A few weeks ago I finally came to terms with the fact that my interest rates, based on the universal default clause and thanks to a single late Sears card payment almost six years ago, were killing me. Even though I was able to pay more than than the minimum on both of my cards (the only two I carried at the time), the interest rates, both at 20% or more, were eating my payments alive with interest.
So I started looking into my options. I looked at debt settlement (no; I’m current; I pay my bills; settlement is a step away from bankruptcy, in my book, and defaulting on my word, and I won’t do that if I can avoid it), debt management (they wanted my AmEx, even though I didn’t want to enroll my AmEx – just pay it – how can you enroll in debt management when they want to take your livelihood?), a personal loan (took several days and came in, finally, at 8.99%), and I took a chance on my credit, enabling me to get two new cards at 0% interest for 12-16 months, with interest rates fixed thereafter at 6.99 and 9.99%.
In short, I was selling my loyalty to the highest (or lowest, depending on your point of view) bidder. Whoever gave me the best deal would win. Maude knows my current cards had no chance – my rates were so high because of universal default. Even though I’d always paid my Discover bill on time, and more than the minimum, Discover jacked my rate up to more than 30% when I was late – once – on my Sears card (for a purchase I didn’t even know my husband had made on that card). I called to get the interest rate reduced; Discover wouldn’t budge and didn’t care. MBNA followed shortly thereafter.
You know, if I’d been late on the cards that jacked me up, I’d've understood, and dealt with it, but I was current on those cards. I was late on a store card, whose balance I didn’t even know about originally, for a freaking $300 vacuum cleaner.
So. Credit cards suck.
In any case, after all of this 20-30% interest which pushed up my balances even though I was paying more than the minimum, my loyalty was for sale. Give me a card with a reasonable limit, for a reasonable rate, for a reasonable time, and you’ll have me. Chase gave me that – enough to transfer the ridiculous “universal default” MBNA charged me after the late payment on Sears, and more than that – 0% n purchases, too, with 1-6% back, depending on the nature of the purchase.
I know many people have many problems with Chase, but when my loyalty was for sale, they went out of their way to buy it, so once I’m purchasing on credit cards again (with every intention of paying it off monthly) , Chase will absolutely get my business.
Now, I get that, despite my ignorance, I was responsible for the payment to Sears. But since my husband was not an authorized user of my card, it would have been nice if they’d have at least called me before they charged the amount. I bet, like Dolores Claiborne, if it had been a woman trying to charge her husband’s account, that there would have been at least some sort of notification before the charge went through, and especially before they reported it as late.
But hey, I’m just a girl consumer. Beyond what card I’ll use to stuff another t-shirt in my drawer, what do I know?
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