Chase Disney Rewards Visa hikes thier rate

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Both DH & I got the "increasing your rate" letter in July (effective 8/1/2009). It was one of those fine-print pamphlets that you need a magnifying glass to read. The rate increase was buried on page 2. It's now a variable rate of prime + X. The statement that was generated mid-August has the new rate on it. No credit limit decrease. No increase in the minimum payment. No problem. We pay in full, on time, every month. For us, the CCs are a convenience so that we don't have to carry cash all of the time. Nothing goes on the card unless there's already money in the bank to pay for it.

Take THAT, Chase!

Same with us. I did read the itty-bitty notice and knew they were raising the rate, but we pay it off every month. As long as it is financially beneficial to me to use the card and get Disney Rewards, I'll use it. I have no brand loyalty to Chase if it becomes a bad deal for me.

 

[ICF]

Yeah, I think mine went up but we always pay it off each month so it doesn't matter to us.

same here...it could be 100% and wouldnt impact us.

 

[NCRedding]

I got my notice 2 weeks ago. I have until September 30th to opt out, and my rate increase will be effective with my November statement. At least that's what my notice said; I'll have to be checking my statement just to make sure.

 

[Silent1CB]

Isn't the minimum payment changing from 2% to 5% that the govt put into effect? Or did that not start yet? I thought everyone was going to have to pay minumum 5% now?

It was supposed to help everyone pay their cards off faster instead of over 20 years. Also was supposed to have easier language to understand.

 

[gracie1]

Maybe everyone should cancel their Chase accounts! Even though I spoke with them and nothing has changed, I am seriously thinking of closing it all together. Then I will be locked into my rate and not have to worry about the flier that you never seem to get. That happened to me on my bank of america card.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

I think it bites that the card companies are doing this. More people are having a harder time with bills and many are reining in their spending, so increasing the outgo of people with paycuts and job loss doesn't make sense. I do think that more people are getting their spending under control with the way the economy has been going - they're learning to live on less and within their means instead of charging whatever and worrying about it later. Then to hit them with increased interest and minimums - wow.

It's the same thing with property taxes where we live - so many houses are empty and foreclosed on, and the city isn't getting much tax revenue. So what do they do? Raise the millage rate so that those of us who have managed to hang onto our houses now have to pay higher property taxes. Makes gobs of sense.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Does anyone know if we get that letter & they are going to increase the amount to pay up to 5% & I choose to cancel my card instead, can I then continue to pay the 2% (or more if I CHOOSE-- NOT THEM) or will I still have to pay the 5% minimum? Also, doesn't "closing" the account negatively hurt my credit--I have a decent limit on it....

 

[dfchelbay]

I have a Chase visa, but its not Disney. My rate is still low, but I got a nice letter back in July that effective August 1st, their minimum payment due would be 5% per month...OUCH! I don't really use this card, but I can't help but feel that people who do use it will have to more than double their minimum payment amount each month. I've heard that the average American household has more than $10,000 in credit card debt. That would mean that your minimum monthly payment would be $500. That's a huge monthly payment. I guess the silver lining would be that it would be paid off a lot quicker. In one year, you will have paid $6,000 toward that $10,000 balance.

 

[Ilike2Lurk]

Isn't the minimum payment changing from 2% to 5% that the govt put into effect? Or did that not start yet? I thought everyone was going to have to pay minumum 5% now?

I don't think that is for every card and I don't think the government is doing that?

I could be wrong. Do you have a link?

