Credit Card Talk

[buttdoctor]

Perhaps I can help. I've owned virtually all kinds of credit cards and I have a lot of experience with the banks that issue them. Your concerns can be itemized this way when you are choosing a credit card but in actuality, you are choosing the bank that you will have a credit relationship with:

 

1. Acceptability

2. Annual fee

3. Interest rates

4. Penalties and other charges

5. Hidden clauses in your contract

6. Customer support

7. Extra features

 

ACCEPTABILITY

 

This usually means the big two: Visa and Mastercard. Whichever bank issues your card, if it is part of these two networks, you will generally enjoy greater acceptability in establishments here and abroad. While traveling, I've never had a problem using these credit cards. American Express is a more expensive card to maintain but gives you a certain exclusivity, however, you will find that not as many establishments accept this card compared to the big two.

 

ANNUAL FEE

 

Check the annual fee. Most banks waive the annual fee for the first year so you may not pay any attention to it. This may range from 1500 to 5000 a year, depending on the type of card/credit limit.

 

 

INTEREST RATES

 

Now this isn't as simple as comparing numbers. For example, interest rates between bank issuers can range from 2.25 % up to 3.75 % or even higher. Take note that this is note an annual interest rate but a MONTHLY interest rate.

 

NOW TAKE NOTE THAT DIFFERENT CARD ISSUERS HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF COMPUTING INTEREST. Most credit card companies will only charge interest on the UNPAID BALANCE as of the due date of your account. For example, you owed 1000 pesos and only paid 500 as of the due date of the card. So 500 pesos was left as unpaid balance and 3.5 % shall be charged as interest on your next billing cycle.

 

NOW A COUPLE OF OTHER CARD ISSUERS WILL COMPUTE INTEREST IN A DIFFERENT METHOD. I found this out the hard way when I bought a laptop computer 2 years ago. It is my habit to pay my credit card bill in full every month so despite having owned this particular card for several years, I never realized that they computed interest in a different manner from my other credit cards. I bought the laptop for 70,000 and paid for it a few days later at the bank even without receiving my credit card statement. A few days later I filled up with gas and paid 1000 using the same credit card. I didn't bother to pay the 1000 as I said, well, it's just 1000 pesos as unpaid balance. The interest on that will just be 35 pesos. I'll just pay it on the next billing cycle.

 

NOW IMAGINE MY SHOCK WHEN MY BILL ARRIVED THE FOLLOWING MONTH AND I WAS ASSESSED 2400 pesos in interest charges! I called up the card's customer service and asked why my interest charges were even bigger than my unpaid balance. It's because this bank computes interest charges this way: IF YOU FAIL TO PAY THE CREDIT CARD BILL IN FULL ON THE DUE DATE, INTEREST WILL BE COMPUTED AGAINST ALL THE CHARGES YOU MADE AGAINST THE CREDIT CARD REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID. So this company charged my interest for the 70000 laptop despite the fact that I had paid most of it. Pay attention to this when you are choosing a card company. I told the card company that I wanted to close my account. Being a good customer over several years, I guess, has some perks, because the company reversed the charges. PM me if you want the name of the 2 card issuers that I know use this method of computing interest.

 

PENALTIES AND OTHER CHARGES

 

All companies have penalties for late payments. Not all card companies charge you for exceeding your limit, though, since it is their responsibility to make sure you don't exceed your limit. That being said, cards issuers have different attitudes toward penalties. Some view it as a last resort as it sours the relationship between client and bank (Citibank). So Citibank agents will call you on the day after your due date if you failed to make any payments to remind you of the bill and will even generously offer to waive any penalties if you make the payment on that day. The same company will not charge you if the interest charged to your account results in your account exceeding your credit limit.

 

However, other banks seem to view penalties as a major source of income, client satisfaction be damned. Penalties are assessed for late payments even if paid in full. When I was much younger, I could only afford to pay the minimun amount due during some months. So on one occasion, the interest due on the unpaid balance resulted in my account exceeding the credit limit. Imagine my surprise when I was assessed a 1000 peso penalty for exceeding my limit when in fact, I didn't make any charges and it was only the interest assessed which pushed the balance beyond the limit. I returned that card a few months later.

 

Check the bank's policies on charges made on a lost or stolen card. These vary from bank to bank. You might not like the policies of some banks.

