Closed two credit card accounts and couldn't get a lower rate.

[sarcasmo]

In this economy you would think I could get a lower rate, but closing my two credit cards today it is obvious how they make their money. Asking about lowering my interest rate they said it wasn't possible but they could raise my credit, imagine, they could raise my credit. No more credit cards for me, EVER.

[coffeenap]

1. Can you join a credit union? They have very fair rates and

don't play games with time. Best wishes.

[sarcasmo]

3. I just don't want any more credit. If I can't pay cash, I don't need it.

[Cleita]

8. I lived by that mantra for about five years but found out I couldn't

even rent a car without a credit card. It was at a time when it was crucial for me. I even offered the car rental companies cash that would cover the price of the car to hold until I returned the car and they wouldn't do it. I had to use a relative's credit card to do this. It was very humiliating having to beg her. So I eventually got a charge card at a department store who would have me and built my credit back up from there. You need to keep one or two cards active. The trick is not to charge more than you are going to pay off the following month.

[sarcasmo]

10. I am going to see how long I can live by the cash only system.

It's not about paying the money, it's about paying the interest and they won't lower the rate but will raise my limit? No Thanks, no more credit for me.

[Cleita]

13. If you pay your balance off every month, you won't pay interest if you

have a card that charges interest only on the balance carried over to the next month.

[sarcasmo]

14. Why don't you just use your Debit card?

[Cleita]

25. I do but it does nothing for your credit rating that a credit card does.

It's no different than paying cash. Since my last post to you, I thought of this. If you have a mortgage and a car loan that could do the trick for you. But if you rent and have your car paid off, like I do, it only takes five years for you to have a blank credit rating. Trust me I went through it and the system practically forces you to have one. If you want to travel, no one in the airport or hotel you go to want to see cash.

[sarcasmo]

41. We have a newer car and a mortgage, and I see no need to pay the loan shark.

[Dorian Gray]

47. I have both

I pay my credit card off every month, though after Christmas it usually takes me two months to pay it off. (Lots of expenses this time of year.) I have reasonable rates (9.9%), but I maintain the credit card for the points that I receive.

[HereSince1628]

19. I'm not sure about renting a car, but I've used a debit card for 5 years

and although there is now a fee game with them, I never had a problem doing anything with the debit card.

I've bought airline tickets, used ATM's overseas, etc.

The only thing that I have found is that being outside the credit/debt cycle makes house insurance and car insurance more expensive in Wisconsin. The insurance companies have found "actuarial justificiation" that is accepted by the insurance commission for this jacking of their rates based on so-called "credit worthiness."

[Cleita]

26. That's interesting. When I went through my credit free years we didn't

have debit cards, so credit cards were all that we had that were acceptable. I think even today car rental companies won't take a debit card, but I haven't rented a car for about seven years, so that may have changed.

[Kali]

28. there are a few that will do it but you have to leave a rather large deposit

another plus for renting with a real credit card is being able to decline the "optional" insurance. With a debit card you have to take it.

[SE_Ohio_Dem]

2. Consider the potential impact on your credit rating before closing these

As I understand it, one of the factors in determining your credit score is age of your cc accounts. Old accounts, that have a good history of payment boost your score. When they're closed, you lose their positive impact on your score. Better option might just be to cut the cards up if you don't want to use them but don't cancel the account (assuming that you've got a positive history of payments).

Just a thought. Have a great day.

[sarcasmo]

4. I will never borrow again, so a credit rating means nothing to me.

[NNN0LHI]

15. A poor credit rating isn't just about getting a loan

A poor credit rating means you pay more for car insurance or can make the difference whether you get a job or not. I know it sounds weird but that is the way it works.

Don

[sarcasmo]

16. More things that are wrong with this country. I know credit is tied into insurance, but that has

extortion written all over it.

