Closed My Disney Visa

[Luv2Scrap]

I closed a bunch about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, keeping only a few open and paying them off every month - actually, I often make payments on them several times a month. Surprisingly, it RAISED my credit score, by a lot! Now my credit score is higher than DH's for the first time ever!

 

[dalt01]

I closed a bunch about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, keeping only a few open and paying them off every month - actually, I often make payments on them several times a month. Surprisingly, it RAISED my credit score, by a lot! Now my credit score is higher than DH's for the first time ever!

exactly, because you have 100% available credit. your credit utilization is good so it raises your score.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

closed a stack of them after I paid them off earlier this year. fixin' to close all but 1 beginning of next year.

Juniper tried to up our rate on our USAir card after they skipped a pay by date (no payment or notice in Sept) and then sent 2 bills in the month of October. One due 10/4 and one due 10/31. Then did it again in November.
They went from 13.24% to 30%. DH opted out and closed the account.
We never had these problems when the card was with Bank Of America.

 

[SanFranciscan]

The cheapest way to pay for anything is with cash and not with a credit card promising discounts. Credit is not money, never was, never will be. I no longer have credit cards and rarely use my debit card other than to get cash. Anything bought with a bank card, any kind of bank card, will get your shopping habits in databases where this information is sold over and over and over for more and more and more solicitation. If you want to cut down on junk mail and telemarketing calls, paying cash will protect your privacy better than any "Do Not Call" list or request to be taken off of mailing lists.

If you are worried about "identity theft," paying cash is a great way to stay below the radar because the individuals charged by the State couldn't care less about your heritage, which is your real identity. They want to steal money, which belongs to the banks or the store and not you. That is why it is taken seriously and prosecuted. That is why you must prove your innocence and still live under a cloud of suspicion.

As far as companies are concerned, credit is a way to increase prices without increasing wages. I am so proud of those of you who won't play their game anymore.

 

[ICF]

The cheapest way to pay for anything is with cash and not with a credit card promising discounts.

Will cash give me rewards for using it like American Express does?

I have no fee CC's, pay on time, don't carry any balances...yet charge upwards of $3K a month of various CCs.

I haven't paid for a hotel stay in years and probably gotten nearly $1K in disney rewards dollars to spend.

So tell me, why it would have been better if I used cash?!?!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

The cheapest way to pay for anything is with cash and not with a credit card promising discounts. Credit is not money, never was, never will be. I no longer have credit cards and rarely use my debit card other than to get cash. Anything bought with a bank card, any kind of bank card, will get your shopping habits in databases where this information is sold over and over and over for more and more and more solicitation. If you want to cut down on junk mail and telemarketing calls, paying cash will protect your privacy better than any "Do Not Call" list or request to be taken off of mailing lists.

Credit cards, in my husbands line of work, are a necessary evil since he has to travel, 6 days a week every week. I'm not floating that kind of money until I get reimbursed by his company. This week alone cost over $6000 between airfare, hotel, the conference, food and rental car. We have 3 cards that he uses for work and one corporate card because we have been stuck between payment due dates and an expense turnaround.

ICF, us too. We never pay for hotels or rental cars between AMEX and points. Drove to Kansas and back for 2 weeks and paid for 1 hotel. We've also stayed at the Hilton at DTD Christmas week and flew the 6 of us for free using points and miles on the AMEX and USAir (before the switch to Juniper).

 

[gollal]

Thx guys - great feedback here! If you have a Chase Disney card & they changed their terms with you too, please post. I'm trying to see how many people were recently impacted & if Disney Parks are even aware of this situation.

 

[eliza61]

I think the terms that these banks are imposing, at this time when so many people are having financial difficulties, is immoral. If people are already having a difficult time paying their bills, how will raising their minimum payments help the situation? It will just send more people into bankruptcy. Don't start with the argument that they should not have run up the bills in the first place. I don't believe it is always that cut and dried. Every situation is different and I appreciate that, there for the grace of God, it could be any of us.

I realize that my little personal protest will make very little difference to Chase or anyone else, but it makes me feel better. Shame on these banks for worshiping the almighty buck.

Ditto.
For me it's simply a matter of horrible treatment. I abide by the terms you set forth. I pay my bills on time and appropriately, I simply refuse to be penalized. I'm not buying that crap about "the business climate" has changed. My climate didn't change, I'm still following the rules.

I've switched over to my local credit union and I mean every thing. My mortgage, my car note and my sons student loan are all now with my local credit union.
I too realize that in the grand scheme of things it will not hurt Chase or Citibank but I can no longer support a system inspired by the mafia..

 

[charming23]

Don't worry too much about your credit score after closing cards. I closed 3 of mine about a year ago and my credit is actually a bit better now since I also paid off all but one at the same time (I had just used it to buy a new stove and dishwasher when our unexpectedly broke).

I am glad I closed the ones I did because my Aunt has the same one through chase and they raised her rate from 7% to 18% and lowered her limit to $500 instead of the $1000 she had on it originally.

I am done with credit card companies. I keep one I put gas on each month and then pay it off but I use cash now for everything.

 

[Feralpeg]

Personally, I think these banks are shooting themselves in the foot. Many people will close their accounts due to the change in terms. Raising the rates on people who owe a lot of money will only cause these people to default. In the long run, I can't see them coming out ahead.

