spend? That goes a LOOOONNNGGG way in increasing your monthly cash flow. (And way to stick it that CC dude - awesome).

[singinjeannie]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Just had to share this update. I have mailed the check to payoff MBNA completely.

Now, of course, I had to surf this debt to some other cc companies to make this happen, and basically, this debt went to three other sources of debt, but at least MBNA can now get a "Get Lost!!!" letter. Can't wait to write it.

Anyhoot. Remember I was calling every number I had for them and every number took me to an automated system? Well, that was when my cc line was maxed out. When I paid off most of the debt and only still owed them a few thousand dollars, I called one of their numbers, which previously had resulted in an automated response, to find out my balance and when I could expect a statement.

WOW! Guess what happened? A REAL, person answered the phone. Right away. No automated service! I was so shocked I said, "Wow, this is a real person. How did that happen?" To which this woman replied, "Well, it all depends on how busy we are." (Yeah, right. ) I told her I just wanted my balance and when would I be receiving a statement. She answered these questions and then asked me if I would like to transfer any balances over to MBNA. She said, "We have some great deals on low interest rates for transferred balances." Uh-huh...

So, we get the REAL reason I got a real person. I actually had some room on my CC with them, so they needed to see if they could transfer some more credit onto my account. An automated system can't do that. I will never do business with this scumbag company again.

-Jean

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Great observation Jean. They're slick, but you're slicker

[singinjeannie]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Thanks, Jesse.
I wrote the "Get Lost" letter this morning and it felt SOOOOOO good.

Oh - also paid off my Sears card today. (Actually PAID it off - didn't surf the amount.) It's a good day!

-Jean

[Tree0164]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Frugal Yuppie Welcome! Can you balance transfer out of MBNA???

Jeannie! That is probably very true.... I have them as one of my emergency CC and I am always getting notices and those transfer checks in the mail.

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

We should get Jeffrey to post "Get Lost" letters or something.. I don't know - there's got to be something fun we can do with that letter. Can you post a copy of it? I hope you weren't mercifully nice (I always tend to soften a bit..it bugs me).

[paulmish]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Jesse - I used to be too nice, once I hit 40, that all changed! You sort of get, like, life is too short to pull punches anymore.

Tree0164 - Yes, what I did was apply for a Chase CC with 1 year of 0% and one free transfer. I applied online, they say it takes up to 30 days, but it took about 10. Give Chase a transfer amount for the old card, and plan to pay the rest yourself. You will probably see the payment on the old card before you receive the new one (I did). After that, STOP using credit. Use debit, and pay whatever you can on the credit balance. If you can't debit somehing, use the new card - the interest is 0% for purchases up to one year, too. After one year, either pay off the balance (if you have one), or transfer it to another 0% card. This is my plan - no interest, no bounced checks, and no more credit used - awesome! Eventually, you will be on a cash basis.

Please don't shop at Wal-Mart!!!

The Frugal Yuppie

[esmeralda]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

paulmish,

I so hear you about the 40 thing. I've got a couple of years, but already I find that I am becoming more and more fearless about speaking up. Its actually rather enjoyable after being quiet for so long.

Anyway, do you know if Chase is still offering the free transfer at 0% If so, could you give the url? I too have an MBNA balance that I would like to be free of.

thanks

[singinjeannie]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

I got a Chase at 0%, but they were only willing to give me $2,000. I needed much more than that. I took the $2000 at 0% and got 3.99% from a different Chase card I already had and transfered the remainder of the balance to that.

I have stopped using credit cards entirely. I'm just working on paying off my stupid-tax. (There's quite a bit of it.)

Want to go after evil companies? Go after the Credit Card companies. MBNA and Capital One, to start. These are the real enemy of success in America today.

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Singin,
Boy, what a long list we'd have if we started tallying up all the companies that did horrible things to consumers...