 

HIDDEN CLAUSES IN YOUR CONTRACT

 

Be aware that a certain bank used to have a garnishment clause in their bank accounts. What does this mean? Let's say you have savings accounts with this bank. And you also have credit cards issued by this bank or a subsidiary. Should you fail to pay your credit card bill (this may be intentional on your part if you are disputing charges so keep that in mind), the bank has been authrorized by you to withdraw the funds from your savings account to cover your debt. That really sucks if you are disputing certain charges with the card issuer.

 

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

 

Availability of 24 hour support is important. The bigger issuers generally have easy to reach call centers except for the bank I mentioned in the last paragraph which apparently doesn't want to spend on customer support. It takes forever to talk to a CSA with that bank. This is doubly important when you are trying to report a lost or stolen card, you're in a race with whoever has your card and is planning on going on a shopping spree.

 

EXTRA FEATURES

 

Rebates on fuel charges and Miles added to your frequent flyer account are icing on the cake, you might say. Check the fundamentals of the card before you sign up. One extra feature that I do like is the availability of photo cards. The credit card you are issued will contain your ID photograph as well as your signature. So even if your card gets stolen at any point, you have this extra level of protection against fraudulent use. For example, if a regular card never actually gets to you and is stolen, any tom, dick or harry can affix his signature to the card and successfully use it (true if this is a renewal card, most new cards require activation). Since a photo card contains your signature as well as your photo, a fraudster not only has to sign the slip convincingly, he also has to look like you.

 

My wife has lost 2 credit cards which were both photo cards. No fraudulent charges were ever made to those cards as they were photo cards. AFAIK, only Citibank issues photo cards that double as security features. Other photo cards are merely vanity cards (photos of your pet, girlfriend, car, etc.).

 

Hope this helps.

Edited March 18, 2007 by buttdoctor

[Master Tycoon]

my bank gives me pre approved credit cards,, but what's really annoying is the call center who gets your contact details from i think the same source of your credit card agent and keeps on calling and callng you.

[transcience]

QUOTE(jjb @ Jan 25 2007, 11:34 AM)

 

actually, I don't pay the annual fee anymore, I just tell them that I no longer want to use the card everytime after they charge me the annual fee - and for the past 4 years they have waived the annual fee....

can you really do that? could you please explain or discuss further? which card? thanks.

When the card company charges for the annual fee, I call the customer service hotline and tell them that I no longer need the card, they would ask why and I will tell them that I don't want to pay the annual fee or can't afford it anymore - they usually give in and tell me na this would be the only time they would waive it - I have 3 cards from citibank and I haven't paid for annual fees in 4 years - you have to consider though that I pay in full and on time.

 

i also did this with my hsbc card. they waived the annual fee last year.

 

credit card companies normally give out such priveleges if you're on a good standing.

[transcience]

my bank gives me pre approved credit cards,, but what's really annoying is the call center who gets your contact details from i think the same source of your credit card agent and keeps on calling and callng you.

 

they don't sell client's records, they buy it! that's why we receive unending calls from the telemarketers.

[The_Blade]

credit card is good if you are a good payer, kung pang utang lang purpose mo. dont try it!

 

halos ata ng local bank credit card natiin eh founder member ako....

 

the best BPI pero mababa mag bigay ng cedit limit. madami silang cards pero if you will get all, share lang credit limit mo and madami kang annual na bbyaran.

 

Citibank, HSBC okey gamitin sa Hk and china mababa ang conversion rate. dati rati sarap ng CB, you can pay other credit cards... i do it for revolving my cash and to earn points... pero now, they treat it like cash advance kaya may fees na...

 

BDO okey kung mahilig ka sa SM. 4x points with advantage card.

 

all the above ok kasi meron silang online banking madaling magbayad for frequent travellers.

 

pinakabulok Standard Charter. they will offer you personal loan and balance transfer pero mind you lahat yun may separate account numbers, they will offer you this kapag malapit na ang annual expiration. 2 years ago nasa shanghai ako i missed to pay on time so theycahrge me 600, 600, 400 for late charges.. I asked for reversal di sila pumayag so i closed my account i paid the whole pincipal plus interest except yung late chages, yung 1600 na despute ko naging 3200 plus some interest. naging 4800 plus so on and on... naging 20K plus. i recivd many calls from customer service tinakot pa akong i-block list... then came yung letter mula sa legal daw plus a call mula sa abogado daw... di ko binayaran sbi ko gusto nyo kunin ko pambayda sa inyo eh... i rather pay my lawyer the amount kesa magbayad ako ng di ko naman inutang...

