Most or all credit card contracts pretty much state that the company can change the terms whenever they want, which means sooner or later they will fuck over anyone who doesn't pay off the balance every month. Even the people with no missed bills and a good credit score. The people who pay off the balance every month are referred to in the industry as "deadbeats". That should tell you all you need to know about the credit industry. They are all a bunch of fucking thieves.

If, for some reason, you need to have a credit card, go through a credit union. If you have a credit card through a regular bank, transfer that balance to a card issued from a credit union. If you have a regular bank account, switch to a credit union. Credit unions tend to have less incentive to rip you off and fuck you over than a normal bank, and generally have smaller fees and better terms across the board. Unless you are middle class or higher, you can't win with a normal bank. They are designed to fuck poor people out of money they don't have or desperately need.

Here's some info every should know before they get a credit card.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/

Fuck them all with a gigantic bag of rotting dicks.

Thank god I said no when those fuckers tried to give me one.

This thread reminds me of the assholes who act like alcohol is evil and no one should be drinking because they have trouble drinking. Alcohol doesn't work for everybody. Credit cards do not work for everybody. Alcohol can be very fun for some people. Credit cards can be very useful for some people.

alex maiolo wrote:Don't take the first offer that comes along. Deal with a bank you trust, and *demand* that they set the spending cap at something low, like the equivalent of $500-1000us. Demand a low interest rate. If they say they can't do it, tell them you'll go elsewhere. It's amazing how often they figure it out after you say that. Remember, they are banking on the fact (sorry about the pun) that you will rack up debt and make them rich in fees - DON'T DO IT. Read your contract. If you don't understand it, call and ask. Keep asking until you get solid answers.

True

davesec wrote:increasing your limit does not increase your rating, by the way

False. Dude who talked about the debt to credit ratio as a factor of your credit score was right. The higher credit (how much money has been made available to you, like the credit limit on a card) to debt (balance) ratio you have the better. There are two ways to improve this number. Lower your debt (pay your balance) or increase your credit.

BadComrade wrote:Chase just jacked my friend's credit card interest rate by 10% with no explanation. He called them, and they said, "I don't know... you haven't missed a payment or anything... maybe your credit score dropped?"

If you are late/miss a payment on ANY card, any of your other cards can jack your rate up even if it was not their card that you missed the payment on.

davesec wrote:i think the best way to get good credit is to spend and pay off about 10% of your limit each month.

A safer way to build credit history would be to have bills put in your name. Utility bills, cable bills, cell phone, whatever.


Hate credit cards? What to fuck up their whole racket? Get a card with a great rewards program, pay your balance every month, cash in your rewards. That will show them.

Check out Suze Orman's book Young, Fabulous, and Broke. Like her TV show, it is slightly cheesy but packed full of useful information for people (like me) who did not have a ton of experience with money or credit. The best part: She has been there. She was once 29, working as a waitress, thousands of dollars in debt. She knows.

readysetrawk wrote:A safer way to build credit history would be to have bills put in your name. Utility bills, cable bills, cell phone, whatever.

I don't know if it differs in the US, but in the UK the only accounts that are included on your credit report are those where you have given your consent, under the Data Protection Act, for details of the account to be passed on to a credit reference agency. Currently such consent wording only appears on accounts that extend you a credit facility - this would not cover most utility bills. The only phone bills it would cover are contract mobile phones.

With regards to credit scoring, you need to remember that companies set their own scorecard depending on what type of facility they are lending (secured loan, unsecured loan, credit card, etc) and also what type of customer they are marketing towards (American Express will have a different target customer to Capital One, for example). So, an action that boosts your score with one company will have a different affect with another.

Here are some general tips for keeping your score high (some are obvious!):

- don't miss any payments!
- get registered on the Eelctoral Roll
- if your partner / spouse has a poor credit history don't make joint applications or open joint accounts
- if you open a number of accounts in short time period your score will drop for a while
- don't make too many applications. 3 or more in the last six months and your score will drop significantly
- if you have a number of active accounts with high limits / loan balances you may not get granted further credit. Lenders will add up your available limits and decide you already have enough available

I work for one of the major credit reference agencies, so if anyone wants some specific advice then PM me.

readysetrawk wrote:Hate credit cards? What to fuck up their whole racket? Get a card with a great rewards program, pay your balance every month, cash in your rewards. That will show them.

This is what we do. I believe we've carried a balance exactly once in the past five years, and even then I'm not positive. We've also accumulated nearly a thousand dollars in goods for our home and baby using gift cards "purchased" with our rewards points.

I think the key is to never, ever carry a balance once you've paid down your debts. If you can't afford it, don't buy it or find some other means to finance it.

i have one. it's in my freezer.

Rick Reuben wrote:Pay off a credit card debt too rapidly or in a big lump sum, get put on a watch list:

Ah, sometimes if you use your card in an abnormal way like making large payments, the bank will suspect fraud or money laundering so they freeze the account temporarily. Pretty annoying if it's your card I suppose though when I worked for a bank (worst fucking job, by the way) we did actually catch some baddies that way

Yeah, any sourceless lump payment to cover credit or investments will usually be seen as fraud until the money is sourced. It's only common sense. Particularly if a wealthy person is needlessly paying for a lot of credit to do it.

More to do with the government's legislation regarding drug trafficking and counterfeiting than bank security, though. Most banks do not want to do that kind of check, but are forced to by regulation. As far as banks are concerned, regulation like this puts pressure onto the private sector from the government, as banks that fail to perform ID and money laundering checks are completely responsible for the outcomes of those transactions, as the police are under no obligation to help them recoup loses.

Edit: this isn't a pro-bank post in the least. It doesn't surprise me to learn that stories like the above are popularized (at the very least, if not originated by) banks looking for bad press for ethical behaviour, as even the most ethical financial institutions have to aggressively press for expansive de-regulation in the consumer credit sector just to secure investor confidence. For example: in the UK last year there were loads of Mailytelegraph style articles of young couples whinging that they couldn't get a mortgage because of the loaming credit crunch. I doubt that those appeared in the right wing press spontaneously to coincide with last years 11 Downing Street bitch fights.

tmidgett wrote:Credit cards are great.

I don't have to carry a bunch of money around with me.

I can buy something without having to go withdraw money from a bank or an ATM.

I don't have a bunch of change to deal with.

I run everything through my 'miles' card, and I get three or four free plane tickets a year from that thing.

I can buy shit on the internet and not have to waste a bunch of time tracking down whatever it is I want.

When I had no money, they allowed me to get things I wanted to make music etc., when I had no cash to buy these things. I made a couple records on credit cards. My wife and a friend made a movie on a credit card.

Maybe you'll get in over your head a few times. So you have to pay it off. Oh well.

If you can't handle that, or if you're undisciplined to the point that you're actually worried about fucking yourself, then don't get one.

I agree. I get so many "points" from my Amex (use to buy computer stuff at work for which I get reimbursed) that I NEVER have to pay for anything at Home Depot or Lowes, since I make with a $500 gift card every 2-3 months from just using and paying off the card.

Using it all the time because you don't have the cash to back up what you are buying, bad idea

I was once 18k in debt. I focused real hard, got down to brass tacks and ate rice and beans for a year and paid it off. If you focus and stop buying stupid shit and work an extra job, it can be done.