Be very careful if you use your credit cards this holiday season. Towards the end of November, reports started surfacing that credit card companies were increasing their interest rates for anyone without a spotless payment history. It can not be a coincidence that this increase just happens to have coincided with the holiday buying season.
I'm not talking about small increases. Numerous companies have doubled their rates as well as increased fees, even as the Federal Government slashed the cost of funds to banks to a record low 1%. New "use" fees are appearing on bills, and minimum payment amounts are also creeping up. Even store credit cards are increasing rates. And some, like Home Depot, are lowering credit limits for buyers whose credit scores have dropped.
Like everyone else, banks and retailers are looking for ways to lower risk and increase their net. If you must use credit cards, make sure you review your latest bills for changes to fees and interest rates. If you don't check, you may find that $50 toy you charged is costing you a lot more than you thought.
1 comment:
Around this time I got a notice from my Citibank Dividend card... rates going up. Forgot by how much, but it was a pretty big jump. I pay it off each month, so no biggie... but if I didn't, this would be a huge problem.
Post a Comment