 

then just last year, SC called me back and offer me GOLD card free for life!... sabi ko isaksak nyo sa baga nyo..... they must probably learned that I have a lot GOLD CARDS from different banks except them.

 

by the way, my expenses are usually reimbursible by the clients.

 

its nice to have a lot.. you can make use of the others to bargain for your annual fees... lahat nawawaive ko except BPI, pero the best parin para sa akin...

 

 

sabi nga nila when banks competes, you win.

 

 

Metrobank pinakamadali magkaroon ng credit card. kailangan lang may kakila ka sa loob. sa ofis, kahit yung aming messenger na taga transact sa banko may credit card... hayun boung buhay nya na ata nagtratrabaho para sa credit card nya...

 

 

LET YOUR CARD WORKS FOR YOU. NOT YOU, WORK FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD.

 

 

caution: when samobody offers you balance trasnfer or loan na 1.5% (12 months) lang daw compare to other banks, pareh0 lang yun ng 3.5%.... yung 1.5 nila ay monthly add on.. while yung 3.5 ay deminishing. dami kona binara na bopols na tele reps....

[ravenant]

Metrobank works for me.. i only use it to purchase online stuffs esp. sa load ng WoW.. ang laki nmn kc ng patong ng load sa Datablitz..

[Novice69]

I'm 23 and am working for the family right now, therefore nothing is really on paper if you know what I mean. I have 4 credit

 

cards all supplementary though and all with a credit limit of 200k minimum, damn I had a hard time to get my own primary credit

 

card even if I made close to 100k every month, coz wala ako mapakita na ITR or whatever coz its been a year since I just

 

started, took me 8 months to get one from citibank and with a credit limit of 30k lang, I'm glad they trusted me medyo nawalan

 

na din kasi ako ng gana nung after ko mag-apply at walang nangayri so sa huling follow-up ko sabi ko kung ayaw nyo eh di wag,

 

pinakita ko na bank statements ko, auto ko kung ayaw nyo pa din sa inyo na lang.

 

 

A week later pinadala na agad ung credit card

[deejay_capslock]

Is there a bank that offers free annual fee not only on the first year? Sa US kase walang bayad ang credit card annual fee given that the credit card company earns money everytime you use the card....

[martinace1]

The worst talaga ang Standard Charter.

 

This one time (at band camp), I had a total amount due of 3,004.25

I asked my driver to pay for it at Union bank and I gave him 3,000 pesos.

He paid for it and gave me te receipt.

The next month I receive an amount due of more than 300 pesos.

I called the bank to find out why and they said that they charged me interest.

I said "you charged me interest for the remaining balance of 4.25 pesos?"

They said - yes, we charged you interest for the 3,004.25 because you did not pay in FULL.

That is the operative word here "FULL" - that's right, they are FULL of S#¤T

Paid it off and got rid of the card (discontinued the service)

Heads up for all of you with Standard Charter Cards - NOT WORTH IT!

[martinace1]

The worst talaga ang Standard Charter.

 

This one time (at band camp), I had a total amount due of 3,004.25

I asked my driver to pay for it at Union bank and I gave him 3,000 pesos.

He paid for it and gave me the receipt.

The next month I receive an amount due of more than 300 pesos.

I called the bank to find out why and they said that they charged me interest.

I said "you charged me interest for the remaining balance of 4.25 pesos?"

They said - yes, we charged you interest for the 3,004.25 because you did not pay in FULL.

That is the operative word here "FULL" - that's right, they are FULL of S#¤T

Paid it off and got rid of the card (discontinued the service)

Heads up for all of you with Standard Charter Cards - NOT WORTH IT!

 

BPi - so far the best!

(both to the card user and the merchant) - hindi kasi Greedy ang BPi when it comes to fees and charges, fair sila!

[makeurday64]

Last year I apply for HSBC Visa Card, They declined my application, just knowing that I am OFW.

[aficio]

Do they accept DEBIT card in Manila or ATM card as payment? It's like a credit card but a debit card has some amount of money that you can use until you have zero balance.

