Free Credit Score for American Express Card Members

Experian is offering AMEX customers free access to credit report and credit score(called PLUS score)

Last year my score was 797(click here) and this year its 801, not much of an improvement.

CITIBANK waives the annual fees for this year

I think Citi has noticed that enough of its card members have either quit or have threatened to quit and quietly, very quietly Citi has been issuing a membership fee waiver for this year!

Have to wonder how long this will last!!!

List Class Action Settlement - 9 month credit monioring/credit score - TU

I was able to login at www.settlement.transunion.com and get my complimentary 9 month credit monitoring/credit score from Transunion.


I checked my credit score and its 773 and am somewhat bummed since I was expecting it to be in the 800s but nevertheless, I'll be posting any significant changes to my score in the next 9 months..

Update - CitiCards

Called Customer Service and they said they can't change the terms. Asked to speak with a Supervisor and she basically told me "we cannot change the terms" and said the decision is in my court and I can either pay up the annual fees or just close my account.

Am leaning towards closing the account esp,. since the Supervisor told me they don't care about the longevity of the account or how reliable the customer has been, its about MONEY.

CITIBANK - $60 Annual Fees

Citibank sent me a one page letter alluding to the fact that they need to make money and they will be charging me $60 annual fees going forward.

However, since I have been a loyal customer since 12+ yrs they will refund the annual fee if I charge atleast $2400 during the year.

What The Hell!

What should I do? close the card or suck it up and pay?
If am paying annual fees, I would rather get an airline card!!!

Bank of America® Accelerated Rewards® American Express® Card

Bank of America knows how to walk the fine line between being ethical and also having mis-leading or confusing rewards program.

The ad says: " You want a Card to earn 1.25 points for every $1 in net retail purchases with flexibility to pay in full or over time"

The consumer thinks - 1.25 points for $1 that means 1.25% return for every $1 spent.

This is the Points to Cash conversion table:

 Lets convert the points to actual % return when you redeem for cash.

As you see from the calculation, you will have to spend atleast $20,000 in a calendar year to get 1% cash back.

You are better off getting a straight 1% cash back credit card!!!

Citi cards maybe compromised

I received the following online notification. Check your online account to see if there are any fraudulent charges.

0% balance transfer offers

I received 0% balance transfer offers from Citi and Discover.
Lately, credit card companies have been ramping up these enticing(NOT) offers.

Both of them charge 5% for 12 month transfer..so, if you chose to transfer 10K you'll be paying $500 upfront..yikes!

Buyer Beware!!!

1.99% Balance Transfer Offer for 12 months - $75 capped fee

I called my credit card company couple times this week.

First, I spoke with the Customer Rep who offered me 1.99% rate good for 15 months with 3% transfer fee. I thanked the person and hung up.

Second,(after 10 min) spoke to a balance transfer specialist who offered the same but after telling this person am keen on doing a transfer and the 3% fee is a hindrance offered to cap the fee at $300. I thanked the person and hung up.

Third time is a charm. Spoke to another Customer Rep who played the same song but this time around she seemed eager to help me and transferred me to a balance transfer specialist who again played the same song but told him am looking to transfer x$ and can the credit card company offer me anything enticing..after going back and forth I was offered a 1.99% rate good for 12 months with a $75 capped fee.

This will go straight towards the mortgage payment next month and then the exciting part begins with trying to pay off this card in the next 11 months.
This will immediately bring down the balance on the mortgage but all extra payments would go towards the credit card and hence the mortgage balance would slowly decrease.

I believe the $75 fee is worth it since I would be saving much more than that with the mortgage interest am paying right now.

Free Credit Score for American Express Card Members

I took advantage of the offer from AMEX. I signed up for the 30 day complimentary credit score and report and you don't have to do anything at the end of the 30 day period. the offer simply expires...

My credit score is 797.



What factors raise your PLUS Score:
# You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report.

