Comments on: Cash Back Credit Cards

By: mary

mary — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:02:05 +0000

i have had a chase bp credit card that gives 5 o/o cash back on gas or deisel and 1 o/o on all other purchases and have been fairly happy with it untill lately….i had a credit limit of $23,000.00 because somtimes i make big purchases on my card to get the cash back and pay the bill each month in full when it comes…..i have never been late …..i received a letter today stating they were lowering my credit limit to $10,000.00 and if i have made any purchases above this new amount i had 45 days to pay the bill in full or i would be charged an over-the-limit charge each month until i got it under this new amount !!!!!!!…..of course they were soooooo sorry if this would cause me any incovenience….this is really not a problem for me buttttt what about all the people out there whom they are doing this to that do not have the means to pay it off in 45 days ??? just another way for the credit card companies to get more fees out of people and do it the so called “legal way”……. do you think these people have nothing better to do then think of new ways to milk the public, is it possible that one of them might pop awake at night with a brilliant new idea on how to screw us again….do these people even think like the average person?????????? well that’s all folks

By: shineon

shineon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:13:23 +0000

I was only getting 3%. However, they were very adamant no one was getting their old rebates going forward. All Freedom cards were to be under the same rebate structure (with a slight improvement for Chase checking customers). I also had a checking account, so up to now I had been immune to the rebate reduction. I am now using PenFed credit card, and a high yield checking account with a credit union yielding 5%. If the rate holds up I will end up exceeding the return from reward cards. Times are changing, you have to be flexible and adapt.

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:02:58 +0000

For those of you, like me, who had a Chase 5% back on gas, groceries, and pharmacies, did you receive a letter informing you that the 5% was being eliminated? I never received a letter, but Chase reps are telling me that I should have because it came with the option of keeping my 5% rewards. According to them, since I didn’t respond to that supposed letter, they graciously transferred me to a Sapphire account. If you did receive that Chase letter, did it offer you the option of keeping your 5%? I’d feel better knowing it didn’t rather than blaming the Post Office for losing an important piece of mail.

By: shineon

shineon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:50:45 +0000

One last comment on Chase. A couple days after the 3% rebate program ended, for some reason I received the 3% brochure in the mail! Today! As I had cancelled the cards last week, I called Chase to find out why. I also noticed my online account was still up and continued indicating 3% rebates. While on the phone, the Chase employee cut me off, as if I had no idea what I was talking about. He provided no explanation why Chase sent me the brochure. And while he had me on the phone, he clearly cancelled my 3%. When I refreshed the page, poof my rewards had vanished. For a second there I was about to reactive my card. Glad I came to my senses… Off to greener pastures….

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:56:38 +0000

I can’t believe chase doesn’t tell you they put a $12 cap on cash back. Maybe that’s why they came up with the Chase Sapphire Credit Card right away that doesn’t have cap on points and you can use points to pay.

Get more info here:
http://www.cardz.com/Compare_Credit_Cards/Points

By: shineon

shineon — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:46:56 +0000

I see the complaining continues. People’s real issue is they are using what should be short term borrowing, and turning it into a long term liability. This is an unsecured borrowing. Ask yourself, what rate would a stranger need to pay you as an individual to reward you for that unsecured risk? I personally feel 20 to 30% is justified. If you feel that is unfair and you are “entitled” to something lower, then take out a personal loan from a bank in lieu of putting the amount on a credit card. This is not 1950. Banks have no loyalty to customers, and you have no loyalty to them. Find the terms that best suit your needs, and if those terms change, look for something better. As Chase ends 3% rebates at the end of the month, today I cashed in my rewards, closed them out, and headed for greener pastures. BofA is the issuer of the Fidelity and Schwab 2% cards, and I am washing my hands of all the “too big to fail” taxpayer subsidized banks. I am going with PenFed credit card, and a high reward checking account with another credit union which pays 4-5% interest.