I totally agree wtih you that the CC companies are doing awful things to consumers. My only hang up is the fact that nobody forces anyone to sign up for a credit card and charge stuff on it. People choose to do that. My counter to my own thought though, is that the CC companies use very sophisticated marketing and pour so much money into convincing people they need the CC, that people hardly stand a chance. On one hand, the consumer makes the ultimate decision, but on the other, it's almost like they're being tortured to "talk" so to say.

I use a CC for all of my purchases and pay the balance off in full each month. Today while I was walking to work I was thinking about that. I do it because I get a 1% cashback on all purchases. That figures to about a month's worth of groceries over the course of a year - pretty significant for me and my little family. But I know the CCs get a % of each sale from the merchants - more than the cashback they give me. So am I still contributing to their bottom line? I kind of thought I was sticking it to 'em. I'm not sure now!

[singinjeannie]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Jesse:

What a great observation you've made! Why I say to go after the CC companies is because of their underhanded business procedures. They rope you in with the ads and the "low rates", which only last as long as THEY want them to, and then raise the rates for rediculous reasons.

How about when they raise your credit limit to 15,400 and then penalize you if you actually get close to that $15,400 limit??? Why have the high limit if they don't actually want you to use it?

Just a few more thoughts.

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

I totally agree.

What are your thoughts on using the CCs for their rewards? Are they still profiting from your business because of the charges they exact from merchants?

[singinjeannie]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

I believe the studies that have been done that say you will definitely spend more money when you use a credit card. Personally, I can't afford to spend more money!

When you are using a piece of plastic to purchase things, it's like you have a million dollars in your pocket. You can get whatever you want and find it easier to justify it. Once you buy $100 on that CC, it still feels like there is an infinite amount of money in your pocket and can go on spending.

If you use cash and you spend $100, you have 100 less dollars in your pocket. You have to watch everything you put in your basket because, god forbid you get to the checkout and don't have enough money. Really embarassing.

I have decreased unnecessary spending tremendously by using cash. I've saved far more than the 1% or 2% I'd get back from Discover by using their CC.

If one feels they have the self-control to really stay on budget while using a CC, go for it. I know from experience cash works better for me if I'm trying to make budget.

Certainly, the CC companies are also profiting from your business when you use a CC, even if you don't carry a balance, as the merchant has to take a percentage of the money you spend and send it to the CC company, instead of using it to further their own business.

I'm done with Credit Cards for good.

[34saving]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

I've only been able to "get them" with one credit card and that was CITI/ATT Universal. They paid me a $50 Home Depot Gift Card to sign up and then $120 (I think . . .it was spread out over 7 payments) to have "credit protector" on the card.) So, they paid me $170 to have a card that I NEVER (not once, had a big "NO" written on it) used, so no merchants paid either.

[jmjj215]

Re: MBNA raises rate, no reason

Singin,
That was another issue I dealt with quite a bit before starting to use my CC (which I've only been doing for about 6 months). Before that my wife and I used our debit card for everything. We tried using just cash for groceries but we'd keep forgetting the envelope, would have to go back, it was such a pain. I'm sure if we would've stuck with it we would've started to remember...

Anyway, I was worried about what you mentioned above - not really feeling like there was a real "limit" to my spending. I've found it isn't true in my situation. Here's why:

Each month my wife and I sit down and allocate where every dollar we earned from last month (we spend last month's income during the current month) is going. We record every single purchase we make. Sometimes we use the record on the CC to help us remember, other times we use the receipts. Either way - we record everything. That makes a very real connection happen between our spending and our wallet. Also, we've been doing this since we first married and I've looked at our spending since we started using the CC and it hasn't changed at all by any statistically significant amount. I honestly can tell you that I don't spend any more with a CC than I would with cash. The trick is that you have to be on a strict written budget to pull it off.

The only thing I still think about is that the CCs are making a profit off of the merchant because of me...hmm. Of course, they make a profit off the debit card I would use too - though the % is slightly lower.