Recent feedback left by visitors of Smart Balance Transfers regarding new annual fees on Citi credit cards is providing a clearer picture of the situation.  At present, visitors are reporting that the annual fee is $60, is due to take effect in April, and that they have low balances on the card and very high credit scores.

As noted in an earlier story about Citibank annual fees, the annual fee may be credited to certain accounts if spending is sufficiently high on the card.  However, many people have reported that they intend to close their accounts rather than pay the annual fee. Continue Reading »

In a move that will likely be replicated by its competitors, Citibank has begun charging annual fees on some credit card users.  The new annual fee, according to a source who has received notice, is $60 and can be credited back if enough money is spent on the card over the course of a year. Continue Reading »

Dear Mr. Pandit,

I would like to bring to your attention a matter which may have escaped your purview.  In October of 2009, your company sent opt out notices to certain credit card holders.  Recipients of the letter were given two options:  close their credit card accounts and maintain their current interest rate or keep their accounts open and pay 29.99% interest, a punitive rate generally reserved for consumers who default on their payment obligations.  It is my understanding that consumers who failed to respond by the designated opt-out date would automatically have their rates increased.  Continue Reading »

In mid-October, comments started flooding in from Citi customers that received interest rate increases from Citibank to as much as 29.99%.  During the following weeks, over 100 comments were posted from justifiably angry customers, many of whom had great credit and long relationships with Citi.  At the time, I was happy to see that people were opening their credit card mail and using balance transfers or opting out to avoid these monstrously unfair rate increases.  However, my concern was for the people who accidentally failed to read their opt out letters.

Yesterday, the first comments started to come in from people who missed the opt out deadline.  My fear is that many, many more people will be commenting.  Unfortunately, opting out is likely no longer an option.  In rate increase letters I have reviewed, the opt out date was November 30th.  This means that many people are just receiving their first bills with 29.99% interest rates.  And some who pay online or don’t examine their statements closely may not notice that they are being charged this absurd interest rate for months. Continue Reading »

Most of us have always had a love/hate relationship with our credit cards.  Whether its convenience, access to cash, fraud protection…we’ve all come to depend on our credit cards.  Many of us have stuck it out with the same credit card company for years, believing, falsely, that we were building relationships with these banks that would be helpful down the road.   Such has not been the case in 2009.  In fact, credit card companies have been putting the screws to customers all year long, with the latest and most egregious example being Citibank’s recent interest rate increases.

Beginning in mid-October, Citi began notifying customers it would be raising interest rates to as much as 29.99%-for no reason.  Or at least no legitimate reason.  Continue Reading »

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 »

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 »

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 »