Yesterday, a visitor posted that the interest rate on his Advanta credit card was raised to 34%, which is about 4% more than the average credit card default rate of 29.99%.  Out of sheer disbelief, I asked the visitor if he had defaulted on a payment, as this seemed to be the only logical reason for someone to be slapped such a high interest rate.  This morning, I apologized to that visitor.  Turns out, he paid online and on time. 

Given all the issues Advanta credit cards are causing small business owners, such as cutting off all credit limits on May 30th, I would really appreciate it if anyone would share info on similar interest rate increases.  In particular, I think our visitors would benefit from knowing the reason given for these increases and, more importantly, if anyone has had success getting their rates lowered. Continue Reading »

I’m gonna go out on a limb here with a bold prediction:  Advanta credit card complaints will be rising substantially in the coming days.  Why?  First of all, Advanta is closing all of its credit card accounts.  I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that this may irritate a few people.  Like the truck driver in the middle of the Arizona dessert trying to get some diesel at 12:01 am on May 31st.  Yes, not June 10th.  May 31st!

That truck driver will certainly be saying [expletive deleted] Advanta since, even if he got the first notice that Advanta credit cards were closing on June 10th, he probably was on the road when the postman delivered the notice that his Advanta card would stop working on May 30th.  And that letter probably arrived on May 29th. Continue Reading »

As this is probably your first visit to the Balance Transfer Blog, you may think this story about the end of 0% interest balance transfers is alarmist.  However, during the past year, this humble writer has unfortunately been the proverbial canary in the coal mine when it comes to balance transfers.

Last summer, I predicted the decline of no fee balance transfers.  This prediction came to fruition in a matter of weeks.  Early last fall, I predicted that most companies would cease offering fixed APR balance transfers.  These offers are now gone.

Recently, I have been writing (ranting?) about the end of 0% interest rates that last for 1 year.  And, in the coming weeks, more than a few of the remaining good credit card companies will be reducing introductory rates from 1 year to around 6 months.  Additionally, some companies, including Bank of America, will be raising balance transfer fees to 4%. Continue Reading »

Today’s passage of H.R. 627 , also known as the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009, is great news if, according to the terms and conditions of my credit card, the definition of great is horrible.  While its patriotic title and good intentions may impress the average voter, these credit card regulations have caused more problems for credit cardholders than late payments and over the limit fees combined.  And the bill won’t even take effect for nine months.

The problem with this bill and, more precisely, the threat of this bill is that it threatened to fundamentally alter a business that, without government interference, was fundamentally troubled.  Before the threat of this legislation existed, credit card companies were not raising interest rates across the board on consumers with good credit.  Nor were they hitting good customers who simply missed a single payment with default rates.  Essentially, all of the horrible things credit card companies have done in the past few months seem to be tied to the fact that they were scrambling before the new laws took effect. Continue Reading »

From the Editor:  I have a confession-I’m technically one of the bad guys.  For the past five years, I’ve made my living marketing credit cards on the Internet.  On the whole, I think I’ve done my best to help consumers find good credit card deals.  However, I’ve heard so many horror stories lately that I feel an obligation to provide credit card help to as many visitors as possible.

In a lot of instances, you may find a discussion or article on Smart Balance Transfers that answers your credit card question.  However, if you can’t find the information you need, please feel free to post your credit card question here.  All information posted on the balance transfers blog is anonymous and the only time your email may be used is if I send you a personal response. 

This is a tremendously difficult time for many of us and credit card problems are the last thing we need.  So, while I can’t get your credit card company to lower your interest rate or turn back the clock and remind you to pay last month’s credit card bill on time, I’ll try my best to give you clarity on whatever credit card questions you have.

Thanks in advance to those of you who choose to share.  And thanks for helping me clear my conscience by providing whatever credit card help I can.

Last week, I wrote about a recent decline in credit card complaints.  While I did not go so far as to predict that this short term trend would continue, I was hopeful that Obamas’ new credit card legislation was having a positive effect on the behavior of credit card companies.  I was dead wrong.

Yesterday, two disturbing credit card complaints were posted, both of which are worth noting.  The first came from a gentleman whose credit card account was closed for inactivity; the second came from a woman who missed a payment and had her interest rate increased to 29.99% – on a $19,000 balance!  Continue Reading »

If you’re in a hurry to transfer credit card balances, you might want to slowdown and take a moment to consider the following three reasons why you should not transfer credit card balances online.  Paying heed to these credit card tricks could potentially save you a lot of money and a big headache.

Reason #1 why you should not transfer balances online:  Tiered Introductory Periods

Many credit cards advertise a 0% APR for up to 1 year, but may actually offer 0% periods for as little as 3 months.  Unfortunately, you will not find out how long your introductory period lasts until after your application has been reviewed and approved.  This can obviously be a huge problem.  Imagine paying a 3% balance transfer fee to move money to a 0% credit card, only to find out you’re going to need to pay that balance transfer fee again in three months – and that’s if you can actually get approved for a new 0% balance transfer credit card three months from now.  If you can’t get approved, you’ll be paying the standard interest rate nine months sooner than you expected, which leads us to reason #2.

Continue Reading »