taxmantoo said:I agree with Jerry on #4 of the "don't try to tell me this" list.
Mail does get misdirected/lost. Less than 1% of the time, but sometimes.

I have one home and 20 credit cards. If I had a mortgage, I'd notice that I hadn't paid that this month before I'd notice that one of my CC statements was missing.

I agree with u homie, I bought my wife a watch and the jewelry store was offering $50.00 off if I opened a store charge and charged it, so I did. THe salesman put the wrong address in the computer and no apt # so I never got the Store card or the bill for the watch, Six months later a collection agency called and wanted their money and I told them about not receiving a bill. Anyways, I went back to the store and when the salesman pulled the original application, I had done everything right. They waived the extra charges and interest and just charged me what I owed. The collectors nagged me to death.

1pharmacist said:slc39 said:All AMEX charge cards have annual fees. Only some of their credit cards (which let you revolve) have no annual fee.

Also, the percent of the transaction that AMEX gets is higher than Mastercard and Visa. And since most AMEX cards are issued by AMEX, they get to keep the entire commission versus MC/VS. which has to share some with the issuing bank and processing bank.


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?

Not All AMEX have anual fees, I have an AMEX Blue and pay nothing a year!

He said CHARGE cards

Hmm..Very arrogant sounding post. (My theoretical response to this CSR - if she was actually reading)

I am apparently a "non-profit" user (never carry a balance) -- but I have no problem canceling a credit card if they won't refund my late fee. I have threatened to do this, and they often relent and give me my late fee. Don't think that it's not a competitive market, and that you don't need to keep my business. Credit card companies spend hundreds or thousands of dollars per prospect trying to lure new customers. One lost customer hurts the bottom line, and I doubt it will reflect well on your record.

The idea that I am not generating any profit for the card issuer is ludicrous. I spend > $50,000 year on my credit card. With the interchange fees - the fees that the bank generates for each of my transactions -- they are making plenty of money off of me.

Anyway, if they don't want my business, I have no problem switching to the other 50 credit card issuers who are clamoring for my business.

If the article was confession of a Chase Senior Exe or at least a middle manager I might believe the article.

But a frontline CSR doesn't have a clue. I bet he/she carries a balance on their credit card in order to improve their credit rating too.

robertw477 said:asdf9876 said:The thing is I really don't think the "banks" are making any money on my interchange fees.

1) The Gateway gets their cut
2) Visa/MC/Am.Ex gets their cut
3) It has probably been at least 3 years since I ever made a CC purchase that earned me less than 2%.

I'd say my break down goes....
~80%@5% Cash Back or 5 TY points/dollar
~20%@2% Cash Back

By the time the Gateway and Visa/MC get their cut I really doubt Citi/Chase/Boa are getting much more than 1% which means they lose 1%~4% on every purchase. On top of that I get float. On top of that I use paper statements so I can burn the paper as free firewood starter for heat in my stove and because I get more special offers in my paper statements.

If you dont mind me asking what cards are you using for 5 ty per dollar,and 2% Cash Back. I assume the 5% limited to certain types of items? My only 2% card is discover sams club. 2% Cash Back. I also have a merrill card that is 1.5% Cash Back. I might get the 2% AMEX plum card. Looking for some new cards in 08 though.

Rob

I'm afraid I'm not much help...

5% Gas/Groc/Drug Cash Back: Chase Rewards Plus (closed) and Chase Cash Plus Rewards (Closed)
6 TY/$ Gas/Groc/Drug: Driver's Edge (I'm out of the promo period but I literally drive enough to double all my points with this card)
5 TY/$ Gas/Groc: 3 month mtvU special promo period
5 TY/$ Restaurants/Amazon.com/Bookstores/Movies: mtvU
2% everything: Household Bank (invite card)
2% everything: Fidelity 529 Card (closed)
2 TY/$ everything: Driver's Edge (I drive enough to double every general purchase with drive rebates that I would have driven anyway)

So it looks like I'm living on borrowed time, most of my stuff is closed to new members.

The good news is I take 20,000 TY points and get $350-$400 tickets. So 5 TY/$ is really closer to 8-10% Cash Back.

By the way, I was going to get a Discover Sams card. I was a very heavy Discover cash-over user. I probably was churning $10,000/month or more at the peak. But they limited that so I never bothered. I still use my Discover Miles pretty heavily (more like $1K-$2K a month).

Being nice to the CSR is always a good strategy. I used to write customer service software for one of the largest computer companies. I listened in on a call where the customer was a rude, offensive, cursing jerk. The CSR put him on "hold" (more on this later) and went and got coffee. Understand that she was rated on how quickly she could complete calls. But this guy was so rude, she didn't care about taking the hit for making the call longer.

