I closed my Citibank Mastercard when I refinanced my house in July. I'm down to one Credit card which only 1/2 the stores take so it prevents me from over using it. I had the Citibank card for 14 years.

Kath...that is such a good thing to do...We have never used Credit cards...We always waited until Tax returns to buy what we needed...or did without.

patti

Kath: I think they're all like that. Out to make every cent they can off you, no matter how good a customer you've been. I have a card with my local bank with a small amount that I can charge to it....I use it online only, and it's paid in full each month. Other than that, I use good old fashioned cash.

Shirley

I agree, most of them are Kath crooks that is.
DH had a Advanta CC for the business. One month he opened the bill and about fell over! They changed the interest rate sky high. He called and nope they wouldnt lower it. So he switched transfered it to another card.
Capital One so far we think is good. We both have them.

We pay off our credit card at the end of each month. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it. I wouldn't recommend getting rid of credit cards all together, though. If you ever want to rent a car or make hotel reservations you'll need one.

We've had two CC accounts for over a dozen years -- one in DH's name and one in mine. I don't care what the interest rate is since we never pay interest; we pay the balance in full every month. It's convenient to use their money for a month; to never have to carry much cash or a debit card that could be stolen; to have a record of expenditures. And, as casey_nfld says, we both have established credit should we want to get a loan for anything.

We have frozen our credit information with the three credit tracking companies. That really cut down on the solicitaions from CC companies, and our information is more private. Should we want to apply for a loan, we just have to give the tracking companies notice to un-freeze our info.

I am with chisue... I would not be without one either.

They could TRIPLE my interest for all I care! I pay them no fees and no interest.

We have two credit cards, a Mastercard with HSBC, and a Capital One for back-up in case HSBC decides to "protect" us and question charges. We pay off each month, and since HSBC gives points, we also get cash back about three or four times a year.
I find credit cards are handy if there is a good bargain available and I don't have enough cash with me, or if we need to make hotel reservations.
Increasing the interest rate for good customers is counterproductive, and I'm sure the companies doing so will find they are losing customers.

I have one Visa card that I use only if I see something I need and don't have enough cash on me. I then pay it off as soon as I get my statement...no interest rates for me either.

My pet peeve is telephone calls I am getting wanting to lower the interest rates on my cards...grrrrr. I am usually asleep when they call. double grrrrr.

My debit card is a Mastercard debit though my local bank so I'm not worried about being able to pay for rental cars or hotels.

I have one Discover card and I pay the balance off every month AND Discover gives 1% back. Can't lose.

Just be very careful about cancelling old cards and getting news ones. Opening a new account lowers your credit score, and lowers it again if you cancel an old account.
Better to keep the old card, use it once a year, and pay off the balance before the statement comes in.

Your credit score is used for mortgage interest rates, car loans and car insurance rates. It is also used by many potential employer background checks.

There's nothing wrong with having a credit card--as others have said--if you only use it as a convenience, and pay in full when the bill comes it, you won't be paying interest, no matter how high a rate they're charging. I've had--and USED-- a credit card for over 30 years, and never paid a penny in interest.

In this day an age, it's hard to get along without one. Just pick and chose the one that suits you best, and then make sure it's used responsibly, so you don't have to pay those high (or even low) rates.

That's the point Azzalea, it's too late to be responsible, since there's a balance on it right now. I don't agree that credit cards aren't a good thing, but that's just my opinion. I've just decided to pay cash for everything from now on.

Well gee, am I the only one with credit card debt? lol

I'm down to two cards but I spend just as much using my debit cards. So I guess I'm saving on interest fees somewhat.

If you are going to use a credit card's money while you make payments, you have to expect to pay for the use of their money. (I pay off my bills each month, which is a real deal as I have used their money for several days at no cost to me.) You do need to be sure you are not paying huge interest.

If you are carrying a balance, switch to a 0% account and save yourself huge amounts of money. Then get into the habit of buying only what you can pay off at the end of the month. Keep a couple of credit cards for that emergency only--major car repair, for example. Though you may not have all the cash on hand for the repair, you need the car to get to work.

Also look out for credit card companies that will charge you a late fee when you made your payment in plenty of time. Call and complain that you want that fee removed and explain you paid in time. I notice that this so called "late" fee has happened to our young adults in the family, but not to the long term, older customers.

I had a Chase credit card that was converted when the bank I got it from was bought out by Chase. Six months ago they shortened their grace period for payment so I called to cancel the card, asking for confirmation by mail. A week or so later, here comes another Chase card in the mail! I was livid and will never deal with Chase again. Obviously I made one more call to make sure my account was closed out.