 

[yrdlyprincess]

we got a notice- it went from 9 something to 15 something, we did get a notice about it, if you wanted to "decline"you could have but your card wold be cancelled and I think lose all your points-- I just try to pay it off every month. If you try to fight it make sure you call a different # to get your points (card) and take it to the disney store and buy something or take a vacation with the points, don't lose your points

 

[johnGorski]

Wait till they change our reward structure folks! We use chase visa for food, gas, cell phone bill anything we can use it for and pay it off. we use at least 1k a month so we get 10 DRDs. We get 150 a year. I could see them doing this 200spent equal 1 DRD's. Chase is doing this in response to the credit card reform passed, they are hitting it hard. Almost everyone who is a chase member Disney or not will see APR hikes, harder to get rewards, limits decrease, or min due inflate. If i would have a choice it would be the min due but we pay it off monthly well they were nice enough to raise my APR to 17.99 from a 7.99 on this card. I called up the rep at chase and very rudely i got told there is nothing we can do. I pulled my credit score 760 average, 17.99% is a slap in the face, even though i pay it in full each month. This is complete utter nonsense this is being treated as someone who had defaulted. I wrote a letter to Disney sharing my story with this and making it clear all of the money we spend annually on disney merch/travel. I don’t know how long they have a contract with chase this is the only thing. They could partner with wells fargo, US Bank ect. I would encourage you folks that are getting treated like this to write to Disney.
BTW my brother has a low fixed APR with themat 3.99 percent till the balance pd off he owes 10k because his son had medical issues. His payments were at a confortable 200 dollars a month, they now want 650 a month making it very unconfortable. They are praying that he misses a payment so they can inflate is APR to 29.99%

 

[MScott1851]

No, mine is still at 9.24%, and I'm not sure what my minimum payment is...I'm assuming it is still 2% but I never carry a balance on it, so I'm guessing. I have another Chase card that is still fixed at 8.99%, but I have only used it once in the last year or two.

However, my Discover card, which I ONLY use to pay one automatic bill payment a month on, or the 5% cashback bonus category stuff, recently changed my interest rate from a 7.99 fixed to a variable rate, currently 11.24%. I haven't used it since then as a matter of principle. I've had it for years, never been late, paid off my balance at least three years go.

I know it shouldn't matter because I don't carry a balance on any card, but it makes me mad. Why am I a 'bad customer?' Just because I don't pay them a buttload of interest each month like people with big balances do? Let more people lose their jobs and not be able to pay those big balances and file for bankruptcy and then NOBODY gets paid.

The only reason I keep the Disney Visa is that I put EVERYTHING on it each month and pay it off, just to get the Disney Rewards Dollars.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Unfortunately, it's not just Chase that is raising the minimum payments and APRs . They're all getting their changes in place before the laws change next year. While we can all vote with our dollars by closing our accounts, it's not likely that you'll get a much better deal on rates from any other rewards cards.

The Disney VISA still does not have an annual fee, which is rare for a rewards card. The % back is extremely poor already but people are willing to accept it because it's Disney. But there is a tipping point as to how much change people are willing to accept. For us, cutting the rewards in half would be that tipping point.

I'd have no problem switching our recurring payments over to my Citi Rewards card or my AmEx. Heck, my Disney VISA gets compromised so often (about once every 18 months!) that I have the routine for switching everything over to a new account number down to a science! I can pull that cute little Mickey Mouse card out of my wallet and bury it in a drawer tomorrow if I feel like it.

It's a shame that this isn't the case for those who don't have a back up card. Or for the ones who are carrying a balance that suddenly has a minimum payment ballooning to 2-1/2 times what it used to be. Economists warned that this was going to be the next blow to the economy. People who are now struggling to make those minimum payments are not going to go out and "stimulate" the economy. They're going to hunker down and weather it out.

We're in the eye of the storm now, people. It ain't over yet and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

 

[rentayenta]

Just applied for the Disney Visa and will make sure it never has a balance now!

 

[Donnainnj]

Just an FYI on the minimum payment increases...(by bankrate.com, copied from MSN money)

Why it's happening
Over the past few years, low minimum payback rates of between 2 and 2.5% have encouraged Americans to spend, spend, spend -- and to rack up an average credit card debt of close to $10,000 per household. For the estimated 40% of cardholders who carry a balance from month to month, the low minimums free up cash. But paying off a big charge little by ever-so-little also means that a $1,000 debt can turn into a 22-year commitment -- and that you'll accumulate thousands more in interest in the meantime.

