Posted on 11/20/2009 11:01:47 AM PST by Lorianne
NEW YORK — For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement.
Those who meet the spending minimum — in some cases $750 a month — will be able to get a rebate on their total interest charges for that month. The rebate could cover some or all of the interest rate hike. Customers also need to make payments on time to qualify for the rebate.
Without giving specifics, Citi said the monthly spending requirements and interest rate hikes will vary depending on the cardholder's credit history.
About half of its customers will be able to erase 50 percent to 100 percent of their rate increases through the rebates. Citi said its rebates will be based on interest charges for an entire balance, not just monthly charges.
With 92 million credit cards in circulation last year, Citi was the second largest card issuer in the country, according to CreditCards.com. Chase was the largest with 119.4 million cards, and Bank of America was third with 80.2 million cards.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
F Citi.
I advise anybody that holds their card to dump it immediately
At least read the “junk” mail they are sending you.
Most likely that letter is stating that they are raising your interest rate.
Citi is presently screwing many people over before the gov mandated rule changes.
I have a better option. Our CitiCard had gotten larger than we liked over the years. When we sold our house last month, the first thing I did was pay it off. We will probably cut it in two and return it. Never again.
My wife had a Citi card. From long experience, I would say that they are the absolute WORST.
They used to present themselves as the peoples’ bank. I’d say they are the bank that specializes in screwing the little guy.
If this goes on, we may all end up with wads of cash in our pockets, like the old days. And maybe a concealed firearm to protect our cash from theives.
Why do business with such an entity? They have plenty of competitors. It is only a lingering and foolish “bigger is safer” bias that allows them to keep any retail business at all.
Spend those rubles slave!!
Wait a minute, when did your bank become your boss??
Fire your bank!
No, I’m sorry, they have to be 2nd WORST.
1st WORST had to be Capital One.
A big thumbs up to what you said!!!!!
Dave Ramsey ping?
Unfortunately I received one of these letters as well. It is the only credit card we hold and we pay the balance off every month (if there even is one).
They raised the interest rate to over 22% and said they would charge 9.99% (?) if we spent over $1,000 a month with the card.
None of this applies to us, since as I mentioned we don’t use the card, but it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. Only problem is this is the only credit card we hold and has a long history. If we close the account our credit score will take a hit. We just bought a home so I may just take the hit and move on.
My wife and I had Citi cards and couple of others. One Chase card we kept for emergency and did not use. Chase closed my account because we did not use it. The Citi cards we used and so for being good customers were treated to a large rate hike.
We are freezing the cards and paying them off - they have lost THIS gravy train.
With all the "stop the evil predatory lending" ranting how has this bait and switch scheme getting by?
All I know is that whatever hope is being anchored to the spending this Christmas, there better be a plan B.
This is a bad move, especially if you've had it for a while. Closing the account may reduce your average account age, and that will lower your credit score.
Better choice: pay off the balance, if you have one. If there's an annual fee, convert the account to one without a fee. Then, just use the card once or twice a month. I keep a couple of accounts "alive" by auto-paying a monthly bill. That will keep the account "active", so the bank won't close the account.
It will also help your credit score, because it shows activity on the account AND the credit limit is added with the rest of your credit cards to determine your utilization (outstanding balances divided by total of all credit limits).
Just don't forget to pay that bill every month!
A PAIR OF SCISSORS WORKS WONDERS ON BOTH THE CITI AND CAPITAL ONE CARDS...
then you can scream, “I’M DEBT FREE!!!!”
the borrower is slave to the lender... and CITI and CAPITAL ONE are horrible slave owners.
The debtor is slave to the lendor ping. Have a great weekend everybody.
Thanks Hoosier for the heads up.
Dave Ramsey Fan Ping List.
If you would like to be added to the “Live like no one else, so that you can LIVE like no one else” list, feel free to Freepmail me.
My ultimate goal is to get my FICO score to zero! I am no longer willing to worship at the alter of FICO. If I don’t have the cash for something, then I just won’t be able to buy it. Since I have taken on that attitude, I have felt more at peace than I could imagine.
Govt. own CIT who gives your tax dollars to ACORN!
http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2009/09/27/taxpayer-owned-citigroup-still-bankrolling-acorn
All the more reason to cut up those cards at least Discover gives you cash back and has not sent out letters raising your rates.
Citi has been one of the absolute worst banks around for a very long time. I do not have their card but they keep soliciting me. Friends have had nothing but trouble from them for years. A pox on Citi — cut up their cards and be done with them!
...No, I’m sorry, they have to be 2nd WORST.
1st WORST had to be Capital One...
Somewhere in that mix, BofA belongs.
okay...this is now so deeply warped that even Conservatives have to start looking at ways to rein these guys in
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