Rate increase on BoA RCCL Visa card (merged)

[sweet angel]

Yes, I received the same notice. It doesn't affect me since I never carry a balance. Many of the other credit cards are doing the same thing.

I haven't gotten notice on any other card...probably because this is the only card I really use. I HAVE had cards cancelled recently for lack of use.

 

Quite a few people have been complaining about the same thing, have you tried calling them and asking for an explanation and seeing if they would rescind the increase?

I may try that. There's a procedure to "reject" the increase amendment. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of getting a mortgage and can't cancel any credit cards at the moment. I CAN pay this one off though.

 

makes me glad I've never carried a balance on any credit card! Doesn't it cost more in interest than the rewards are worth?

Yeah, it probably will.

 

It's not really a great way to promote loyalty among cruise passengers.

[Coralc]

Yes, we received the same notice today, that a lot of people have mentioned. Never carried a balance, never late....but they still raised the interest rate...just because they can! Until the new laws take effect next year. I probably would never buy anything that I couldn't pay off the same month. It certainly wouldn't be worth it, even without an annual fee. We dumped those "reward" cards quite a while ago.

[travelntreats]

This comes as no surprise in our economy right now.... MANY BANKS have already started this rate increase and be on the look out for future annual fees for the privilage of using a c.card !

[CalGal777]

I haven't gotten notice on any other card...probably because this is the only card I really use. I HAVE had cards cancelled recently for lack of use.

 

 

I may try that. There's a procedure to "reject" the increase amendment. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of getting a mortgage and can't cancel any credit cards at the moment. I CAN pay this one off though.

 

 

Yeah, it probably will.

 

It's not really a great way to promote loyalty among cruise passengers.

RCI has nothing to do with the rate increase, You can blame BofA........

[ucfknight07]

I didn't get this notice for my RCI Visa, however, did get the notice for a card through the same company (FIA). Called and transferred my credit to a different card with a comfortable, fixed APR. Made sure to tell the rep. I felt like they were inadvertently losing good customers that are never late on a payment. Granted, they need to cut the amount of credit they've issued, and those who are never late on a payment don't pay those hefty late fees. Seems like a win-win for them...

[printingchick]

I get my statements on line, but didn't see any such notice. My rate currently lists at 7.9%. I'm going to call. Like the OP, I use this card for everything. I will pay off my balance with my tax refund, but I typically do carry over a balance at various times during the year, so the interest rate does matter to me.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[sweet angel]

I probably would never buy anything that I couldn't pay off the same month.

Sometimes life happens and a situation arises that you HAVE to buy something you might not be able to pay off right away. Maybe an appliance craps out and you need a new one, major car repair, etc.

[mistergq]

Bank of America (who owns FIA) has been doing weird stuff like this all over the place recently. They are dropping limits on cards even though customers pay, they are raising interest, even though the customer is not in default. That is the problem when a bank does more things than just being a bank. And that is coming from a Bank of America customer. :o If they all didn't do it, I would switch to another bank, but I have been with other banks and they all have problems.

[sweet angel]

I guess what aggravates me is that as a loyal, on-time-paying customer, I feel like I'm being shafted. It's not just the credit card companies either.

 

I pay everything on time and I have excellent credit. I never ever ever pay "just the minimum". Yet it seems that the banks now are pooping on their loyal customers, while giving the people with less-than-perfect records every break in the book.

 

I work with a woman who is late on EVERYTHING...ALWAYS. She got a notice that her house was going to go into foreclosure, so she called her bank and refinanced and got an lowered rate (1.5%) on her equity line. It's not that she CAN'T pay...she just DOESN'T. She spends on other stuff.

 

So how is that fair? It just seems like the perks go to reinforce the bad behavior, while the people who do what they're supposed to get crapped on.

 

Okay, rant over.

[bluecookies]

Sometimes life happens and a situation arises that you HAVE to buy something you might not be able to pay off right away. Maybe an appliance craps out and you need a new one, major car repair, etc.

