slc39 said:

Also, the percent of the transaction that AMEX gets is higher than Mastercard and Visa.

This is why most places just dont accept AMEX. When I worked in retail they wanted 4% versus MC/V who wanted 3%. Our store decided to stop carrying it.

Shandril said:
That last part is kinda surprising to me.

I agree. I have never paid interest on any Chase credit card, nor gone over the limit. I have received nothing less than the best customer service whenever dealing with any sort of problem - mostly receiving promotional sign-up bonuses that were found here in FWF...

While I trust that this CSR is telling what they perceive to be Chase's reasoning why banks prefer a certain demographic to another, I doubt the CSRs would have all the information behind the ratings. I honestly cannot imagine a bank wanting to deny credit lines to financially responsible individuals, it would hurt their overall credit rating (if all the unsecured debt the bank held was in the hands of people who incur late fees and over-the-limit fees).

Does a restaurant trust their prized, money-making recipe to the line cook? Not if it wants to stay on top, and similarly I doubt that a huge bank such as Chase would trust their rating system to a CSR.

Once, I tried out the paperless billing and I didn't receive my payment notification by email. I was charged a late fee and I had to explain my situation to the CSR because I had missed a payment a few months ago from having to relocate for my new job. She made it really clear to me that the fee would be waived for one-time only. Whatever, I don't like Citi anyways.

I am a non-profit customer to my now 5 credit cards. I pay each card off to zero 2 to 4 times a month. The only reason the limit is 4, is because that is all they'll allow with online payments. At least the cards I have. The reward cards are gold, because I get 1% on one card and 3% on the other and I put everything possible on them from cable payments to all restaurant bills, gas and supermarket purchases. Credit cards and rewards are a game. If you're in control, you can make money on every purchase you make and get checks for $100, $200, $250+ in the mail. I have always viewed credit cards as games, because their goal is to offer me all this money, tens of thousands of dollars to buy whatever I want and sell me on the idea of making affordable monthly payments at 17% interest. My goal is to give them as little money as possible and to get them to pay me for every purchase I make, every meal I eat and every drop of gas I put in my car. I want 100's of dollars mailed to me and I want free airline tickets and free goodies...but mostly, I want the cash. The people who yell about how credit cards are ripping them off and all the horrible fees are not playing the game right.

"No preset spending limit" isn't quite accurate. You charges would not be approved if the pattern is exceedingly not the usual one, for example. Also, nowadays you can convert charge cards into credit cards by signing up for "pay over time" or whatever they call it. The way it works on my accounts is I have to pay in full if charges are less than $300. If charges are more than $300, I have an option to pay only a "minimum payment" and carry a balance. AMEX charges higher % in transaction fees, AFAIK.

Good article though. I once did waive a late fee, with AMEX no less - for the #4 reason. I simply didn't get the statement and didn't look online. The bill was something like $2.xx, noticed it about a week after the payment was due, called, had it waived, and paid off instantly online.

2weeks> You're missing the point with #7. When you're talking to a CSR, HE or SHE did NOT screw up - the system may well have though. So you talk politely to them because it's not their fault and they only go by the (incorrect) information computer presents to them about your account.

bravebiffy said:Ehhh, I wonder how AMEX gets figured into all of this. Their charge cards require you to pay in full every month AND they have no preset spending limits (on some cards).

So I might be getting something for nothing?

ArbolLoco said:
6. STATE WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE DONE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CALL
I understand its human nature to explain why you're payment showed up late, [/L]

Sorry, pet peeve. It is your in this scenario.

A customer who avoids finance charges is not automatically a loss for the credit company because of merchant fees -- just a less profitable customer. Still a good idea to keep them on the books.

A FWf customer who uses $100k's of company money for free year after year IS a poor customer for the company. I just think we fly under their radar, and I keep my fingers crossed it will stay that way.

Shandril said:ArbolLoco said:
8. NON-PROFIT
These are the cardmembers who know what they're doing. They're the group of people that pay their bill off, in full, every month, like clockwork. They don't pay finance charges, and they're never late. They don't go over their credit line, they don't have returned payments, and they earn rewards. Which all amounts to the bank isn't making any money on your account. So if you get a late fee, you have absolutely zero chance of getting it waived. That late fee is revenue for the bank, and it uses it to offset the maintenance on your account. Maintenance includes your statements mailed to you, sending you replacement cards, dealing with customer service, and cashing out rewards point / miles / dollars. For this cardmember, if you threaten to close your account if we don't do what you want, don't be surprised to get an offer to close your account during that phone call. Why? What is the incentive to keep you? I know its pretty cold hearted, but thats exactly how it works. You do a great job on your account, but you can get punished. Hey, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them.

That last part is kinda surprising to me. I mean, I've never had a late fee, gone over credit limit, had a payment returned, etc ... and pay full balance monthly, pay off 0% BT offers two weeks before confirmed date, etc. At the same time, I've milked the CC offers for a good $1000-$3000/yr in the last 5 years or so without giving back a dime in return. So I figure that I'm probably not in the most profitable customer category. Yet, I've more or less always been passed to retention or being offers some incentive to keep accounts open when calling to close or consolidate balance.

Example: I got the 50k points AMEX offer this year. Used the points, then called to close since I didn't want to pay the annual fee. I was about 6 month from that renewal fee and when called to cancel, I was offered another 6500 points to keep the account open. No problem, used most of those points and then called again. Was offered 2500 points this time which I also used up. And still closed the card as planned. So in my experience it's YMMV on retention even for "bad" customers. I think especially in early relationships with a CC company, they tend to give you retention offers just because it costs money (initial offers) to get a new customer. So even if all they've done in 6 months or so was to collect their sign up bonus, they want to keep you a bit longer to give you a chance to become profitable. That's my interpretation at least.

the AMEX signup bonus and retention credits you talked about paid for all the materials on the re-roof job on my house, with another 1k gift cards to spare, i am sure they lose money because i hardly used them cards, i don't know why they still want to keep me as a non-profitable customer

I have chase account at 0% BT APR thanks to my recent App-O-Rama's but even more wonderful was the auto payments that chase offers. Did anyone have a problem with the autopay not debiting your bank accounts and you ending up in late fees?

qcumber98 said:Once, I tried out the paperless billing and I didn't receive my payment notification by email. I was charged a late fee and I had to explain my situation to the CSR because I had missed a payment a few months ago from having to relocate for my new job. She made it really clear to me that the fee would be waived for one-time only. Whatever, I don't like Citi anyways.

they dont like dumb people like that either, you did it you even admited to changing it. its your fault they shouldn't have waived the fee, your online set up your damn pmt in advance lazy.