About a month ago, visitors began posing comments on Smart Balance Transfers about a Citibank rate increase to 29.99%.  The backlash was huge, with over 100 comments posted to date, mainly from customers with very good credit, long histories as Citi credit card customers, and oftentimes, low balances on their accounts.

Yesterday, a new breed of Citibank credit card complaints began pouring in, and these are just as disheartening, though seemingly less severe.  One visitor reported a rate increase to 23.99%.  Another reported getting a notice that their rate was increasing from 16.99% to 20.99% on the same day they got an offer for a .99% balance transfer.  Continue Reading »

Although credit card defaults remain elevated, Capital One and Discover reported lower credit card default rates in October.  Despite this drop, credit card defaults remain elevated, as they have been for nearly a year, and many expect default rates to remain elevated well into 2010.

The problem with credit card defaults is two-fold.  First, it creates losses for credit card companies which, in turn, lead credit card companies to raise interest rates, annual fees, and reduce the amount of available credit.  This ultimately leads to tougher approval standards, which limit the ability of consumers to lock in low rate balance transfers, forcing them to repay their credit card balances at higher interest rates than the current interest rate environment would normally dictate. Continue Reading »

All year long, credit card companies have been raising balance transfer fees, cash advance fees, interest rates…just about anything that could go up, has gone up.  Despite all these changes, many credit card companies remain rightly petrified about the new credit card laws which will take full effect in February.  In response to this, Bank of America was the first company to come out and announce that they will be charging annual fees.  However, we’ve yet to hear from anyone who has been charged these fees and would love to hear from anyone whose Bank of America credit card now has an annual fee. Continue Reading »

According to the most recent Federal Reserve survey, credit card companies have either increased interest rates or are planning to increase interest rates on 54% of customers with good credit.  74% of customers with poor credit have either had their rates increased already or will in the near future.  This should come as little surprise to most readers, as the odds of being impacted by a rate increase are fairly substantial.

Along with interest rate increases, credit limit cuts are likely to impact a majority of Americans, as more than 50% of banks have cut or signaled that they will cut credit limits.  For some, credit limit cuts are nothing more than an inconvenience.  For others, it can devastate credit scores and rob them of the much needed safety net available credit can provide during rough times. Continue Reading »

For the past three weeks, I’ve been hearing from people who’ve been hit with the 29.99% rate increase.  Most are people who pay their bills in full, have had their cards for many years, and previously had low interest rates.  I fall into the same category as many of these people, and yet, I still haven’t gotten my rate increase letter.

Now, I don’t use my Citi card.  Continue Reading »

I’ve begun getting comments from visitors who are being asked to do a $5000 balance transfer with Citibank in order to receive an interest rate lower than the 29.99% offer currently being pushed on consumers.  At this point, only two reports have come in to Smart Balance Transfers, so we don’t have a ton of information of this deal.  We are also unsure of the complete terms of the deal and whether or not this is something customer service reps are offering or part of a letter being sent to customers.   Continue Reading »

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 »