[wizstars]

27. If you apply for a job, a LOT of companies will check your credit report

If you apply to rent an apartment, a lot of them will check your credit history. If you buy car insurance or homeowner's/renter's insurance, the insurance company will check your credit history. The point I'm making is that, rightly or wrongly, your credit rating affects more than your ability to borrow money. My suggestion would be to keep your accounts open, just don't use them more than necessary to keep them active, and when you do use them, pay the d@#n things off in full when you get the bill. That can almost be a form of revenge against them, because they won't be making any money off of you, but they're still incurring the cost of you being a customer.

[Cleita]

45. I find that really intrusive and there was a time our labor laws would

have forbidden that kind of nosing in an applicants personal finances as a requirement for being hired. The renting is more understandable because your ability to pay is part of the business. However, it has nothing to do with a persons ability to do a job.

[K Gardner]

6. That's correct. Closing an acct will actually lower your FICO score because

it lowers your available credit and removes good history. Its all a scam, but if you think you'll ever need credit for anything, best to know how to game the system.

[MadHound]

21. Nope, not true,

I've never had a credit card in my life, and my credit rating is excellent. You don't need credit cards to boost your score.

[DonEBrook]

24. How do you get a good credit rating if you never had any?

That doesn't make any sense..

[MadHound]

32. Credit ratings are based on many things

Student loans, car loans, mortgages, etc. etc. Hell, even the bills you pay go into your credit score. I got started by taking out a small loan to buy a moped in the early eighties, paid that off promptly, and haven't had a problem since. Of course not really believing in carrying a huge credit load, the only real major debt that I've had was my mortgage. Never had a student loan, credit card debt, and only one home equity loan(a very modest one).

You don't need credit cards, and your life is much better without them.

[DonEBrook]

35. Oh, you borrowed money and paid it back. Just like with a credit card!

:D

How is it any different?...you still paid interest. I mean why do you think credit cards are bad but other kinds of credit are okay...the only difference being there isn't a piece of plastic involved...
Anyway -my- life wouldn't be 'better' without them, it wouldn't exist. My job requires me to pull out a card pretty much daily. :-)

[MadHound]

43. If you're comparing a loan, with a fixed rate, with a credit card

You really don't know that much about finance do you:shrug:

Yes, I paid interest, far less interest on a loan as opposed to a credit card.

Instead of pulling out a credit card, why not pull out a debit card instead:shrug:

I find it amazing that twenty five years ago, credit cards were rare, and people in all walks of life got along just fine without them. But now suddenly their indispensable:eyes: Yet people whine and moan how they're getting screwed by credit card companies, yet just keep coming back for more. Talk about enabling an abusive relationship.

[DonEBrook]

49. Hey, I'm not the one whining here...

There are plenty of variable rate loans around in case you haven't noticed them as one of the big causes of the housing mess. I use a debit card for many purchases but rarely for those over a thousand bucks which I do several times a month...however I pay off my CC balances every month. It gives me a little cushion time-wise to move money around. I know a tiny bit about finance. :-)

[MadHound]

52. Hey, neither am I

At the time, I got a fixed rate loan, for under a thousand dollars, with a low rate, much lower than a credit card. Yes, I understand the notion of " a little cushion time-wise to move money around." I've also seen people get burned by that notion:shrug: But hey, if it works for you, great. Just don't whine when your rates or fees go up, or you credit line goes down, or you get caught in one of the thousand credit card traps.

You may know a tiny bit about finance, but the emphasis must be on the "tiny" part, since you're saying that a fixed rate loan is essentially the same thing as a credit card:shrug:

[DonEBrook]

55. Perhaps you are under the impression that a bank can arbitrarily raise the interest rate on

an -existing- balance? Hint: they cannot and do not.

[Kali]

30. details, please?

I'm interested in your method.

[MadHound]

44. My method for what?

Getting a good credit score or living my life without credit cards?

[Kali]

50. both, but you pretty much answered above

what about travel?

[MadHound]

53. What about travel?

I use either debit card, cash or check. ATM's are plentiful and painless to use. Again, I've had no problems.