# You have a good cushion of available credit between your current balance and your credit limits on all open trades. This has a positive affect on your credit score. This cushion shows lenders that you are unlikely to overextend yourself financially.

# The total balance on all your credit cards is relatively low compared to your total available credit limit. This has a positive impact on your credit score.

# Your average credit limit for your major credit cards, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard, is high. This tells lenders that you have enough financial experience, and they will be more likely to see you as a good credit risk.

What factors lower your PLUS Score:
# Credit scores are calculated based on various factors in your credit report. Currently, your credit report does not show any significant negative or derogatory information.

Chase raising my minimum payment from 2% to 5%

Chase notified me that my minimum monthly payments would jump from 2% to 5% of current balance, effective August 2009.

Its a good thing that Chase wants me to pay off the credit card sooner but its just bad timing especially when am laid off and having to look for employment and trying to conserve my savings.

On A Good Note: The person I've lent the money is still on schedule to pay off the Credit Loan in the next few months.

Walmart Sucks( at certain locations)

It did for me tonight.

Discover card offers Cash back while you make purchases at Warehouses(like Sam's club) and Discount retailers(like Wal-Mart).
I called Discover and got some information before I dashed off to the local Wal-Mart store.
1. Discover has a $400 limit for Cash back on purchases within a 24 hr period.
2. Discover also told me Wal-Mart may have their own policy on the maximum Cash back allowed(different than NO Cash back)

I wanted to make three small purchases one at a time so I can take advantage of Cash back and get some money but the Cashier refused: Said she cannot allow 3 separate purchases for the same customer. I asked her what's stopping me from shopping now and then coming back 2 more times say within the next hour or so. she looked like she didnt care and directed me to talk to Customer Service.

I spoke to an associate at the Customer Service who said Wal-Mart's security team would not allow 3 separate purchases for Cash back. I asked her to let me talk to the security team and she looked at me with a blank stare. One of the associates listening in on the conversation said, she does this(Cash back purchases) all the time upto the Cash back limit. Made me think am I being discriminated here? WTF?

Anyway, after arguing for a good 20 min...Showing the associate my Discover card and my Driver's License and other ID, she said its(transaction) a security risk. I was like WTF. The customer is standing in front of you and brandishing all relevant IDs and you can't even reason.

Everyday, I find more and more reasons NOT to shop at Wal-Mart.

Update: 05/28/2009: I checked out some other Walmart stores and the cashier's were more knowledgeable and willing to help!

CitiBank raises default APR to 29.99%

I received "Important Account Information" notification from Citibank and I have the screenshot of the notification.

Bank of America raises transaction fees

Am bummed. Couple of my credit cards are from Bank of America and now BofA has raised transaction fees to 4% of the transfer amount.

A balance transfer of $10K will cost you $400 in transaction fees.
A balance transfer of $20K will cost you $800 in transaction fees.
A balance transfer of $30K will cost you $1200 in transaction fees.

This should put an end to consumer binge spending.

Check out the 'Special Rules for Credit Card Purchases' ...eye-opener for me!

Amex slightly changes their rewards program

I just noticed that American Express lowered one of the tier of their Cash back program. Please read the NOTICE at the end.

Rebate percentages for each Rebate Year are as follows: For the first $6,500 of Eligible Purchases (as defined below), the rebate percentage is 1% for Everyday Purchases (as defined below) and 0.5% for all other Eligible Purchases.

For Eligible Purchases of $6,500.01 or more, the rebate percentage is 5% for Everyday Purchases and 1.5% for all other Eligible Purchases.
"Everyday Purchases" are Eligible Purchases made at U.S. supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores, in each case that are not departments of superstores or warehouse clubs.

"Eligible Purchases" are charges to your account for goods or services that have not been returned or otherwise credited to your account.

Eligible Purchases do not include Finance Charges, fees, Cash Advances or other means of accessing your account, convenience checks, Balance Transfers, or the purchase of American Express® Travelers Cheques and American Express® Gift Cheques or other cash equivalents.

