I hate my credit card company. It used to be Providian, but they were bought out by Chase Manhattan. I used to work for Chase and always vowed never to use their credit services. As you can imagine, I was rather displeased at this turn of events, and I’d really like to switch to another company or just cancel outright. However, I’ve always heard that it is good for your credit rating if you hold an account for many years… and this is my longest-running account, about 7 years now.
I almost have my balance paid off – maybe 1-2 more months and I’ll be clear. I just hate Chase Manhattan. Is there any way I can kick them to the curb without it hurting my credit rating?
I do have another credit card (paid off) that I use rarely. I’ve probably had that one about 3-4 years. It’s with People’s Bank, and they don’t bug me with stupid phone calls, bogus add-ons and other assorted hassles that Chase does.
Why bother. Pay off the Chase card and cut it up. My credit card company keep offering me more credit because I don’t owe them anything, so Chase won’t care.
Nope, Don’t trust them. I’m sure I’d see periodic $25 charges for services I must have assented to because I didn’t answer their 40,000 phone cals (to my cell phone) asking if I wanted them.
I would just go ahead and transfer your Chase card to your other card. I don’t think a difference of 2-3 years is going to make a difference. I’ve transferred balances several times to cards that offer better incentives and never had a problem with my credit - I think they are looking for people who keep transferring balances to avoid paying.
Is Chase really that bad? I have a card with them and never had a problem - in fact they have been very good about keeping my interest rate low and even removed a late charge I got due to an issue with my bank without any hassle. You’re starting to scare me.
I kinda liked them too. I used to have Shell card (though Citi I think) that offerd 5% off gas at any shell station. For some reason they must have dumped off a bunch of their customers because all of a sudden I got a new CC in the mail from chase (I tried re-applying for a Shell card but was denied). Anyways The new card gave me 3% off at ANY gas station (gas or anything else I buy there) and 1% off on all other purchases. Well at the beginning of Feb, they chaged it to 6% off at all gas stations and 1% everywhere else. I think that’s pretty nice! If I spend $20 filling up I get a $1.20 back. Not Bad, and definitly something they didn’t have to do.
Ohhh, you wanna hear bad?
Capital One sent me a letter about a credit card that I’ve had stashed away, with a zero balance on it. I just kept it in case someday I might need it. It also had no annual fees. Anyway, they send me a letter that says
“We’ve made a business decision to make changes to a segment of our portfolio, for accounts with a credit limit equal to or greater than 240.00 and without a membership fee, we are making the following changes”
*Effective March 10 you will be accessed 4.00 monthly
*The annual percentage rate will increase to 25.9%
“We want to assure you that we did not base these changes on your account history or behavior.”
Whaaaat??
Talk about shysters. Since I knew that I had a zero balance, its a good thing I read their stupid letter. I instantly called and cancelled their card and cut it up.
The idea that changing cards “hurts your credit rating” is three things mushed together: 1) a holdover from the 1960s when consumer credit was a new idea and lenders were spooked by anything less that pristine perfection, 2) an urban legend, 3) a legitimate point IF you have had a couple of dozen cards opened and closed again within a few months.