[Kali]

31. dupe

strange error message there

[K Gardner]

54. You're both right ! But the post you responded to was speaking of the impact

of closing a credit acct once you've opened it. That does negatively impact a score.

However, if you're smart and never had a "credit card or revolving line of credit", like you, you're in especially good shape, and smart to boot :-)

[gollygee]

38. My husband and I have a great credit rating and no credit cards

We've paid off cars and that kind of thing. We just use a debit card. Credit card companies are deceitful and predatory. I don't see how getting involved with them will help me.

[Cleita]

5. Congress needs to bring back usury laws.

It used to be back when I first got a credit card that the top interest rate they could charge was 18% and even then the top rate was only applied to high risks. People with good credit ratings got much less interest charged not only for credit cards, but car loans, and mortgages.

[Bill219]

7. My wife and I have a Bank of America credit card

We have about half of it paid off and have not used it in over a year

We just got a letter saying that after they reviewed our account that they are closing our account for non-use

We thought it was a mistake, called the bank and they confirmed that they closed the account

[sarcasmo]

12. They didn't make any money off of your card for that year so they closed the card.

No use means no interest, which for the credit card companies means no money.

[MiniMe]

9. Closing credit lines doesn't help your credit

[sarcasmo]

11. I don't want Credit. It is all part of the servitude cycle. Go to work to pay your credit.

[MiniMe]

22. Yes, but interest rates are based on your credit rating

At least partly. All I was saying is that closing credit card accounts does not help your credit rating.

[nini]

34. How very noble of you

Let's hope you don't ever have a situation where you need credit in an emergency. Not because you don't have the money in the bank but something like this:

It's Sunday morning and there's an emergency situation that costs $1000 - no banks are open, the amount is beyond what you can get out of an ATM etc.. The use of a credit card to hold you over until you can access your savings is in order. Having a credit card to do what you have to do saves many headaches.

Having no balance on credits cards is wise - having no access in emergency situations is irresponsible.

However, revel in your glory of not being a victim of 'the man' if it makes you feel better.

[sarcasmo]

37. Irresponsible? To not have Emergency credit?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Did You Have A Fair Rate To Begin With?

If so, then why should they lower it?

[sarcasmo]

18. The rate was 28 percent and they wouldn't lower it, so why would I keep it open.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. Oh Ok, So You Had A Late Payment Or Something And Got The Default Rate. That Sucks.

Yeah, that's definitely excessive. I always found the default rates to be a bit over the top.

[DonEBrook]

23. I wonder if they're not crapping in their own messkits when they hike up the rates that much...

makes it that much harder for people to pay let alone catch up. :shrug:

[wizstars]

33. no, overall, they make the money when they raise rates, because...

...it takes people longer to pay off a bill when they don't pay the full balance. The finance charges keep pilng up, and they rake it in later, if not sooner.

[DonEBrook]

39. Yes, if the customer doesn't just quit paying altogether...or files for bankruptcy.

:shrug:

[sarcasmo]

29. No late payments, it was my first card after my Divorce years ago.

[DonEBrook]

48. So is it one or two? Your first post said 2.

...
anyway 28% is about as high as any that exists and is in the area charged for bad payers or bankruptcy. It's well over twice the rate on any of mine. :shrug:
Weird, huh...

[wizstars]

36. Well, you keeping it open costs them $$ if you don't use it often

and don't accrue finance charges (ie pay bill in full when you get it).

[Kali]

40. you still have to pay it off even after closing it

or is that what you did? if you don't have a balance and pay it off every month your interest rate doesn't really matter.

[sarcasmo]

42. I know I still have to pay it off after it's closed, it was just closed and shredded today.

[Kali]

51. then you are still paying the high interest

I would have kept my options open and just not used the card anymore unless there was some kind of real emergency.

[librechik]

46. I was told that paying off and closing an account is a negative on your credit rating

I quit cutting them up after that--still don't use them, tho