A little over two weeks ago, Smart Balance Transfers began receiving a deluge of complaints from Citibank customers who had their interest rates increased to 29.99% (See Citibank Interest Rate Solutions to view comments).  Surprisingly, however, major media outlets seemed not to notice this headline worthy story.  I personally attempted to contact ABC news to bring attention to the story.  They were uninterested.

As the days began to pass, I grew increasingly frustrated.  While hundreds of responsible card members were contacting me, I feared that less responsible victims of this rate increase may not have noticed or opened their rate increase letters.  Continue Reading »

Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut has proposed a freeze on credit card interest rate and fee increases ahead of the implementation of new credit card regulations due to take effect in February.  According to The New York Times, Senator Dodd’s goal is to prevent the “squeezing” of Americans.  Perhaps such a measure should have been introduced 3 months ago, while the majority of credit card issuers were raising rates on a wide range of customers.  Or, perhaps, two weeks ago, before both Wells Fargo and Citibank raised interest rates on what may be millions of Americans. 

Citibank, which recently notified many of its customers that it would be raising interest rates to 29.99%, was not mentioned as reason for this initiative, though one has to wonder if the Citi rate increase was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Continue Reading »

It has now been over a week since Citibank raised interest rates on many of its most loyal customers and it seems as if no one in the media cares.  This continues to shock me, as the number of visitors contacting me has not dwindled.  And my concern that tens of thousands of customers have overlooked these letters and tossed them in the garbage is growing by the day.

I searched Google news a few moments ago expecting to see results from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times or USA Today.  Nothing.  And, since these are the only three papers anyone seems to read these days, that leads me to believe anyone who threw their rate increase notice in the mail will be in for a very big surprise when the new Citi interest rates take effect. Continue Reading »

Since so many of you come to Smart Balance Transfers to vent, I want to take the opportunity to do some of my own venting.  People began receiving rate increase notices this weekend.  By Monday morning, I’d heard from at least 30 people, and the number of comments continues to swell.  Increasing interest rates to 29.99% is absurd and this ought to be big news.  But its not.

So far, I’ve found little more than a Huffington Post blog article, which for some reason rejected my comment on the story, and a small blog posting on MSN.  Other than that, no major media outlet seems to be interested in the story.  Have we become so accustomed to malicious credit card practices that this massive rate increase is no longer newsworthy. 

So I tried to contact ABC news.  No luck.  Apparently, no one seems to care that the financial well-being of tens of thousands of Americans is in danger.

And that’s my vent.  I am very privileged to have the opportunity to facilitate the sharing of information on this matter via the Balance Transfers Blog, but I am also deeply, deeply disappointed in the major media players for turning a blind eye to an event that has far reaching implications for everyone who carries credit card debt.  Shame on them.

I just got a copy of the Citibank interest rate increase letter and, perhaps like many of you, am completely baffled.  Unfortunately, I’ve spent the past five years reviewing credit card terms and was hoping to find some definitive answers in this letter.  However, the terms Citi is proposing are as incomprehensible as its decision to raise rates on what I’ve learned from over 60 readers are very good customers with very good credit scores.

1.)  Traditional opt out notices require those who opt out to accept an immediate closure to their account.  You opt out, the card is closed, and that is it. Period.  In the letter I reviewed, it states that the cardholder can use the card until the expiration date on the card.  This wreaks of trickery and my fear is that consumers who opt out but use the card after the opt out date will see their rates increased to 29.99%. Continue Reading »

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 »

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 »