By: andy t

andy t — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:09:34 +0000

CITIBANK is far the worst and crookedest credit card, not to mention the bank, they suck, buncha thieves if you ask me, they will not reverse a $39 charge due to their own mistake, they tell you how much to spend and how tospend it,, they would not let me buy a $1200 stereo system because the limit for purchases was $1000, nor they would give a cash advance because their limit was $500 TOTAL not daily out of a $5000 credit line I had, every time they manage to find a way to charge extra fees…just think if they charge $39 to only 2 million out of 61 million customers they have, it is 80Milliona day, it is almost 30billiona year they steal from us…they don’t need to workanymore, yet they manage to lose money every year!. They should just close their doors and live off the money they steal and they would be better off than they are now, what a buncha loser thieves!!!!!!!!!!
if I didn;t know better I would think they were LIBERALS, they gotta be liberals to suck so hard!

By: Leon

Leon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:47:03 +0000

It sounds like everyone got burned at least once. Personally i’m never getting an Amex in my life again. They hit me with 29% interest that added up to $1,490 per month for being late 1 day. They did not wanted to reverse it even though i said i’d stop paying it and i did. Chase so far so good. My AT&T universal – BEST card ever! had it for 16 years

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:11:54 +0000

Gosh another ex Chase customer. I have had two chase cards and I ended up closing both of them. I paid my balance every month via mail. Once the payment was returned to me as undeliverable to their mailbox address! and of course the $40 late fee and interest on the balance would not be reversed. I quit using the card. Up until a year ago they sent me a new replacement card. I never activated the card but put it in my wallet. I used it in the grocery store by mistake. To my amazement the charge went through. I got a bill for $13 and change. I immediately paid it by mail, because didn’t want to even bother setting up billpay. This time I got a letter from US mail with nice picture of my check that my payment was destroyed because it was again undeliverable. Again $40 fee was slapped on. I was so angry that I closed the card asap. I’ve had three credit cards and never had any trouble like this for the last 20 years. So when my Providian Visa converted to Chase, I immediately closed that card too. Now I’m only holding a BoA mastercard.

By: T.S.

T.S. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:22:06 +0000

I AM SENDING OUT A WARNING: DO NOT USE CHASE – IF YOU HAVE THEM, LEAVE THEM. I was a very happy WaMu cc customer. Please note: I was a perfect customer – paid early, paid more than the minimum due…had a 5% interest rate. Chase took over and my interest rate jumped to 26%…? huh? I did nothing wrong. For no reason. THEN, I get a letter that they CLOSED my account…again, for no reason. In the meantime, I’m in the middle of buying a home and Chase is screwing with my credit when I’ve been a flawless cc holder. Lastly? I paid off the entire balance. Next thing I know? I get a statement with finance charges after I already paid my balance in FULL. I called them up – spoke to a supervisor – explained my overall experience — they could care less! They have ROBOTS that work at Chase. They wouldn’t reverse the finance charge, I asked to speak to someone higher and was told to write a letter. I threw up my hands and paid it today and it better finally be over!!! I do not trust Chase Bank – and neither should you!!!!

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:07:01 +0000

I HATE Chase. My wife and I opened a joint savings account there when we got married to put all our wedding gifts into. We slowly withdrew from that account to pay off credit card bills from the wedding and other bills as they came along. About a year and a half later I get a statement in the mail. I open it up and look at it and for the past 3 months they’ve been charging me money to have them hold my money in a savings account. Conveniently, it was the only statement I had gotten mailed to me in 4 months. I went to the bank to find out why I was being charged and why I wasn’t notified that I would be. They told me it was a high yield savings account and we didn’t have the 10,000 minimum balance. When we opened the account, they never told us anything about a minimum balance and the manager who opened the account for us was no longer working for them. They wouldn’t reverse the charges. I immediately closed the account and went across the street and opened up one at WAMU… guess what? now I’m with Chase again.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:09:20 +0000

I agree with Holly. Chase sucks ass. I was a loyal customer that paid my card off every month. I was 2 days late and they refused to waive the fee. Stay away from them.

By: mark

mark — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:28:30 +0000

Chase Freedom Visa is revamping it’s rewards program as of Oct. 26 2009-
All purchases will translate into “points” not dollars.
The intentionally complicated & misleading conversion to cash is the equivalent of 1% of purchases.
Also $250 bonus on $200 in earned rewards will be eliminated.
There is no longer much incentive to using this card after October 2009.
AMEX/FIDELITY Rewards Card is a flat 2% with no fancy math or limitations.
When $50 is earned it automatically posts to your Fidelity Brokerage account.
Good simple deal with no limitations or caps.
Discover & Chase bonus/rewards used to be the best.
Unfortunately, no longer true.