[artvader]

The worst talaga ang Standard Charter.

 

This one time (at band camp), I had a total amount due of 3,004.25

I asked my driver to pay for it at Union bank and I gave him 3,000 pesos.

He paid for it and gave me the receipt.

The next month I receive an amount due of more than 300 pesos.

I called the bank to find out why and they said that they charged me interest.

I said "you charged me interest for the remaining balance of 4.25 pesos?"

They said - yes, we charged you interest for the 3,004.25 because you did not pay in FULL.

That is the operative word here "FULL" - that's right, they are FULL of S#¤T

Paid it off and got rid of the card (discontinued the service)

Heads up for all of you with Standard Charter Cards - NOT WORTH IT!

 

BPi - so far the best!

(both to the card user and the merchant) - hindi kasi Greedy ang BPi when it comes to fees and charges, fair sila!

 

I also have this current gripe with Standard Chartered. Two years ago, we got a call from their call center asking us to pay for a specified amount on a Supplementary card. It was a shock because I thought that by paying the minimum amount from the principal account, we would also cover the dues for the supplementary card. But it wasn't so. So we got irked and just paid the FULL total dues of the supplementary card and asked them to DISCONTINUE the supplementary card on the same day and the call center agent acknowledged the cancellation. Imagine our surprise one year after when they were charging us twice the amount of the supplementary card one year later!

 

So this situation infuriated me because 1) they were charging me for the dues for a credit card that we supposedly canceled a year ago and 2) The total due for the supplementary card was suspiciously high.

 

So I called them up and asked for a full transcript of transaction records from 3 years ago up to the present. I found out that some payments made to the supplementary card were being 'bounced' back to the principal account. Diba kaya nga nagkautang yun supplementary card ko was because they were treating the payment from the principal card and the supplementary card as separate? Now they dare to bounce off credits from the supplementary card to the principal card out of sheer pleasure?

 

 

In effect, the supplementary card made a transaction against its credit (to the principal account) and instead of having 0.00 unpaid balance, we got charged 2,000.00++. And take note that this happened AFTER we asked the supplementary card to be canceled. So The 2,000 "debt" accumulated a year's worth of finance charges and late dues to finally reach 14,000++. And their law firm is now asking us to pay for the dues or risk getting sued.

 

So is there any agency where we can report this malicious MO of Standard Chartered? What is their game anyways? Surely this isn't a fair banking practice.

Edited March 22, 2007 by artvader

[Novice69]

The worst talaga ang Standard Charter.

 

This one time (at band camp), I had a total amount due of 3,004.25

I asked my driver to pay for it at Union bank and I gave him 3,000 pesos.

He paid for it and gave me the receipt.

The next month I receive an amount due of more than 300 pesos.

I called the bank to find out why and they said that they charged me interest.

I said "you charged me interest for the remaining balance of 4.25 pesos?"

They said - yes, we charged you interest for the 3,004.25 because you did not pay in FULL.

That is the operative word here "FULL" - that's right, they are FULL of S#¤T

Paid it off and got rid of the card (discontinued the service)

Heads up for all of you with Standard Charter Cards - NOT WORTH IT!

 

BPi - so far the best!

(both to the card user and the merchant) - hindi kasi Greedy ang BPi when it comes to fees and charges, fair sila!

 

ganun tlga maraming credit cards pre, BDO however does not do this.

 

2 months ago my dad had a credit bill of around 36400.75 ata un, can't remember the exact figures basta may cents. My dad

 

paid of the the 36400 naiwan lang ung cents. Taena next month we got charged 300 late fees and 75 pesos finance charge for

 

feraking .75 cents. Kaya I suggest if you have these kinds of credit cards, over pay na lng, macrecredit naman sa account

 

mo un. In this case we should have paid 36420 para wala ng gulo amp.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Novice69

[hitman531ph]

Citibank is offering a balance transfer with rate of 0.99% monthly up to 36 months with a fixed amount of monthly payments and 2 years waived annual fees. I computed the amount I am currently paying compared to Citibank promo rates and it results in over 50% lower monthly payments. I just applied. I don't know if they will approve it or not though.

 

I intend to retire my 2 other credit cards and leave just one current card dormant and just pay off the fixed monthly if the Citibank card gets approved. I will not, however, charge anything to the Citibank card.