About being "on hold" with a CSR. You probably aren't on hold. The CSR most likely muted the phone and can hear everything you say. For those of you who like to berate CSRs while "on hold", surprise, every comment you made was heard. Now do you understand why you didn't get what you want?

Once my wife made three separate calls on the same matter with no success. She said we should give up. I said no, we had a legitimate case within the published rules and I'd take care of it. I called. I explained what I wanted. Then I was placed "on hold". I knew victory was at hand! So, while "on hold", I carried on a (faked) conversation with my wife: "Yes, dear, I'm on hold. The lady on the phone sounds very nice. Plus I can tell she's smart. If anybody can figure out how to make this right, it's her." The CSR actually wasn't nice before placing me "on hold", but after coming back on the line, she really was nice. Her tone of voice was different. If anything, she was almost bragging that she was able to make an adjustment in my favor. Her mood was better. If you called her right after I did, she probably gave you what you asked for.

Or you can choose to be arrogant and rude. It's a business decision. Is the satisfaction of putting the CSR in his/her place worth not getting what you want? Being nice doesn't guarantee that you'll get what you want. If the CSR says he/she would like to do more but can't, that's probably the truth.

Have you ever worked in an office where you see the cleaning people? Do you know their names? Do you talk to them? I've noticed that people who are nice to the cleaning staff typically have an office that's just a bit cleaner. It never hurts to be nice. Others will feel better and so will you.

I carry a few charge cards (AMEX) and some credit ones too and I always get what I want from CSRs. Maybe it's because I'm a very composed person (even when something got messed up on my acct really bad) and that I've been a long time customer (especially AMEX). I've gotten membership fees waived, points added to my MR account, exclusive services from my AMEX rep, etc. All in all, I'm a pretty satisfied "non-profit".

So for those who are considered a "non-profit," I would take that Chase rep's comments with a grain of salt. True, you're not as profitable as the irresponsible spenders who get charged high rates and carry a balance but you use their cards and you're a PAYING customer.

slc39 said:I would much rather be "embarassed in front of friends and family" by having the card denied rather than pay a $39 late fee.

Not me!

ArbolLoco said:I actually got in a fight with a Chase manager about six months ago... I will paraphrase:

1: I need you to lower my APR..
2: Sorry, no.
1: But I only had one late years ago.
2: Sorry, no.
1: But I'm a great customer, I spend so much.
2: I don't care, it's not fair to fixed income senior citizens.
1: What?
2: You think you're special, what about the seniors who are on fixed incomes?
1: That's totally irrelevant, I treat MY big clients with extra care.
2: I don't tell you how to do your job, don't tell me how to do mine.
1: That's because YOU DON'T PAY ME MONEY, I PAY YOU MONEY.
2: Doesn't matter, think of the senior citizens.
1: Hasn't Chase been repeatedly fined for predatory lending practices with seniors?
2: I expect this to be an adult conversation, please act like it.
1: I am an adult, but you're just reading scripts at me, and not addressing my problem.
2: Chase has BILLIONS of customers, and they all seem to think we do our job OK.
1: BILLIONS? You mean even people in rural China, Subsaharan Africa and in the Indian Subcontinent use their Chase credit cards to buy their daily rice bowls?
2: YEA THAT'S RIGHT MISTER, BILLIONS. YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT HUH.... BILLIONS... WE'RE BILLIONS STRONG.
1: So 1/3 the world has Chase credit cards? That's mind boggling.
2: Consider your mind BOGGLED... BILLIONS.
1: Well thanks for your time, you may want to check into that "BILLIONS" figure.
2: BILLIONS.
*hang up*
Sure it wasn't (resurrected) Carl Sagan you were talking with?

ArbolLoco said:Do you know the one thing to never say to a customer service rep if you're late on your bill? Do you know how Chase ranks you, and how you're ranked determines whether they help you out in a bind? Do you know the best way to get what you want from customer service? After you read these 10 confessions from a Chase customer service rep, you will.

.....

4. DON'T SAY "MY PAYMENT WAS LATE BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET MY STATEMENT"
Please please, don't tell me this. This is the worst excuse ever. While I dont doubt that some people somehow legitimately didn't get their bill, for the most part, its a lie to cover up the fact you didnt make your payment on time. Hmm, for the past 5 years you've always gotten a statement to the correct address on file, but the one month you're late it didn't show up. Right. Somehow, whenever the car payment or the mortgage is due, people never forget that, even without a paper reminder.

.......
On very rare occasions, I have received other people's statements together with mine. That mean the other person did not get theirs.

I agree that in most cases, "not getting" their statments is a lie. But how do people, that really didn't get their statements, prove that in this case, they are telling the truth????