credit cards -- is this happening to anyone else???

[bobbieinok]

I have gotten letters from the 2 cards I still have but DO NOT USE (and have not used for a year or more).

The letters offer me very low rates and higher limits.

What's up???? Does this mean many people are no longer using their credit cards, people are not signing up for new ones, and the companies are being driven to offer sweet-heart deals to those having cards but not using them??

If this is happening on any scale, it may be a sign that the anti-credit card movement that arose over the bankruptcy bill may be having a bigger effect than most of us ever anticipated.

[dogday]

1. They do that to try to get you

to use the cards and put some debt on those bad boys.. Raise your limit, lower your interest.. Tempting......

[Warpy]

2. Sucker bait

They're just trying to suck people who have been slow to sink themselves into massive, permanent debt into an offer that's too good to refuse.

Yes! You CAN have that plasma TV and mega surround sound system and real theater seats to put in front of it and that popcorn cart in the corner with NO INTEREST!

Yeah, right.

[LynneSin]

3. Don't over analyze

If you have card that's not being used, the company is trying to entice you to use theirs PLUS since you're not carrying massive balance perhaps you have a better credit rating than others.

This has been going on for years

[ticapnews]

4. American Express just raised my limit and enrolled me in a rewards program

Which surprised me, since the card was cancelled last October when I filed for bankruptcy...

[Hekate]

11. Ironically, you can't file for bankruptcy again for X years, which means

... they have you where they want you. (I can't remember the number of years -- 7?)

The system is evil -- tread very carefully.

Hekate

[ticapnews]

12. The point is, I no longer have the card...

it was canceled. By them. There is no account anymore.

Bankruptcy remains on credit for 7 years, but I don't know what the limit is on filing. Ask Donald Trump. He seems to file every few months...

[progressivebydesign]

5. I'm being innudated with credit card offers lately...

It's freakin' ridiculous. I have stacks of them all over, waiting to be shredded.. because you can't just throw them away. I receive, no lie, at least 10 offers a day for credit cards, new rates on old cards, equity loans, etc. I'm so sick of junk mail... I bring in stacks of it every day..

[ShortnFiery]

7. Me too ... my criss cross shredder is having to work over-time

getting rid of those smarmy offers. Especially Capitol One. What's up with them? :shrug:

[freexone]

6. SHRED THOSE LETTERS!

Don't use those cards if you don't need to. I work for a credit background company
and the longer you keep those cards clean, the better your rating is! Also, the more
active your account number the more likely it can be stolen. Always shred that stuff.

[idgiehkt]

8. wow, after reading all this I think they must be desperate.

all this going on..I am in some 'rewards' program too. I have no idea what it means though...I was just relieved it wasn't a gimmick to raise my interest rate. At least I don't think it was, lol.

[rman]

9. They really want you to accumulate debt; those are their most profitable

customers.

PBS Frontline: Secret history of the credit card
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/


Eight Things A Credit Card User Should Know
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/eight/
» Even if you make your credit card payments on time, the credit card bank can raise your interest rate automatically if you're late on payments elsewhere -- such as on another credit card or on a phone, car, or house payment -- or simply because the bank feels you have taken on too much debt.

This practice is called the "universal default" clause and increasingly is becoming a standard clause in credit card agreements. According to credit card executives, the logic behind universal default is that the bank is not being unreasonable in raising rates when it has reason to believe that the risk of being repaid by the customer has increased.

» Your credit score -- known as a FICO score -- has become a vital statistic for many Americans and can be widely shared. It is used to determine how much you can borrow, how much you pay for life insurance, if you can rent a home, and, as already noted, it can be a factor in determining the interest rate you pay on a credit card.

Most Americans don't know what their credit score is, nor how it's computed and with whom it's shared. Your credit score is usually determined by five factors, with the most important being the amount you currently owe and your payment history on large debts. (Find out much more about your credit score and how it's tracked, by reading: Credit Scores - What Your Should Know About Your Own.)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. I've been getting those posts for years

and throw them away.

[mike_c]

13. it's just to get you to use the cards....

Think about it from the bank's perspective-- you're a revenue source, period. If you're not using your credit cards, you're an unexploited revenue source, and some finance industry worker is responsible for getting the rain to fall from you again. Furthermore, once you're paying them, the fine print gives them considerable control over the nature of the revenue stream-- make a payment late or do any of a brazillian things that alter your credit score-- including things that have no clear impact on your credit history-- and they can jerk that low rate away in a heartbeat.

Never never never believe that credit cards are a service provided by banks. They are money machines designed to pump dollars from your possession to the bank's in the most efficient manner possible. They're like the old legend about vampires having to be invited in before they can attack-- you have to use the card-- but once you do, they have you where all the rules work to their advantage and your disadvantage.

Needless to say, I do not own or use credit cards. I call them usary cards, because that's what they are.

[justice1]

14. We were just scammed by HSBC.

After not having credit cards for a few years, and being inundated by offers, against my advice, my husband obtained one in May.

They automatically enrolled us in an auto service plan, that we had to opt out of. My husband has called them a few times trying to get out of it.

Today, we received a letter that said due to a possible error in the printing of your Cardmember Agreement, we are enclosing a new copy of your Cardmember Agreement to ensure all terms are accurately disclosed.

We went from a 0% introductory rate for six months, to 22.74% interest. The cash advance fee went up 50%.

They did cut one thing, the size of the print on the agreement, it's so tiny I started to get a headache reading it. I haven't even finished comparing the two agreements.