I have one credit card, Citibank, and I use it for absolutely everything I buy. I check my statements carefully online several times per week. I pay it off every month--I refuse to pay interest! I find this system is so convenient, allowing me to keep my spending carefully checked and under control. Plus, I discovered last year, to my surprise, that there was a "Thank You" point system on the card. I'd completely ignored it for years, and I had nearly $600. built up--got a ton of gift cards to places like Penney's and Starbucks, and still haven't spent them all! That's truly free money! So I think credit cards can work, and work well, for some.

When I saw the title of your post I almost fainted.
DS works for Citibank in Tokyo and a lot of his co-workers are getting laid off. I thought you meant Citibank went bankrupt. DS said he felt better about his job this week than he did last week.
I think going to using cash is a good idea. I know it would save money at our house.

Only a debit card here also....use it for Hotels and for car rentals......no more credit cards......I don't care if it is better for car loans house loans or insurance rates.....to me the % they charge is more then I can save thru them anyways and we use our local bank for all our loans and not buying another house ever so good their and insurance is fine LOL stacy

When I saw the subject line, I thought that Citi was going broke - despite having benefitted from part of the bailout ... ("BBB" now also means "Broke Bankers' Bailout").

Kathsgarden ...

... part of the reason for your high rates is because there are many who pay the total amount owing every month, so they are using the card's money for a while without paying.

Actually, not - it's the stores' money, as the credit card issuers don't pay the stores in a hurry ... and only pay them $96. - 98.00 for each $100.00 of billing that they receive.

So you ... and the cash customers ... have to pay more for the merchandise, to keep the store owners/managers viable.

Some people have told me that the contract that the credit card cos. write with the stores forbids giving a discount for cash.

ole joyful

I'm with you, Zeetra! LOL Our balance is not astronomical but it sure isn't paid off every month! (Wish it was, though.)

I just want to say that I'm not worried about my credit score anymore as I don't plan to borrow anymore money. I just got off the phone with a mortgage lender to refinance my original mortgage and a rip-off Beneficial home equity loan. They do manual underwriting and don't just look at your Fico score, so not a problem.

If I ever buy another car again I'll be saving cash for it, or whatever else I need.....now that I've said it out loud, watch something bad will happen and I'll have to eat my words....but that's the PLAN. : /

Please, anyone reading here: Pay off those awful CC balances. You're paying tons more for everything you charge if you're paying INTEREST. Why would you pay $1.22 (plus compounded interest) for a $1 candy bar? Pay 'em down and pay 'em off every month after that. The CC companies LOVE suckers who borrow at astronomical rates.

Like Carol, I had a moment of panic when I read the title of your post.

I'm another one who pays my credit card bill in full every month. If you do that, interest rates don't affect you. For many reasons, I wouldn't want to be without a credit card.

Oh, I forgot, sorry for scaring anyone. I just can't stand Citibank. Carol, your son is probably a nice guy despite who he works for. I'm just annoyed that they just got a huge bailout from the government (actually us taxpayers) and they just screwed a bunch of us loyal customers.

A few years ago, I parlayed the 0% credit card offers several ways. Paid off the very new car loan with one, switched to another at 0% when the first one had just about run out, switched again, and ended up paying off the loan with no interest charged. They don't let you do that anymore, I've heard.

We now have one credit card, which we use for travel and emergencies, and it is paid off monthly.

I have a AT&T Universal Master Card - had it since 1990 - but have considered dumping it when they raised their interest rates this fall. I keep it paid off to avoid interest charges and to stay solvent, but the amount of interest they wanted corked me off. They think they can just rewrite the rules to feather their own pockets. Its this behavior that has put some people into bankruptcy.

The reason I got my card in the first place is that it is a phone calling card as well as a credit card. Also, the card is accepted in many places in Europe. It was very convenient when I had to travel on business for my employer. It carries an 800 number that permits me to make local and long distance calls that are cheaper than most any other option. For example, one time while my wife and I were on vacation, I made a call in N. Carolina to make motel reservations in Tennessee and when the bill arrived, I found that call had cost me about $2.50, less than if I had made it from my home phone.

The sad part is that this account is now serviced and billed by Citi, and they have raised the interest rates to high levels.

Here's something to watch for. If your cedit card billing company has incorporated in South Dakota, it was most likely to escape control on interest rates. South Dakota law is very lax about this. I recall reading about some credit card billing companies who incorporated a small "Home Office" in South Dakota to escape controls on interest rates.

We unfortunately have old credit card debt that we are still trying to pay off (when DH was in between jobs). We have not used a credit card in over 4 years and now I never use a debit card. Everything is paid in cash. I wish that old debt was gone, and we are working on it, but I'm so glad we've switched to cash only.

My primary credit cards are with Navy Federal Credit Union and the Pennsylvania State Employee's Credit Union.

None of the BS that the big banks try to pull.

I have a Capital One card and two store branded Chase cards.

I don't care one whit if they raise the rate to 10 million percent on those, becuase they're paid off the same month they're used.