Came across this on yahoo and figured I'd post. BOA, to top off there slashing of people's credit lines, will now be charging a test group annual fees.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091013/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_of_ameri...

"NEW YORK – Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday it will charge a limited number of its credit card customers annual fees ranging from $29 to $99 starting next year.

"We're testing this to see what the feedback is. In terms of any plans going forward, we haven't made any decisions," said Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for Bank of America. She said the fee is being "tested" on 1 percent of its credit card accounts globally, but declined to give specific numbers.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., had 80.2 million credit cards in circulation last year, making it the third-largest issuer of cards, according to CreditCards.com . Chase was first with 119.4 million cards, while Citi had 92 million.

The Bank of America accounts that will be charged fees were selected based on "risk and profitability," Riess said. That means customers in good standing who never carried a balance — and never incurred interest charges or late fees — could be among those getting notices.

The notices of the new fee comes after Bank of America last week vowed not to hike interest rates on credit cards ahead of the sweeping new credit-card reforms that go into effect in February. That pledge came as Congress considered moving up the effective date of the law to Dec. 1. Customers across the country have seen interest rates hiked and credit limits lowered since the law was signed in May.

Among other consumer protections, the law limits how and when banks can hike interest rates and fees on credit cards.

Analysts have predicted banks would make up lost revenue by charging annual fees more frequently on credit cards and checking accounts, even for customers in good standing.

"We are making this change in response to market conditions, new federal laws and regulations, and the increasing costs of providing unsecured credit," states a letter sent to a Bank of America credit-card customer and obtained by The Associated Press.

Customers are told that they can reject the fee, but will subsequently have their account closed. The deadline to reject the change of terms is Dec. 16.

Closing a credit card account can come with repercussions to a person's credit score, since it would lower the amount of available credit a person has access to.

Some Bank of America cards, such as airline rewards cards, already come with fees.

Chase also charges annual fees on select rewards cards, but a spokeswoman said the company has no plans to test annual fees on a broader basis. Wells Fargo said it does not "speculate on future business policies and practices."

A Citi representative could not be immediately reached for comment."

fcastro said:
"We're testing this to see what the feedback is. In terms of any plans going forward, we haven't made any decisions," said Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for Bank of America. She said the fee is being "tested" on 1 percent of its credit card accounts globally, but declined to give specific numbers." Prediction: It will fail due to competition unless people are sleeping on the wheel.

Not necessarily... For some reasons, a lot of people stick with BofA, like a lot of people stuck with AOL Dial-up connection in the early broadband years, simply because of its massive branch and ATM presences, i.e., convenience and familiarity or they are basically too lazy to switch.

It seems hard to believe but not everyone reads FWF, you know...

dumroo said:Prediction: It will fail due to competition unless people are sleeping on the wheel.

Their commercials are nauseating. I can just picture the morons who will gladly pay this fee as they accept a 1% rate of return on their CDs.

...BTW, I would love to be one of the lucky ones who get this fee. I'll love telling BOA what they can do with their card and their fee.

screw them. I wont pay any new fees for BOA cards. If they send me any fee notices goodbye. I am dumping AMEX green also even if I had it for 16 yrs. 55.00 just isnt worth it.

Rob

My oldest card is a Bank of America visa that was once an Alaska Airlines card from I think seafirst bank or something. When I converted it to a regular gold visa many years ago there was a $20 annual fee that I would have to call each year to have removed. Even though this is my only card that gives me no points, no rewards and no Cash Back I would hate to cancel one of my very first cards.

Bank of America: "We have a great new program. We choose a random set of lucky customers, ask them to bend over, and give them in the rear hard, without lube".

"We hope the program is well received. Why should not it? It is a great improvement in customer satisfaction."

I've been with Boa for over 12 years,never paid one fee for nothing pays to know all the tellers at your local branch.

icewinsagain said:I've been with Boa for over 12 years,never paid one fee for nothing pays to know all the tellers at your local branch.

Who cares about making a relationship with tellers. I visit the bank once a month on an average to deposit checks and take out cash (for places that dont accept credit cards). So to now force myself spend 30 minutes a week making idle chat with teller for the possibility that i can save a few bucks in fees is an absolute waste of time. Tellers are a dying breed and most of their function has been replaced with the ATM and online money transfer.

Unless one has a business, it is really unnecessary to ever go inside a bank (except maybe for a bank safe locker box).

Thank you for the heads-up. Will watch for the notification.