My wife and I have a shared credit card. I also have my own personal credit card. These are both from the same financial institution. The cards are under the same no fee program. Aside from the numbers and names on the cards they are identical with one major difference.

The interest rate.

I carry a balance. I am what they call “financially irresponsible” and probably shouldn’t be given any domain over any amount of money as I will inevitably squander it.

My wife, on the other hand, is the studious squirrel, carefully storing nuts for winter. Having a balance on her/our card is enough to make her nauseous.

The difference in our interest rates is pretty close to 2:1. The interest rate on my card is nearly double hers. It didn’t start that way. We started at the same interest rate. She never asked them to to take hers down. One day they sent her a letter telling her that her interest rate had gone down by nearly half.

This is easily understandable. They’re trying to entice her to use the card. To carry a balance. They don’t make money otherwise. I get this. Entirely.

That doesn’t change the rate that I’ve got. Considering the fees that I’m paying and my first hand knowledge that they can and will change the rate on these cards I sent a quick inquiry to my credit card company. It rambled down to basically, “Is there a method I can have my interest rate lowered? How?”

I received a form letter response in return that basically amounted to (and the voice in my head read it like Saddam from South Park… don’t ask), “Hey buddy. It’s always that interest rate, guy. We can’t change it. But since you’re such a spineless puppet and our card perks are so freakin’ awesome you’ll just sit there and take it. Go on. Take it. Yeah. You like that, don’t you?”

Yeah. The perks aren’t that awesome, I don’t want to take it, and I know for certain it is not always that rate.

I would have been okay if they declined. That they flat out lied to me that it can not be changed is what irks me. Looks like that card’s going to be paid off and canceled really soon.

david shute - 25.02.10 @ 21:26 - permalink