Just got THAT letter from Citibank.

[jlima]

I have had a Citibank card since 1987, when I was in college. 22 year customer. Just got their "We are making changes to your account terms" letter. 29.99% as of Nov 30. And there's opt-out language all over the letter.

I hardly ever use this card anymore since I got the Disney Visa and one of the reasons I keep it, is because it's the card that's been opened the longest and that's supposed to look good on your credit report, right? But sheesh! 29.99%? Wow, just wow.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. When is the last time you pulled a credit report? If it has been a very long time, you might go to www.annualcreditreport.com (which is the official authorized free service by the government) and see if there are strrange things on your credit reports. (Note this is the only site where you can actually get the reports free without buying anything.) You can get a report each year from each of the three major credit reporting services.

2. You might call Citibank and ask them to provide a detailed explanation of why they are raising your rate.

3. If you have a zero balance it does not matter; you might want to use it once or twice a month for gas and pay it in full just to keep activity in it.

 

[Kate and Pete]

Pete and I just got the same letter. Fortunately, this is a card we pay off every month, so it doesn't really change anything for us...however, we have excellent credit - so we're a bit miffed as to why they'd do this!!!

 

[HeatherC]

We also just got this letter. We use the card every so often to just keep it active....we'll make a charge on it and then pay the balance.

Our credit is excellent and we have had Citibank for years so I'm a bit ticked off. I will be calling them, but doubt they'll do anything about it.

So...I think we'll just keep it open and just continue to use it for small $10 charges and pay it in full so I'm not paying the interest. Don't want to be closing any credit cards in todays economy because you never know when you might need it.

Great way for them to treat their good customers, huh.

 

[MsDisney23]

This is normal for many banks and companies like Wal-Mart, Best Buy etc. I also got the letter and have excellent credit with zero balance. Read the fine print, on some they are now going to a 23 day billing cycle.

 

[punkin]

I have been getting a whole slew of these letters lately. It doesn't really matter what their rates are since I never carry a balance but it is a little annoying. I am seriously considering canceling a whole bunch of them despite the hit on my credit report.

 

[Bren's Mom]

If you have good credit generally, and if you have a longstanding good relationship, no lates, etc. with the company that sent you the letter then CALL them! Be very nice, honey will get you more than vinegar. Tell them you're not happy with the raise in rates, you've been a good customer and you have seen better rates offered elsewhere. Tell them you'd like to talk to someone about this. Most likely they will transfer you to retention.

I can tell you I had good success when I got the letter from Citibank. My rate was 14.99 I think, and they were upping it to 19.99...after the phone call it was 7.99%.

 

[Mkaz]

We just received a letter from Exxon. They are raising the rate to 29.99%. We pay it off every month, so I guess this was their way of telling us we are deadbeats.

Credit card companies are grasping at straws at this point. I have a strong feeling that it is going to backfire on them.

 

[daileyad]

Has anyone gotten any notification from Citibank that they're going to start charging an annual fee? I get so much crap from them that I'm worried I may have thrown out change in terms. It's been in the news lately that Citibank is going to charge an annual fee if you don't make at least $2,400 in charges a year. That's the extent of what I know about it but would like to know what the real deal is and if it's on all their cards or not?

 

[pixiewings71]

I got the rate increase letter but nothing saying they are charging an annual fee. I'm really disappointed....I've had these cards for years, they have higher balances that I can't just pay off by Nov 30th......My rates are going from 14.99 to 29.99!!! I will try to call but I doubt it will make any difference, I will NEVER be able to pay them off with that rate increase.....

 

[Free4Life11]

I feel they are doing this so that people DO opt out. They just simply gave out WAY too much credit during past years and are trying to reign it all in. Unfortunately, they have all the leverage these days.

