Consumers may feel new credit card squeeze

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8489720/

Don’t be surprised if the minimum payment on your credit card suddenly goes up.

Under pressure from federal regulators, credit card issuers are raising the minimum payments consumers must make on their monthly bills. In the long run, it’s good for consumers because it means they’ll pay down their balances faster, so they’ll pay less in interest. But in the short run, consumers already struggling to keep up with minimum payments on several cards could feel squeezed.

“It’s a little like a diet,” said Greg McBride, a financial analyst with Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Fla. “To get to that long-term benefit, you have to go through that short-term pain.”

The changes being phased in this year are the result of a directive issued by federal banking regulators, including the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in 2003.

[Triana]

1. I HATE credit cards...

...and the companies (generally) who provide them. I TRY to pay off the damned balance EVERY MONTH. I hate having any balance on them. I hate paying interest.

I'd highly recommend everyone trying to do the same. I realize everyone can't but paying them off and keeping them paid off keeps you safe from the sharks who issue and manage them and keeps more of your money in YOUR account and not theirs.

[joneschick]

2. going through

my recently deceased brother's bills I found a Cap One statment charging 32.42% unfuckingbelievalbe.

[Birthmark]

4. 32.42%

Such interest rates used to be the province of organized crime in America. Now, it's just good ol' capitalism. And these bastards want to talk to the left about morality?! Yeah. Sure.

I got rid of the last of my credit cards about two years ago. It's amazing how easy it is to live without them. Simplifies hell outta monthly bills, too.

[Massacure]

3. My parents use credit cards to pay the bills, and that only.

It's a nice little way to get all the perks from the credit card companies and they have to pay the bills anyways.

[high density]

5. Good for the consumers? Hah, no, it's to increase fee revenue for the bank

Banks love non-interest revenue like late fees, with the added bonus of course that your interest rate will probably skyrocket when you miss a payment. I'm sure that people skipping payments will become a more common occurrence across their customer base if they increase the required minimum payment.

[Ian David]

6. Oh, yes. Tough Love from the credit card industry

RiiiIIiIiiiiight...

[Zorra]

7. Having a credit card supports fascism. They are evil and cause

enormous amounts of stress and suffering for lots of people. They are unnecessary, a bank card can be used for almost anything that a credit card can. We really need to put the credit card companies out of business.

If you have credit cards please pay them off, and then cut them up - not necessarily in that order.

[mom cat]

11. I finally cured myself of Plastic Addiction. Withdrawal was painful, but

now I feel liberated, and a lot less vulnerable.

[Zorra]

13. Yay! Good for you, and good for everyone else too.

:hi:

[AndyTiedye]

14. Good Luck Getting a Car or a Hotel Room Without One

and paying cash for airline tickets is likely to get you "special" treatment.

Since the travel industry is so hooked on plastic that they actually
punish consumers for NOT using it, let them eat plastic and pay
the merchant fees. I'll pay it off at the end of the month and
take the frequent flyer miles or the rebate.

There are advantages to the consumer in using a credit card. One has
an extra level of protection against malfeasance by a merchant. This
is guaranteed by Federal law (amazingly, they haven't repealed that one yet).
One loses that protection using other forms of payment. It would be
best if we could always do business with establishments that are 100%
honest and trustworthy, but none of us are so fortunate.

I suppose if I felt more animosity towards the credit card companies
I'd use the card to satisfy the hotel/rental agency that my credit is
OK (a debit card generally will NOT work for that, even if it has a
MasterCard or Visa logo on it), but pay them with a debit card at the end.

One could also take advantage of those "0%" offers they send out
periodically, if the transaction fees don't make them unatrractive,
and be sure to make every payment on time and pay the whole thing
off at the end of the promotion.

Once I bought something on a credit card, and later returned it.
I accidentally gave them my debit card instead of my credit card
to process the return. This caused the money to appear instantly
in my checking account. (Of course, I still had to pay the credit
card bill when it came due, but it was free money until then).

[Zorra]

19. IMO, credit cards cause so much suffering to so many

people that it is better not to use them simply as a humanitarian action.

Credit cards turn too many people into sad stressed out slaves and indentured servants, destroying their lives and happiness.

I have seen college kids and young working folks get their lives virtually ruined by accepting credit card offers from unscrupulous credit card companies. Those companies know within a few percentage points the statistics of the number of people that will not be able to handle a credit card responsibly. And they know that some people will live on the edge. They count on it, and when these people miss a payment they jack the interest sky high and the kids (and many adults) end up going into life crushing debt for years.

Credit card companies are like child molestors that offer children candy to go with them, and then they rape them.

They really are not good for the ongoing liberty of our country.

If a hotel will not accept my cash, they do not get my business. I have never had a credit card and have lived very well without them.

I have decided that I will do my best to never do anything that may cause me to lose my liberty, or cause others to lose their liberty, for minor conveniences.

[hippywife]

17. We don't have them anymore

and even gave up our debit cards the last, and I think third, time one of the processing companies got hacked. We're done with the whole mess.
It is a little inconvenient to make sure one always has enough cash on hand but so far it's working out just fine.

[deacon]

8. It correlates with bankrupcy laws going into effect in October

it's allllllll about the consolidation of wealth.

[FlemingsGhost]

9. Suckers! And the hurt is just beginning

Don't forget, America ... you created this mess.

[DonMeyer]

10. Hooray for the Feds!

I think increasing the minimum is a good thing. And now they need to cut the maximun interest rate to 10%

[expatriot]

12. My wife and have never carried a balance on a credit card.

We use our one credit card for everything and pay it off every month. We stick to a tight budget. I can't understand the rationale for carrying a balance on a credit card except for emergency situations (in which case, having credit is essential).

[GetTheRightVote]

15. Mine has doubled lately but trying to get off them right now,

I can not wait for the day that they are history.

:kick:

[Maine-ah]

you can call your cc company

and ask them to drop the rate on your cards. I have a family member who worked for a cc company call center, and they told me most of the time, they'll drop the rate. Even if it's just a little bit, it can help. I had one that jumped to 29.9% because of a late payment. I called them and they cut the interest to 15%, granted that was not my original rate, but I wasn't going to complain at that point.

Oh, and if the person on the phone won't help you ALWAYS ask for their supervisor, they'll almost always over-ride the person you originally talked to.

[Maine-ah]

16. you can call your cc company

and ask them to drop the rate on your cards. I have a family member who worked for a cc company call center, and they told me most of the time, they'll drop the rate. Even if it's just a little bit, it can help. I had one that jumped to 29.9% because of a late payment. I called them and they cut the interest to 15%, granted that was not my original rate, but I wasn't going to complain at that point.

Oh, and if the person on the phone won't help you ALWAYS ask for their supervisor, they'll almost always over-ride the person you originally talked to.

[Gman]

18. How conveniently right after the bankruptcy bill is passed

These two are NOT unrelated.

[Endangered Specie]

20. Checks and cash only for me...

If we need paper trails for voting, we sure as hell need them for spending.