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.
As many of you already know, most major banks have pulled back on credit card lending to small business owners more than they have to consumers. With Advanta cutting off credit limits and leaving its customers with massive interest payment hangovers, small business owners that can’t pay their bills in full immediately should by all means seek out a new card that offers 0% interest balance transfers. While the number of these offers is limited, it is probably more than worthwhile to apply for one of these cards. At 34%, a person with $1,000 in debt will rack up $340 in interest in one year. Given that many small businesses carry debt loads in the tens of thousands, Advanta may end up bringing down more small businesses the Walmart.
Here are the urls for the major banks, all of which still advertise small business cards on their websites:
www.americanexpress.com - generally doesn’t offer 0% balance transfers
www.citicards.com - may offer 0% balance transfers
www.bankofamerica.com -offers 0% balance transfers
www.chase.com - may offer 0% balance transfers
www.capitalone.com - may offer 0% balance transfers
Again, if you have some good luck with any of these companies or in getting a rate reduction from Advanta, please share your story. In times like these, small business owners need to come together and help each other out.