By: Evey

Evey — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:36:46 +0000

Is Shane the only one who thinks this credit entitlement is a little crazy? It’s hard to believe, but only a small percentage of the world population has access to an ongoing loan, which clearly, most think should be scott free, if not provide extra perks. What would we all do if we had to live on just what we made, with no incentives?

I was going to give another survey of one, but I think these comments have proved to me that I have no right to complain. Plus there’s misinformation floating through this thread (banks do not collect the entirety of the merchant fee, certainly nothing near 5% after Visa and MasterCard take nearly half of 2-3%). If you don’t want to play by their rules regarding late payments and amendable terms, all you have to do is stay away. I don’t think it would be a terrible thing for the country if all this “free” credit did disappear, and this is coming from someone who at one point in her life fully utilized $40k in credit lines.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:14:44 +0000

Here’s a Chase story for you. I have been a Chase customer for 40 (yes, forty) years. First credit card I ever had. Always pay online, in full, on time, every month and I spend a lot with them. Last month, tried to pay the day before due and their payment website stated it was down until the next day (making my payment late, of course). They refused to reverse the late charge. Said it was “policy”. Closing accounts just hurts your credit rating, but I’ll avoid using this one anymore.

By: Don in CA

Don in CA — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:40:07 +0000

I should’ve read this posts. I know I am not the only one who hates XXXX Chase. Currently I am looking for the other Credit card companies and Banks (Wamu became Chase). Personally, I recommend HSBC and US Bank are more reasonable and customer friendly. I try to go to Bank of America tomorrow for checking account ($100 cash offer). Chase, they don’t listen and even try to teach the customers. I’ve been the member for 14 years. Being the customer is nothing to them. I decide I cancel all my Chase Credit cards and Bank accounts. let me know if anybody knows the better financial services. Thanx.

Don

By: Gregg

Gregg — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:58:20 +0000

I did not take the time to read all the responses but I thought you should know I got notification the Discover 5% up to 100 per month is changing in Feb to 2% up to $250 per month, so I’m bailing on discover for the HESS 3% and Wawa 4% cards.

By: Milton W

Milton W — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:17:53 +0000

I got notices in the mail yesterday that 2 of my Chase cards are increasing the interest rates on balances… 19.99 on one and 22.99 on the other. These are joint cards with my college kids (both), and while I pay off each month, I feel treated like a class B customer…. They want to run me off… fine, I’ll go elsewhere. Customer service said closing the account was my only option and had no other offers for me.

By: Aamir Siddiqi

Aamir Siddiqi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:16:22 +0000

Chase, has the worst service, I was literally one day late and they would not reverse the fees, alluding to some governmental pressure, I cancelled the card and will also change my local banking to a bank more loyal to its customers.

By: shineon

shineon — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:14:25 +0000

Chase is finally going after freedom card holders with a chase checking account. To date we have been immune to rebate reductions. Looks like the free ride is over. Checking / freedom will now get 1% plus 10% extra bonus (I presume this means one generates 1.1%). Plus, 10 bonus points for each purchase. If you are willing to make $5 purchases or less, you will still net 3%.

As I tend to spend about $5 when I get a quick lunch at work, I will devote Chase toward those purchases. Discover gives 5% on gas. I refuse to deal with Bank of America, so that counts out the Fidelity and Schwab cards which are issued by BofA.

