Credit Card Act

[Walkoff Balk]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...t-to-know.aspx

New rules.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Credit Card Act

Yeah, well this the direct change that affects me.

I'm a Capital 1 card holder and have been for years.
I use it constantly. Even have auto-bill pay for our cellphones and broadband.
Most months I pay it off though occasionally float some debt till the next month.
Up to last month my interest (apr) was at 2.8%, this month it's at 13.9%.
An increase of 11.1%. I think that's quite high for a guy with a great credit rating.
I'll call to see if I can do anything about it. If not I'll search around too.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Credit Card Act

13.9% sounds around right for Capital One.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Credit Card Act

13.9% sounds around right for Capital One.

When I got the card originally the rate was 7.9% and had steadily lessened over the years... and now the big jump up?

[tutusue]

Re: Credit Card Act

When I got the card originally the rate was 7.9% and had steadily lessened over the years... and now the big jump up?

As I understand it, the CC companies are allowed to do that with this new CC act. Maybe that's how they're compensating for the new restrictions.

[Kimo]

Re: Credit Card Act

I like the new CC billing statements. I always pay significantly more than the minimum balance due, but I got a statement this week that told me if I only pay the minimum and do not incur any additional charges on the card it would take me 24 years (!) to pay off the balance.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Credit Card Act

Well Obama gave the CC companies 9-months to get ready for this act, just like Bush gave Saddam over a year to hide his WMD.

[surlygirly]

Re: Credit Card Act

Well, thank God we don't have any credit cards! It's a little bit of a pain in the ass when we need to pay for a doctor's appointment or something, but at least we know when we pay for something, it's paid for. Any debt I have (besides our house and cars) is left over from student loans and 1 loser of an ex-husband.

[Kimo]

Re: Credit Card Act

Gotta do three things - (1) look for good interest rates, BUT also (2) pay off the balances every month to avoid paying interest, and (3) get a card with airline mileage rewards. I would guess we have used CC miles for a dozen or more round trips to the mainland in the last few years. CCs can be a great "tool" if used properly.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Credit Card Act

The rates are getting so high that they will break your legs when you can't pay your gambling debt.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Credit Card Act

The rates are getting so high that they will break your legs when you can't pay your gambling debt.

I'll take the two broken legs! They will heal faster than you can pay off your CC debt!

[tutusue]

Re: Credit Card Act

Gotta do three things - (1) look for good interest rates, BUT also (2) pay off the balances every month to avoid paying interest,[...]

My thought is...if one is meticulous about #2 (hmm...that doesn't sound right!) then one really doesn't need to worry about #1 (that doesn't sound right either!)!

[joshuatree]

Re: Credit Card Act

My thought is...if one is meticulous about #2 (hmm...that doesn't sound right!) then one really doesn't need to worry about #1 (that doesn't sound right either!)!

You're absolutely right on that one. Another thing to watch out now is that some CC cards will re-instate annual fees.