After a relatively calm three months in which credit card rate increases slowed substantially, Citibank’s decision to raise interest rates to 29.99% on tens of thousands of customers has taken many-myself included-by surprise.  Yesterday, I posted some options for people dealing with this situation and I wanted to update those as well as point out some additional points. (See Citibank Interest Rate Increase Solutions for yesterdays article as well as Citibank Raises Interest Rates A Lot to read comments from other visitors.)

First off, most people will need to opt out of the rate increase.  Continue Reading »

The shocking and unprecedented interest rate increases from Citibank has generated a flood of comments and, as editor of Smart Balance Transfers, I am trying to put as much helpful information online as I can.  Consequently, I am hoping that someone can email me a copy of a rate increase notice so I can review the terms and conditions more fully.

If you received a Citi rate increase letter and want to help out, please email us a copy.  However, PLEASE be sure to use a BLACK MARKER to cover any personal information such as your name, account number etc, as I would like to post this online.

Thank you in advance for your help and please see our tips on Citibank Interest Rate Increase Solutions for ideas on how to handle this troublesome development.

After a brief pause, and right before new laws to limit interest rate increases take effect, Citibank appears to have raised interest rates on a wide range of its customers.  Over the past weekend, close to a dozen people posted on Smart Balance Transfers about monstrous rate increases that lifted APRs to 29.99%.  Fortunately, if Citibank raised your interest rate, there are easy steps you can take to lessen your financial pain

Option 1:  Opt Out and Open a New Credit Card Account

Unless you have the ability to pay your credit card balance in full, the best way to deal with an interest rate increase notice is to opt out by closing your account.  This will allow you to repay your balance at the current rate, ultimately saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in interest expenses.  If, for example, you carry a $10,000 balance on a Citibank card with a rate that is moving from 15% to 29.99%, you will save around $1,500 in interest by electing to opt out.  This is a no brainer.  Don’t over-think it.  Get on the phone right now and opt out. Continue Reading »

Rising delinquencies on credit card loans are hurting banks, potentially leading to even tighter lending standards which, in turn, threaten to limit credit availability to a wider range of consumers and dampen our country’s economic recovery.  Yesterday, consumer credit bureau Equifax reported that new credit cards issued have fallen by 50% since July of 2008.  On the heels of that release, Capital One reported today that its annualized charge off rate rose to 9.77% from 9.32% in August, a fairly large step in the wrong direction at a time when more and more “experts” are signaling the Greatest Recession is nearing its end. Continue Reading »

Ever since the Credit Card Act of 2009 hit the floor of the House of Representatives, credit card companies have been scrambling to rework their business models.  The result:  millions of consumers are paying higher interest rates, credit limits have been slashed, and millions of people are being denied for new credit.  These new “consumer friendly” credit card laws have led to increased fees for credit card transactions ranging from international purchases to balance transfers.  And 0% introductory rates, particularly 0% balance transfer offers, have been reduced dramatically.

Now, thanks to the meddling hand of Uncle Sam, annual fees will soon be added to the lists of new costs levied on American consumers.   According to Forbes, Bank of America will soon be charging annual fees on some credit card accounts. Continue Reading »

Earlier in the year, when credit card companies were raising interest rates into the stratosphere, I started advising consumers to get on the phone and politely annoy their credit card company into lowering their rates.  Many people who were slapped with interest rate increases were offered the chance to opt out of the rate increases by closing their credit card accounts.  However, credit card opt out notices suspiciously looked a good deal like junk mail, and many simply tossed them in the garbage.  A few months later, APRS that were once in the high single digits skyrocketed to 15, 20, or even 29%. Continue Reading »

Because Wells Fargo only issues credit cards to customers with pre-existent banking or other relationships, we haven’t heard too much from their customers and spend little time covering their credit card or balance transfer offers.  However, on the same day Bank of America declared that they would halt interest rate hikes (a few months too late, in our opinion) Wells Fargo announced that it would raise interest rates by 3% on most of its credit cards. Continue Reading »