Either recession or cc reform, they keep changing the rules, and keeping us on our toes. At least people like us try to remain proactive.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:47:57 +0000

The best credit card I have used is the Citi premierpass-elite level, Citi offers an intial 20k pts after $600 in purchases, when redeemed those pts equal approx. $200 in value. But the best thing is when the card is used to purchase an airline ticket you earn 1 pt for each mile of that flight, even if you purchase the ticket for someone else. I recently flew round trip to chile from LAX which is just under 12K miles so they gave me 12K pts, it equivalent to getting over a $100 rebate. I have used cap one, wamu/chase, and amex and this deal beats them all I highly recommend anyone who is looking for a switch check out the Citi offer

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:26:45 +0000

i had 2 chase reward cards that gave me 5% back at grocery stores and drug stores and gas stations. last month they sent me notices that they are reducing the reward to 1%!!. But they made it sound like they were making it better. They excell at making a terrible promotion sound great. They also left me hanging with about 2200 points on each card. At 1% it would take me about a year to get 5000 points for the $50.00. I called and asked if they could combine the points onto 1 card but of course they said no. So now i use the Discover gas card and my rewards checking card (i have 2 accts) in the supermarkets and the hell with Chase,Ive been with them for 15 years, but now im thru. All they had to do was combine the points, but they would rather lose a customer. I also tell everyone to use rewards checking at small banks. Who needs chase anyway??

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:06:43 +0000

For Chase Freedom, they have done away with the 3% cashback on top 3 categories. That was a definite perk to using that card. I’ll be switching to another card now.

By: VR

VR — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:51:51 +0000

As many others have said on this forum, do not go with Chase. They are greedy morons and will charge you even if you are one day late. Could not imagine a worse experience, they will get theirs in due time, you can’t treat people like garbage

By: shineon

shineon — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:02:40 +0000

My word, are the prior two posters that naive? I am beginning to believe the average American does feel entitled.

You were late, what favoritism do you expect? You want the best of both worlds, high rebates and a lenient policy. It is an either or proposition, you don’t get both.

Last post, because you don’t understand what skipping a payment means, is not the fault of Chase. Skipping a payment, does not mean you also get to skip interest. Live and learn, next time you will read the fine print.

Personally, I am glad people are this foolish, as they subsidize those who deal with the world the way it is, not the way they want it to be…

I have no loyalty to Chase, and expect none from them. To date, I still accrue 3%, and check every statement to be sure this is the case. The day my rewards are reduced, I close it. No emotional tantrum, no hard feelings. It is a business decision from both party’s perspective. I am here checking to find what else is available should that occur.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:42:27 +0000

Beware Chase Freedom… very sneaky.
I found this site because I’m looking for a new VISA reward card. The one I’m canceling is Chase Freedom. After 2 years of paying my balance in full each month, I got an offer in May that said there was “No Minimum Payment Due”. I called to make sure there was no mistake. I was told I was receiving this offer because I was “one of their best customers”. The rep made it seem like I was getting a “bonus month”. So I happily didn’t make a payment, but paid my balance in full again the following month. Then I received a $34 finance charge, because finance charges still accrue. I explained to a supervisor that the offer was misleading. I got no sympathy and she basically told me that she gets a lot of calls like mine. Beware Chase Freedom, they’ll use sneaky tactics to burn good customers with finance charges.

By: Tahna

Tahna — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:06:11 +0000

Chase screwed me too! I have spent many thousands of dollars through their credit card and the one time my payment was late they refused to waive the late fee. Absolutely horrible customer service.

By: Jereme

Jereme — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:56:56 +0000

I don’t know why this credit card isn’t on here yet.

Citi Forward credit card. These are the reward details:
6,000 ThankYou® Points after you make $50 in purchases within the first 3 months
5,000 ThankYou® Points when you sign up for Paperless Statements within 3 months of account opening
100 ThankYou® Points each billing period when you pay on time and stay under your credit line
5 ThankYou Points for every $1 spent on purchases at restaurants (including fast food), bookstores, record stores, movie theatres and video rental stores, up to 75,000 points per year
1 ThankYou Point for every $1 spent on all other purchases

Here is the link: https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/cardDetail.do?screenID=960&origincontentId=CC_TY_REWARDS&CONTENT_TYPE=card_category_detail

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:42:16 +0000

Phil, that Schwab card sounds great. Assuming it’s cheap to open a dummy Schwab brokerage account (smile)… I’ll be checking into that.

Brendon, gas at “up to” 5% does not necessarily sound interesting… does it also have, like, 1% on other purchases? Even so, I suspect I’d like 1.5% back on *everything* with my Bank of America Rewards Platinum Plus, or maybe 2% with Schwab, rather than “up to 5%” on one small category and 1% on the rest. Dunno, I’d have to do the math. It’s really sweet to get a reduction on almost everything.

