Credit card rant

[Mousefield]

Why not keep the Chase card and just get another one from another issuer? If the card you have costs you nothing to use, it will likely cost you nothing to keep and not use? I've got a couple of cards from Chase and a couple from other banks - I've not had any problems yet.

Good luck and take care.

I used to have cards from a couple of banks, I didn't use them for over 2 years and they cancelled them. Would have to reapply to get new ones, well I didn't bother. I only have one card and use it a lot and pay it off every month. Wife has one card that she uses occasionally; this is to keep her credit score in good standing.

 

[Bird]

I used to have cards from a couple of banks, I didn't use them for over 2 years and they cancelled them. Would have to reapply to get new ones, well I didn't bother. I only have one card and use it a lot and pay it off every month. Wife has one card that she uses occasionally; this is to keep her credit score in good standing.

My experience has been just the opposite. I had a Citibank card for 20 years; used it a great deal for several years, but then not at all for 5 years or so, used it once just to see if it still worked, and it did. Then a year or so later, I called them to cancel it simply because I had no use for it. They didn't want to cancel it. In fact, I had to get a bit mad and adamant with them before they'd agree to cancel it. But canceling that old card actually caused my credit rating (FICO score) to go down.:laughing: However, I ran a credit check with one of the 3 companies yesterday, and without a single late payment on anything ever, and in spite of canceling that card, they showed my lowered FICO score to be 895 (on a scale of 501-990).:laughing:

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

 

[CBW1999]

That's how they trap you. The world of credit is entirely its own game and under their control. In the fine print now you will likely find provisions to to bump up your interest if you make a late telephone or electricity payment.

Even worse, The insurance industry uses your credit score as part of determining what you pay. Somehow they think this is reasonable. Those who are the most responsible in using their money tend to get the shaft. Believe it or not, your credit score improves if you maintain a 30 percent balance used of your total limit. All geared toward maintaining interest charges.

All a big game- and when it all goes down the tubes- who gets the bailout?

 

[JDgreen227]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

Your situation with that dealer is not unusual, it seems weird that those like you who have smart money skills and avoid paying interest as much as possible are given the shaft when it comes to situations as you describe. Look at me, no mortgage, no car payments, steady income, use only one or two credit cards and never carry a balance and have an impeccable credit record going back 35 plus years, yet Chase feels I may be a liability and wants me to call them whenever I have an over $500 charge to put on my card. You should NOT feel embarassed because you are a smart money manager with common sense. It has always seemed bass-ackwards to me that people who pay on a dozen credit cards at one time are considered more responsible than those who have one or two cards or none at all.

 

[not2old]

Everything I own is paid for and has been for several years, the last thing I bought was a Chevrolet Tahoe for my wife, paid cash for it just because I didn't want any monthly payments, long story short I wanted a new zero turn mower and the Gravely dealer was running a 0% interest special so my wife said why not let your money earn interest and use their money, so I said that sounds smart, long story short I go to the dealer and fill out the credit application and in a few minutes he tells me they won't let me have the 0% because I basically have no credit. I was suprised and rather embarassed as a guy I work with just bought one and got the 0% and he owes everybody and their brother, vehicle, home mortgage, multiple credit cards etc, etc. I feel like I have been penalized for being responsible and handling my business, this has been an eye opener for me. I did leave with the mower though.

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

 

[Pixguy]

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

Not so fast...

When I bought the wife a new Honda with cash in '10 they were actually diappointed that I didn't use any finance as they get a cut of that too.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Well the rest of the story is that I asked him to find out how long I had to pay on it to establish some credit he got with me and said that the company said 1 year so I gave him half of the money in cash and financed the remainder for 1 year, hope it establishes me some credit, the funny thing is I have never bounced a check and when I used to have monthly bills I always paid on time and my light bill and phone bill come right out of my checking account, I guess I have just been flying under the radar to long. No matter what happens if this doesn't work I'll just be a cash payer once again and if I don't have the cash for it I'll just have to assume that I don't need it.

 

[Bird]

This is when you bargain with them for a lower price for cash. Always works for me.

That used to work, and may still work in some cases, but as Pixguy said, the dealer gets a part of the financing, if he is the one who arranges the financing. I know of one instance in which an RV salesman had a buyer intending to pay cash, but he gave the buyer a little better price if the buyer would let the dealership finance the RV and just give his word that he wouldn't pay off the loan for at least 6 months.

 

[Bird]

Believe it or not, your credit score improves if you maintain a 30 percent balance used of your total limit.

I sure don't want to get anywhere even close to that 30%:laughing: but I pay credit cards in full each month, and don't owe anything except a mortgage. So last year when I bought a new Toro ZTR with a 3 year warranty, and they were offering 3 year financing at 1.99% interest . . ., well, I'm making payments of $80 a month.:laughing: But I would not have done that if I hadn't had enough money in the bank to pay it off at any time. How much does it help my credit rating? I don't know, but I know it sure can't hurt it.