charge cards and percentage interest???

[poohbear2]

Does anyone know how high credit card companies can charge interest to legally? Also, can they change their rates at any time ? MBNA is apalling!!! They went up to 29.98% and are justifying this by saying they have a copy of my credit report and My credit is not good??? I went through a divorce and some bills were behind, however, I am up to date with mBNA as well as other credit accounts and I find this to be very strange and unethical!! Anyone I can write to about this??

 

[Toby'sFriend]

It varies by state but I imagine MBNA is well aware of what is legal in your state.

I would start calling other companies (Capital One is probably a good place to start) and find a company willing to give you a lower rate. Or you can always go to a bank and try to get a personal loan. Then call MBNA and tell them to either immediately drop it to that rate or you'll be transferring the balance and cancelling the card.

Just remember -- if you do transfer the balance to really do go ahead and cancel the MBNA card. Many people start the process with the best of intentions, but then end up with 2 Credit Cards charged to the max.

 

[jfulcer]

I'm sure if you look in the really really small print the information you got when you signed up for the card, I'd bet they actually state they can jack your rates because of this. We had one lower our credit limit to the available balance for a similar reason. It was fine by us - the card was payed off and canceled in short order anyway...

 

[Planogirl]

You might want to apply for a credit card that will let you transfer balance at 0% or at least a low rate. I'm not too sure about Capital One because I've heard that they sometimes hide fees but just read the fine print very carefully. Just be sure not to apply too often if you do this because too many credit report hits can increase your apr's too.

We had a fixed interest Visa that suddenly became variable and they've skyrocketed too. I'm trying to get a lower interest card but it's funny how CC rates are increasing while other rates are dropping.

 

[PamOKW]

Yes. The credit card companies can do all kinds of things. The first thing is to always be aware of what interest rate they are charging. They can vary widely. I also saw a news story recently talking about what you've just experienced...they re-check your credit rating and adjust the interest rate they are charging.

If you had some bills that didn't have the minimum paid on time, they will haunt you for a few years. There's not much you can do about that except keep up to date for the future.

 

[PamOKW]

Here's a related article. The rate can change if the credit card company sells your account, even if you've done nothing wrong.

Credit Cards

Here's another article, too. There's lots we need to watch out for and not much we can do about it when they change the rates.

More Credit Cards

 

[dzneprincess]

the citibank upromise visa card had 0% balance transfer for 1 year and you can apply on line. I highly recommend them. No annual fee either.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

It depends on the state that the issuing bank is in. Many CC's issue in Delaware I think they have a very loose usury law, which basically allows almost any interest rate they want, but it will vary by CC company/issuing bank and state laws for those financial institutions.

 

[DocRafiki]

I think Discover has a 0% offer right now for new accounts and 3.9% for transfers on existing accounts. I've seen Capital One, the Disney card, and a BP card advertising 0% for several months, but I don't know if it's on new purchases or transfers.

Don't get mad. It's all in your hands. I just went from 23% down to 3.9% and 0%. By the time they're jacked up again, I should have them paid off. You just have to play the game and make sure you're following the rules along the way. Expect to be reap what you sow when you mess up.

 

[PamOKW]

As was already mentioned, read the fine print. Some of the transfers are 0% or low interest to pay off but they charge transfer transaction fees based on the amount tranferred. The minimum could be around $5 and the maximum is usually around $50.

 

[4greatboys]

Most of the cards that off the special interest for a certain time are often waiving the balance transfer fee. We did this with Citi bank and Chase 0% interest for 12 months no balance transfer fee. We also have a Capital One card and I really like it. They offered 2.9% for 6 months I think then you interest rate stays 7.9 with good credit. The Bank One Disney card has 0% interest for 6 months but doesnt waive the balance transfer fee (what a suprise ). I would get rid of MBNA right now. You cna get a better deal else where. I have one of their cards a long time back and they canceled my account because I didnt charge enough. Then one day I got a call from a rep to see if I wanted one fo their cards and I said no I had one and you guys canceled it since I didnt charge enough. First time a telemarketer didnt have a comeback.

 

[dcgrumpy]

I have seen applications that state they will raise your interest rate if you are late with any credit card bill.

 

[smiley]

I have an MBNA credit card and recently called them to see if they could lower my rate as I'm thinking I may not be able to pay off my entire credit card bill for the month of August. They offered to loan me up to $13,000 at 3% interest until November if I wanted it. I passed on their offer, but they lowered my interest rate to 11.99%. I must say that I am diligent and have paid it off every month since we've had it which has been about 2 years now.

I use it for everything including groceries. I'm trying to build up enough points to earn two airline tickets to Europe.

IMHO, anything over 16% is highway robbery. If I were you I'd definitely look into changing cards, but as others have suggested, read the fine print.

Good Luck

 

[Pugsley]

Thank you so much for this thread, and a special thanks to dzneprincess! I just put a huge charge on my Visa (at 9.9%) so I wanted to quickly get a new card with a low (or no) interest balance transfer. I used to get offers in the mail every day but I haven’t gotten any at all in the last couple of weeks (now that I need one!). So I just went online and applied for a Citibank card with the 0% balance transfer (no fees). Yay! Now I just have to hope that I get the card quickly!

 

[dzneprincess]

Originally posted by Pugsley
Thank you so much for this thread, and a special thanks to dzneprincess! I just put a huge charge on my Visa (at 9.9%) so I wanted to quickly get a new card with a low (or no) interest balance transfer. I used to get offers in the mail every day but I haven’t gotten any at all in the last couple of weeks (now that I need one!). So I just went online and applied for a Citibank card with the 0% balance transfer (no fees). Yay! Now I just have to hope that I get the card quickly!

Isn't that a GREAT feeling We were so happy when we got approved, while our credit is good, it is not spectacular, so we were very doubtful. Now we have 12 months interest free to pay off a debt! Yippee! Before I even had my card Pugsley, citibank called me asking about a balance transfer, I told him how much, and he sent me out a check made out directly to me, which I then sent a check to my old CC company and paid it off. THe whole process was very smooth. BTW there no fees involved AT ALL.....I am a very HAPPY citibank customer right now.