There’s only one notable thing I can’t put on my card: My mortgage. I know, that’s dangerous, but god willing and the creek don’t rise (knock on wood), we pay our one and only c.c. bill in full automatically each month and have plenty left over. (This leftover is going into an 8 months’ income savings account per Suze Orman’s recommendations.)

Does anybody know a way to get their mortgage on their card?

Sorry to hear about the Chase troubles, friends! Sounds like a bum deal.

If at all possible, folks, please state the full name of the credit card, for good ones, to make it easy to find. Like “Bank of America Rewards Platinum Plus” card. Some places offer a dizzy array of cards.

By: John

John — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:21:16 +0000

Chase really is bad news. Another “always pay on time and in full” customer here. When I got my new charge plate a couple of months ago, I called in to activate it. The agent asked if I’d like to set any particular due date. I asked for the first of the month, figuring how easy it would be to remember.

The next bill comes, and I don’t bother opening it until the 29th. Surprise! The due date is the 28th. Therefore, the payment is one day late (although two days before the first of the month). I call Chase immediately to let them know the payment is one day late because the new due date is not what I had been promised. The agent tells me to wait until the next bill.

I wasn’t so surprised to open up the bill and find $100 in fees and charges. I call Chase, and the agent kindly reverses the charges for me, the valued cardholder.

The NEXT statement comes, and there’s another $20 in finance charges from the SAME incident. I call Chase again. This time, no mercy. I tell the agent, hey, this is from the same bad communication about my due date, and the same one-day late payment. Still, no mercy. I tell the agent, hey, I’m outta here if Chase doesn’t value my business at more than $20 over what is their (probably deliberate) miscommunication about my due date.

And that’s the end of my relationship with Chase. There’s a reason Chase keeps surfacing here, and it has to do with deception. BTW, my preferred card is Amex. Always first class service, and they never charge a fee or FC’s as long as the payment reaches them before they print the next statement.

By: Nirpal

Nirpal — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:33:40 +0000

I am also one of the chase customer who paid two times $39 late fees for only being late for few seconds that’s only due to different time zone.
But it seems all the banks are same..

By: Brendon

Brendon — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:18:41 +0000

Discover is the best card to have by far. No annual fee. You can get up to 5% cashback bonus on gas up to $1200 worth a year. (You have to convert your card to a gas rebate card. You can convert it to the type of card that gives you the most cashback on the types of things you purchase most. Also the payment each month is simple once you have everything set up to use the automatic payments either over the phone or online. And did I mention its FREE. No 9.95 or 14.95 fees to make a payment online or over the phone. It is by far the best credit card out there

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:35:44 +0000

I strongly recommend the Charles Schwab credit card. 2% cash back on all purchases, plus there are no international fees tacked on when you use it overseas. You do have to have a schwab account to get it though.

By: abfisch

abfisch — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:01:55 +0000

Chase has just sent me a letter, deleting the direct cash back rewards, making the deal complicated and less attractive. They are done.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:30:25 +0000

I have a Bank of America Rewards Platinum Plus card that pays 1.50% for everything, period (although strictly speaking, it’s 1.25% each month, and then another 0.25% for everything in the previous year, as of the annual “birth day” for the card).

I don’t know about all you guys, but I looked for a card that couldn’t play any tricks in terms of what counted and what didn’t, toward higher-percent rewards. I’m sure a few of you have a great handle on your budget so you could work out the math well, and know that it’s perhaps more important to have 3% toward gas and 1.0% toward the rest, than 1.5% for everything – but I don’t have such a good handle, so I chose this route.

I’ve had the card almost a year and it’s been working fine. I pay in full via automatic monthly withdrawal against an account (not a BoA account).

One tiny drawback is that when you cash in your Rewards, they send it as a check. To me, that’s an annoyance… why not pay it electronically into my credit card or some other designated account? They are obviously hoping some folks will lose the check and they don’t have to pay. Because otherwise it’s cheaper for them to do it electronically. But of course, most other credit cards cut their Rewards asa check, too.