"People are now in a revolving debt cycle that they'll never escape," says Adam Brauer, a debtor advocate and in-house counsel for Debt Settlement USA in Scottsdale, Ariz. "So the government nudged credit card companies into saying, 'This isn't working.'"

Specifically, regulators with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency began pressuring credit card companies to raise minimum payments. Another incentive for change: The newly enacted Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which requires credit card companies to post a kind of Surgeon General's warning on monthly statements that notifies consumers about how long they'll be in debt if they make minimum payments.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/banking/creditcardsmarts/p117014.asp
Donna

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

"People are now in a revolving debt cycle that they'll never escape," says Adam Brauer, a debtor advocate and in-house counsel for Debt Settlement USA in Scottsdale, Ariz. "So the government nudged credit card companies into saying, 'This isn't working.'"

This may just be a case of trying to get blood from a stone. People who cannot meet the new minimum will go into default. How many people are going to look at that number and just throw up their hands in frustration and not pay anything at all?

Another case of unintended consequences.

 

[Hazzard101]

The complete line of bulldukie that card companies are feeding us that changing our min payment is helping us to pay off our bills faster is just that Bulldukie. If they wanted me to pay down my debit faster and help me. They wold have looked at my monthly statement and seen that I was paying over $100. more than our min payment every month and appreciated my great credit record of always paying on time. Instead, they saw I had an extra hundred dollars a month and said "Thank you I will take that". They raised my interest rate from 9% to over 25% and closed my account due to my credit report. I have never paid any bills late and I have a great credit rating. I am now forced to GIVE Chase $100 a month and my min payment stayed the same. I know those of you who don't carry a balance are not effected by this but if everyone stopped using chase cards and told them that the rate increase is not acceptable Chase would be forced to think about their shady business practices and make a change. Chase is like a Bully in the schoolyard pushing a little bit more everyday to se just how much is too much. If no one stands up to him he will keep on taking till he has rolled over everyone and your next. I am paying off this card and will never give Chase the time of day. I will not cancel my other cards due to the credit hit I will take for closing an account. If the government wants to help fix something they should try fixing the credit reporting practices that say if you close an account in good standing your credit rating drops. this is why Chase can get away with this. They know that you wouldn't close the account due to the fact that it would impact you negatively. We gave the credit card companies the power, now we need to take it back.

 

[princess sparkle p]

I just got the new offer from Chase for the $100 gift card and this has finally tempted me to apply. We already have a nice cash back program through our Discover card, so I was more interested in the discounts. Now after reading all these posts I am re-thinking this.

We use the Discover for just about everything and pay it in full EVERY month no matter what. We have great credit and never make late payments. I just checked my % rate for new purchases and its 20.24%!!!! When did that happen, I was not paying much attention sine I have not paid interest in the card in over 3 years. Just checked the last few statements and 2 months ago the percentage rate was 9.24, so where is the world did the enormous rate increase come from???!!!!

Just called them and they told me they went through “re-pricing in June” which raised everyone’s rates, but they could not explain why mine jumped to the 20.24%. They did lower it to the “same” rate everyone else has….12.99.

More credit craziness to come I am sure…

 

[m&m's mom]

I was always one of those "I pay my bill in full every month so I don't care what my rate is" until I messed up last month.
It was over a weekend and I was just careless and paid my bill 2 days late. I got a $39.00 late charge and about $60 in interest AND since I had not paid the next months bill (was not due for 3 weeks) I was STILL accruing interest even though I already paid! This makes no sense to me but although they did waive the late charge they would not waive the interest.
My own stupidity but I was hit w/ a big chunk on interest! Yes, I am more careful.

 

[mjkacmom]

Not only my Chase (with no balance), but our Citibank Visa, that has a balance (but I've never missed a payment), and I've had that one for almost 30 years! And we pay $25 a year for air miles (which you now need so many points for it's really a joke), and a guaranteed rate. As soon as I payed teh $25 yearly fee, it went from 6% to 15%!