A 5 minute phone call to your credit card company could save you money.
This site talks a lot about credit cards (here, here, and here for example). This is probably due my past experience with them. We go back. My first credit card ever was from Citibank when I turned 18. I thought it was so cool to have my own card, even it was only a $300 credit limit one. It had a “low APR” of 14.99%, which jumped to 25.99% in 6 months. Within a week I spent half of my limit.
Looking at some old receipts, it seemed like I spent it on a mixture of eating out, gifts for family (I felt good at the time about that), car repairs, and stupid(er) things. I didn’t use Bill Pay at the time and my checks had a habit of being late (due to procrastination and forgetfulness). When I called to pay over the phone so I wouldn’t be late, they charged $15-$20 for this “convenience.”
Now I have one card that I use on occasion, it’s a Visa from my local credit union. I got it when I turned 19 and I was thrilled when I got upgraded to Platinum about 2 ½ years ago. (Man, I’m so easily impressed.) Here’s the 411 on it:
- It has no rewards.
- Interest rate is 17.99%
- It has a $1000 Credit Limit.
Good news is that I pay it off ever month. I got burned with Citibank and didn’t want to go back to that. I want to keep this as this my longest current card. I’m wondering though am I missing out on a better deal. Should I go with a cash back rewards card? Should I increase my credit limit by a bit (I was offered this a few months back but declined)?
So I’m asking you for help. What’s in your wallet? Do you like the credit cards that you have? Would you switch to another if you could?
Photo Credit: liewcf