 

 

you are absolutely right! That is why it helps to plan ahead and put some money aside for an "emergency", that way you don't have to whip out the CC! :) I know it's come in handy for me!

[sweet angel]

you are absolutely right! That is why it helps to plan ahead and put some money aside for an "emergency", that way you don't have to whip out the CC! :) I know it's come in handy for me!

I'm not looking to get into a battle about financial handling. Suffice it to say that there may be occasions when it's simpler to put something on a card and take a month or two to pay it off.

 

My point is that I'm unhappy about my interest rate nearly doubling.

[kyriecat]

I guess what aggravates me is that as a loyal, on-time-paying customer, I feel like I'm being shafted. It's not just the credit card companies either.

 

I pay everything on time and I have excellent credit. I never ever ever pay "just the minimum". Yet it seems that the banks now are pooping on their loyal customers, while giving the people with less-than-perfect records every break in the book.

 

I work with a woman who is late on EVERYTHING...ALWAYS. She got a notice that her house was going to go into foreclosure, so she called her bank and refinanced and got an lowered rate (1.5%) on her equity line. It's not that she CAN'T pay...she just DOESN'T. She spends on other stuff.

 

So how is that fair? It just seems like the perks go to reinforce the bad behavior, while the people who do what they're supposed to get crapped on.

 

Okay, rant over.

I know a similar person but this is a guy. He's always late paying his bills and complaining because he has no money and has to choose between paying the electric bill or the water bill each month. THEN he comes in with a new iphone or some other gadget to show off. He "couldn't" pay his mortgage for a couple months so they extended his loan and lowered his interest rate. :rolleyes: BoA just bought out my mortgage company and have sent out notices that there will be some "upcoming changes to my account" and I should receive a package in the mail describing the changes. That scares the stuffing out of me. I've never been late on a payment in the 13 years that we've had the house. I know they can't change the rate because that's in our contract but there's no telling what else they will come up with.

[pmshirl]

I'm not looking to get into a battle about financial handling. Suffice it to say that there may be occasions when it's simpler to put something on a card and take a month or two to pay it off.

 

My point is that I'm unhappy about my interest rate nearly doubling.

 

This seems like the way of the future for Banks & Credit card companies.

 

I read an article in our local newspaper a few weeks back, stating, not only are they increasing interest rates, lowering limites, they are also requiring some to pay off balances in full within 30 days or very high interest rates will be applied.

 

The article talked about how limits were being lowered on account without notifying the card holder, then the cardholder goes to purchase an item and the card is declined. Some cardholders are even charged for an Overdraw on their limit due to this lowering of limits.

 

If your limit is 10K and the bank lowered it to 3K, your balance at that time was 4K, you are now charged for an overdraft of 1K on your account, without any prior notice! Just to give a heads up of more things to come!

[sweet angel]

I don't have a problem with the banks making changes directed at bad credit holders, but why punish the good?

[AuntieBon]

I don't see you asking for opinions on your use of a credit card so I'll refrain from giving my opinion on that :rolleyes:

 

Unfortunately you are right in that those of use who do pay our bills are being penalized. With the new rules not going into effect until 2010 all the credit card companies are taking everything they can, while they can, and then next year they can claim it's all grandfathered in.

 

Loyality to a business is going to be a thing of the past because if the company isn't loyal to me why should I be to it?

 

Good luck with the call to BOA!

[Aquahound]

Quite a few people have been complaining about the same thing, have you tried calling them and asking for an explanation and seeing if they would rescind the increase?

 

The notice gave a phone number to call to reject the increase. I tried calling yeaterday to see what would happen if I rejected it. The estimated hold time was 45 minutes. :rolleyes:

[AuntieBon]

The notice gave a phone number to call to reject the increase. I tried calling yeaterday to see what would happen if I rejected it. The estimated hold time was 45 minutes. :rolleyes:

 

Typically when you reject the increase you are obligated to pay the bill at the current and not allowed to make additional charges. I assume that means they close the account and with your comments about refinancing that wouldn't be a good thing for your FICO score.

