My longest open credit card, American Express (17 years old) , which has never had a late payment, just raised my interest rate by about 5 points. Their justification for doing so? Based on my "FICO score". Which is weird, since I probably have a FICO score that is in the 98-99th percentile, having 100% perfect credit since I turned 18 with not even a single late payment ever, or any accounts in dispute. Every time someone runs my credit, they say they are amazed its that high, and they have never seen a credit score that high. So my exceptional credit and tens of thousands of dollars in purchases every year gets me a 5% rate increase.

Now to be fair, I have never paid interest to AMEX ever as I pay the full amount due every month, so the rate hike doesn't really affect me, but it sure leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I think I heard some chatter that they are pissing off a lot of people lately. How about you?

FUCK you AMEX!!

If you never carry a balance, why do you care? If it annoys you that much, why not just cancel the card?

That's strange to me also that they would raise your rates due to a high fico score.

Wouldn't they be basing how they treat you based on their actual history? And if you haven't been paying them any interest, increasing your rates isn't going to help that one bit.

I don't even know what my cc interest rate is - never paid a penny of interest in 30 years.

I pay my AmEx balance every month, so never noticed what the interest rate is. After bouts with various Visa and MC accounts, I put everything I buy on credit on AmEx. Their customer service has been outstanding including a couple of times my card was used w/o authorization.

My last experience with AMEX was not too stellar. It was twelve years ago but it was enough to make me cancel my card(s).

Too long of a story to get into but they admitted the mistake. Two billing cycles later my interest rate was at 29.5% even though they made the mistake initially. When I called to question this, I was given the reason it was because I was delinquent three months previous even though they made the error in changing my billing address to one that we lived at almost three years previous (card application stated previous address if at present less than five years) after the first monthly billing which was addressed correctly.

After that call, I cancelled both AMEX cards. And requested, actually demanded that they remove my name from all future solicitations.

You and I are “deadbeats.”

“Deadbeat is a slang term for a credit card user who pays off his or her balance in full and on time every month, thus avoiding the need to pay off interest that would have accrued on their accounts. A deadbeat, also called a “nonrevolver” or a “transactor,” gets this derogatory name by being a potentially less profitable customer for a credit card company than a revolver, or someone who carries a balance from month to month.”
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadbeat.asp

We still make money for the credit card company. That’s because the merchant pays about 3% on each transaction. My guess, though I can’t find and facts, is that raising your rate is part of a company wide act.
http://www.moneycone.com/how-to-be-a-deadbeat/

If you are sufficiently annoyed, cancel it.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic: If it annoys you that much, why not just cancel the card?

Closing your longest open account can negatively affect your credit rating. I'll keep this one open.

Are you planning on buying any big ticket items requiring financing anytime soon? If not, I wouldn't worry about your credit score going down. Your credit rating will still be good.

Call them and tell them you want to cancel your account unless they can give you a better interest rate. It just may work. It has worked for me before.

I dumped Amex earlier this year. I had upgraded to Platinum because I thought the benefits would be worth the ridiculous fee.

I was wrong. I had an issue with a flight I booked through Amex Travel and paid for with my Amex card.

Amex did nothing for me, merely suggested I call the airline. So much for their “concierge” service. I didn’t just drop the Platinum card, I dropped Amex.

This should affect you as much as the new trend in skirt hemlines will affect my wardrobe.

Why even notice, let alone care?

With a fake name I once requested info when AMEX was offering no commission internet stock purchase way back when the internet was just starting up. It was the only time I ever utilized that fake name. Only caveat was just deposit $50,000 cash. They wanted my real phone number so I gave it. I decided not to go with AMEX as I had a Brown and Co account I loved with trades a flat rate $10 and they also had great (free) company reports and full interest on any parked cash. Almost 20 years later I still get junk phone calls for the fake name person. American Express, those fucking fucks, sold my info and I got AND STILL GET 20 YEARS LATER, all kinds of telemarketing action off that single request for info. I will never do business with Amex ever. Nothing. I hate AMEX with a passion to this day.

Probably nothing but it might be a good time to look over your credit report at
www.annualcreditreport.com
just to be sure.

Many banks have recently raised their interest rates. My Am Ex interest rate went up also.

^^THIS^^
The fucking corporations got a 15% tax cut with new laws but because the interest rates went up ever so slightly, all 3 of my credit cards jacked my interest rates up.

Credit card interest rates, like bank loan interest rates, are tied to the Fed. When the Fed raises interest rates, BOOM, so do lending institutions.

It's not just you.

My wife and I pay our credit cards in full at the end of the month. We also have a great credit score.
A couple of month ago my wife notices one of our credit cards increased the interest rate on the card. Since we do not carry a balance it was no big deal.
The next month she saw it was the interest rate on cash advances not the monthly interest rate.
Still no big deal as we do not do cash advances.

I love this . Every time a thread about credit cards get's started , everyone talks about how they pay off their balances every month . This goes right along with everyone that doesn't own a TV ...