Additional terms and conditions apply.

NOTICE: Changes to the Rebate go into effect June 1, 2009 - The definition of Everyday Purchases will be updated to include Eligible Purchases made at the following categories of U.S. merchants that are not departments of superstores or warehouse clubs: supermarkets, drug stores, and automobile gasoline stations (for purchases of automobile gasoline only, except that any purchase in excess of $400 at an automobile gasoline station will not qualify as an Everyday Purchase).

In addition, after the first $6500 of purchases made annually on the Card, the rebate percentage of 1.5% will be reduced to 1.25%.

Discover - Special Purchase Offer

Am not keen on using Credit Cards as short term loan providers but having said that, I have taken advantage of 0% APR balance transfer offers and occasionally low balance transfer offers provided they have low or zero transfer fees.

Recently, I logged into my account and noticed DISCOVER is offering me a balance transfer @1.99% ( Fee of $150.00 for each balance transfer.) or a Special Purchase Rate Offer of 1.9% good for 6 months. If you don't like paying transaction fee for balance transfers then this maybe an alternative option to consider. As always read FAQs and the very minute fine print..

Questions & Answers About this Special Purchase Offer

Q: What is my special purchase rate?
A: You will receive a special purchase Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 1.9%. This special rate will only apply for new purchases, not old purchases and balances.

Q: How long does my account have this special APR?
A: Your special rate of 1.9% will be applied to all new purchases made from 4/7/2009 - 10/31/2009 if you make any purchase between 4/7/2009 and 5/31/2009. This rate will apply until the last day of your billing period ending November 2009.

Q: How do you apply my payments?
A: We apply payments to balances with low special APRs, like this one, before balances with standard APRs so, if you have existing balances or make additional transactions that have standard APRs, your savings under this offer will be reduced.

Q: Is this rate for all of my Discover Card charges? Balance transfers? Cash advances?
A: The special low APR is only applied to new purchases made from 4/7/2009 - 10/31/2009. This special rate does not apply to balance transfers or cash advances.

Q: Is there any reason why I would not qualify for this special rate?
A: If your account already has a special purchase rate or is closed or delinquent, you will not receive this special rate.

Chase raised my purchase APR from 7.99 to 12.24

Chase recently sent me a notice explaining that they are raising my purchase APR from 7.99% to 12.24% and the only way I can retain the 7.99% is if I close the account(Hello, If I close the account, then I cannot purchase anything and so the purchase APR can be infinite or zero)

1. I have been an outstanding customer of Chase for several years.
2. Never a single payment delayed.
3. Always paid my balances in full
4. Currently, carry a balance with a low APR.

March 2009 statement screenshot:


Feb 2009 statement screenshot:

Credit Card 0% offer

I have told you how I took advantage of the 0% offer from my credit card company and charged my vacation.
I have reviewed all the fine print and its due in Jan 2009, does not say if its due beginning of the day when the Jan 2009 statement will be generated or on the closing date(due date) of the Feb 2009 statement which will be sometime in Jan 2009.
Anyway, I'll be paying extra every pay period going forward and get this debt cleared before the end of this year

Credit Card Debt

Several years ago(think late 90s), I was caught up in the stock market mania and did what I consider is bizarre now...borrowed money from my credit cards(at a very low rate) and invested in the stock market in a margin brokerage account.

My thinking was - I borrow money at low rate(< 5%) and invest in stocks(that may go up as high as 50-100%) in relatively short period of time and then pay off the credit cards with the profits and re-invest the profits back into stock market and never go back to credit cards to borrow another dime...ever... BUT as karma had other things planned for me, the Dot Com bubble brought the stock market down and I was hit with margin recalls and in a panic, I borrowed more and more and finally took a big loss..
It took me about 5 years to totally pay off my credit cards and now am credit card debt free and whatever purchases are made is paid off at the end of the month...

Lessons #1: Never borrow from your credit cards to invest in the stock market....