[Aquahound]

Typically when you reject the increase you are obligated to pay the bill at the current and not allowed to make additional charges. I assume that means they close the account and with your comments about refinancing that wouldn't be a good thing for your FICO score.

 

Yea, that's what I'm afraid of. If I become that dissatisfied with BoA, I'll stop using the card before I consider cancelling.

 

Right now, the rate increase isn't too big of a deal. I have not had a credit limit drop yet as some others have reported. Now, that is something that can affect your score based on the percentage of the balance. If that happens, I'll most likely seek the business of another bank.

[DarkNStormy720]

Just wanted to share an issue with everyone. I have the Royal Caribbean Visa credit card or should I say I had. Im sure there are plenty of other cruise critic members that also have this card. I just got a letter from Visa saying my fixed interest rate, that I've had for years, is now going to basically go through the roof next time I use the card. I spoke to Visa and they said that most of the cardholders interest rate are going to go up to higher variable rate due to the economic crisis.

 

The most interesting part is that every time I have recieved a bill or a letter from them in the past; the letter and envelpoe were well marked with Visa and Bank of America symbols or writing. I had mentioned to the rep. about this particular letter coming in an unmarked envelope and he had no comment. I told him it was quite interesting that this letter comes in an unmarked envelope so people just discard it beliving it is junk mail. The terms are if you dont contact a rep. by the next billing period, to secure your current rate, the rate will go up without you knowing about it. However, the next time you do use the card the rate will automatically go up to this higher variable rate. So its basically a loose, loose situation for the cardholder.

 

I at this point I had told the rep to close my account. He did try offering me other options but all roads lead back to the higher variable rate after some sort of grace period.

 

Just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. I usually just throw out junk mail which is what this looked like but luckily I opened it. Dont want to see any of my fellow cruisers out there get unpleasant suprise next time they get thier bill.

 

I am in the processes of writing an email to RC about this matter and see if they have any comment. It's not worth having the card to collect the points if the rate is going to be out of sight. I will let everyone know if I hear back from RC.

[bouhunter]

It's not worth having the card to collect the points if the rate is going to be out of sight. .

 

It's NEVER worth having ANY card to collect points or miles if there is a balance being carried and interest paid. Point and miles are only worth it if the balance is paid in full each month and there is no interest expense.

[Aquahound]

There is already an active discussion on this:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=962386

[bluecookies]

It's NEVER worth having ANY card to collect points or miles if there is a balance being carried and interest paid. Point and miles are only worth it if the balance is paid in full each month and there is no interest expense.

 

I completely agree. Also, Royal Caribbean has nothing to do with the rates. Your issue is with Bank of America.

[printingchick]

I get my statement on-line, but I checked this morning and didn't see any "Important Information About Your Account" messages, which I typically get when a message that might have been mailed needs to be conveyed. My interest rate is still showing at the original fixed rate.

 

I did try to call this morning, but the hold time was too long. I'm hoping my rate does not go up. It is my ONLY credit card.

[NYCRUISR]

Just received a letter from Capital One and our fixed 7.99 is now going up to 16.99! We also received a letter from Chase that they are closing our inactive account. We had the card for a long time and had no balance.

 

I say its a good thing we used our free cruise credit for 2 last year. We did the Adventure 7 day out of SJ and it covered the cost for both of us. Dont know if we will use RCCL anymore either if the interest rate goes up.

 

I guess these banks are trying to make back from us paying consumers, the money they lost from the bad investments they made when they lent such large amounts of money in their attempt for quick profits. Now these unfortunate people can not pay them back. They are trying to get more money from us. just doesnt seem right....

[Gonzo70]

I just received a letter last week saying my rate was going up. I never carry a balance, but still canceled the credit card on principle. I would not bother raising the concern with Royal Caribbean though - it is strictly a Bank of America issue.