For me, it isn't about whether or not I carry a balance (I don't). It is about companies using their power to make insane profits when so many in the country are hurting. I had a Sears card and a JC Pennys card. I had them both for over 30 years. I cancelled both of them. They have no loyalty to me, so I see no need to be loyal to them. From now on, I will have one credit card to use for those few places where I cannot use my debit card and it won't be a Chase card.

I understand that some people use reward cards to rack up points. To me, that is way too much trouble. I can live without it.

 

[pixiewings71]

DBF has a Chase card, not the Disney Visa but still Chase, it started as a WaMu because that's who he banked with. So far he has not recieved notice that they are raising his interest rates, nor has his Wells Fargo card, only Discover has raised his rate and that isn't even up very high. He has excellent credit but we do carry balances so it makes no sense to me. My Disney Visa rate hasn't increased either, but my Chase card that was a Pro/WaMu card first had the rate jacked to 30% and then they CLOSED it on me with NO notice......

 

[Teacher03]

I received the notice of my rising interest rate and closed my Disney visa the same day. That was about a week and a half ago and I have received three invitations to apply for a new Disney visa...how about just keeping me at the rate I was at?!!! I am determined to stop using credit cards altogether and just go with cash.

 

[N.Bailey]

This should be required viewing in every American school, IMO. I'm not saying that watching this will change the circumstances for anyone in this thread, but it sure does help explain how we got where we are today.

Maxed Out
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Maxed_Out/70058892?trkid=438403

It's pathetic really. I am certainly for personal accountability, but these companies play the game so well that IMO, they're more responsible for the situation than the people who get lured in to all these promises even if they should know they can't afford ________ (fill in the blank). If the employees in these institutions are incapable of ascertaining who can or can't afford _____ (fill in the blank), then they are definitely in the wrong business and should seek employment elsewhere. This documentary goes on to show that they actually seek out people they know can't meet these obligations, because that's essentially where their profit originates.

Because of their reckless behaviors, many who played no part in this are now left footing the bill and it's not fair. Of course, no one ever told us life was fair, huh?

 

[Planogirl]

Be careful when you close accounts. Some people close all of them and have no mortgage or car loan and they end up with a report where nothing is open. That could certainly affect your credit score.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Will cash give me rewards for using it like American Express does?

I have no fee CC's, pay on time, don't carry any balances...yet charge upwards of $3K a month of various CCs.

I haven't paid for a hotel stay in years and probably gotten nearly $1K in disney rewards dollars to spend.

So tell me, why it would have been better if I used cash?!?!

Banking is retail sales. The banks are simply selling money on their terms. The "rewards" are like having a sale in a clothing store. A very savvy man was frustrated with his wife who was buying a dress from my co-worker. He said "If she saw that dress for $75, she wouldn't want it. Because it is 50% off at $75, she has got to have it." I stayed silent and gave him the uncomfortable smile that retail workers are notorious for when dealing with a customer who knows how the game is played and rigged. Of, course, 200-300% markups were the norm before we had our 50% markdowns.

Banks charge the stores for the privilege of accepting credit cards, which is why the stores typically have minimums that a customer must spend in order to use the card. I was amazed at how fast customers would slap down a credit card for something that really was overpriced while hanging on to a cash bill so tightly that I practically had to wrestle it out of their hands. Cash-paying customers would count their change and question their total and act like they were being cheated when charged the correct price of things. Regular customers who sometimes paid with credit and sometimes with cash were always, always, always, more reluctant to spend when it meant parting with cash. Banks know this and want to give consumers as much incentive as possible to pay with plastic, both debit and credit.

Credit card companies consider customers who pay off their balance in full every month and never pay interest, late fees, etc. to be "deadbeats." Those "rewards" are intended to entice customers into overspending. Banks are lowering credit limits, changing due dates without notice, etc. and ultimately simply closing accounts on those they consider freeloaders in the rewards system. Credit cards were intended to be cash cows. Anyone refusing to be herded will find themselves falling out of favor with the banks. That is what is happening to the people complaining here. Do I understand why they are mad? Sure. Am I naive enough to think someone offering to issue me a credit card is doing it for my benefit? Oooooh, nooooo!

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

i am currently closing my cards also. they have lowered my balances also and changed my due dates. I also made a payment for November on one card but was also charged a late fee for the same month?? The payment was cashed on Nov 4...not due until 27th! HOW can it be late?????

 

[agnes!]

The banks have started charging a late fee for a couple of months *after* a payment was late. So you don't just have one late fee, you now have 3! Oh *goody*.

Maybe that's what happened in your case Disneycrazy!!! ?

agnes!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I don't even know what the interest rates on my cards are. I set all of them up to direct draft the full balance every month and don't worry about it. Life is so much simpler if you restrict yourself to only charging that which you can afford to pay off immediately.

 

[MsDisney23]

We have been closing ours as well, even thou we always carry a zero balance it comes down to principal. Poeple are going back to the old school.... cash and carry!

 

[georgina]

I'm with you Mark, in that I don't pay attention to the interest rate. I have gotten notices that most of my cards' rates have increased. But I can see why good customers are upset when they, or credit limits, are arbitrarily changed. And those who have automatic payments set up on a certain date finding their due date changed and suddenly their payment is late! I keep an eye on my charges, etc at least every other day. My limits have not been decreased yet, and I would be angry if they were.