 

[dclfun]

Don't feel bad. I got a letter from Wells Fargo, where I have been a customer for 13 years, have excellent credit, and have never had a late payment. The letter even stated that the increase from 5.99% to 18.90% was not due to my credit or repayment history. Due to the upcoming changes in 2010 when CC companies will no longer legally be able to raise our rates, they're all scrambling to do so now. I did call customer service and was told that this is due to the economic environment ( which they helped create). I decided to take action and wrote to the following: my state's attorney general's office ( they have been successful with lawsuits against these companies). Address to find your state's office is www.naag.org. Then I wrote to both my Congressmen, then I filed a complaint at the Better Business Bureau, then I filed a complaint at with the Federal Trade Commission...www.ftc.com. FIGHT BACK! Make your voice heard. If we sit in silence and just take it, we'll never have any clout.---Kathy

 

[Derby4me]

Don't you have the right to opt out of these changes, close out your account and pay off your existing balance over a period of time under the current terms? Honestly, who cares that you are closing out a credit card with a rate of 29.99% anyways? You obviously wouldn't be charging any additional expenses that you can't pay off each month anyways? I would call the credit card company and see what your options are before it's to late. I could be a little off, but I do know that you have the right to opt out and pay off your credit card over a period of time. Good luck!!

 

[descovy]

Argh... I feel your pain...

We have a BofA card we have had since 1997. We don't carry a balance, but have our toll road tolls billed to it monthly and pay it off.

We wouldn't care if they raised the interest... but even worse, they want to have a $49 annual fee!

I may have done the "wrong" thing by cancelling my longest account with the highest limit ($14k) but I can't reconcille paying $49 a year just to "protect" my credit score...

 

[WDWTeri]

I got the rate increase letter but nothing saying they are charging an annual fee. I'm really disappointed....I've had these cards for years, they have higher balances that I can't just pay off by Nov 30th......My rates are going from 14.99 to 29.99!!! I will try to call but I doubt it will make any difference, I will NEVER be able to pay them off with that rate increase.....

If you own a home, you might look at a home equity loan. We have one at a 7.5% that we use to pay for major purchases we might not be able to pay off right away. Actually we charge it to our Southwest Airlines Reward card, then write a check off our HE loan. Gotta get the free tickets to get to Disney

An interest rate of 29.99 should be illegal.

 

[marie1203]

I got 3 of these types of letters the past week for my Amex, wellsfargo visa, and HSBC mastercard ugh. We don't have any balance in any of this cards but just like you be never have a late payment and have excellent credit. I will just keep doing what be do and put little things just to keep them going because it will look bad in our credit to close them all. Our disney visa is the only one that everything is the same.

 

[pixiewings71]

If you own a home, you might look at a home equity loan. We have one at a 7.5% that we use to pay for major purchases we might not be able to pay off right away. Actually we charge it to our Southwest Airlines Reward card, then write a check off our HE loan. Gotta get the free tickets to get to Disney

An interest rate of 29.99 should be illegal.

Unfortunately the house is not in my name, it's in DBF's name so I can't do that. Also, unfortunately, we lost a LOT of value in our home after crash (almost 50% of our value fell away) so we can't refi because we owe too much. Oh, we can't do a loan mod either, because we don't qualify......

Don't you have the right to opt out of these changes, close out your account and pay off your existing balance over a period of time under the current terms? Honestly, who cares that you are closing out a credit card with a rate of 29.99% anyways? You obviously wouldn't be charging any additional expenses that you can't pay off each month anyways? I would call the credit card company and see what your options are before it's to late. I could be a little off, but I do know that you have the right to opt out and pay off your credit card over a period of time. Good luck!!

Yes, but if I opt out and close the accounts that's going to make my credit score fall a lot. My citicards are the ones with the highest limits, not HUGE limits (nothing like DBFs cards) but enough that it would hurt my score not help it.

 

[Navywifebreezy]

I got the same letter yesterday on my business card. We too have excellent credit and pay it off every month. I will be opting out. I just hope and pray that they don't do it to our other citi card.

 

[luvmy3]

Has anyone gotten any notification from Citibank that they're going to start charging an annual fee? I get so much crap from them that I'm worried I may have thrown out change in terms. It's been in the news lately that Citibank is going to charge an annual fee if you don't make at least $2,400 in charges a year. That's the extent of what I know about it but would like to know what the real deal is and if it's on all their cards or not?

Well I guess the only thing I'll be using mine for is a Disney vacation every year then

 

[mommyto2]

Has anyone who has tried to call Citibank been successful in lowering their rate since they've received their increase letter? Is Citibank responding positively at all? I don't know what to do...it seems as if I'm in the minority on this board. Our Citibank card has a high balance and this letter is giving me sleepless nights. Any suggestions, rather than I should've known better?