Does my Credit Card company care about me?

[scooter260]

My wife and I have been American Express Blue card holders for ~8 years. We spend approx $60,000/yr or roughly $5,000/month on the card. The credit limit is $30,000.

We have never once missed a payment or paid anything less than the full balance each month.

So, I'm wondering.....if I call them and say I want to cancel the card to move to another loyalty program (Capital One, a Delta Airlines card, a Marriott card, etc), will they even care? They are not making a dime off us in fees or interest so I'm guessing they won't give a rat's ass.

Am I correct or do you think they will do whatever it takes to keep me around? My plan is to use all our accumulated points on a vacation and then move to a different card. Thoughts?

 

[LOL!]

You have to tell them what you want. They are not going to come up with something suitable out of the blue.

I asked for 5% cash-back on all purchases on a credit card. They politely declined to accept my terms. I stopped using the card.

 

[Achiever51]

I too am an AmEx Blue card holder and have been pretty happy with it. my only comment is that with a card with an 8 yr history, and one that has a history of pretty low ratio of amount charged to credit limit, you might ding your credit score by canceling it. If you move to another card, why not just put the AmEx in a drawer..or cut it up without canceling it?

 

[73ss454]

You say AmEx is not making a dime off of you. Well, every time you spend money on the card the vendor pays them 3 or 4 %. They are doing just fine but they aren't going to do anything else for you. JMHO

 

[GregLee]

Am I correct or do you think they will do whatever it takes to keep me around?

I think they will try to keep you around. It's probably a good bet for them that, even if you always paid your balance in the past and so avoided large interest charges, soon you will fall behind and start to pay them the exorbitant fees they expect from people like you.

 

[SteveR]

Yes, you are helping to support Amex through your purchases. The business you buy from pays the fee to a clearing house and to Amex. You pay through higher prices for items you buy so the business can average out the costs between the various credit cards, debit cards, checks and cash. The only one that has no fees are cash (and most personal checks). Every credit card variant carries its own fee schedule... it is amazing how many different rates there are out there...hundreds literally. American Express is by far the most expensive of the major cards to accept as a business. Discover is a close second. We accept all the major ones and debit cards because we have a few very good customers that only use these cards. Debit card fees are even higher than most credit cards and we won't accept one for a purchase under $25; we may drop it all together since the use is so low.

We have Amex as our personal card (along with a few others because it is not accepted everywhere) and our history with them is similar to yours. We use it mostly for the airline miles but we are looking to go with another card for more options. I doubt Amex will really care much either way. There is not much they can do to provide incentive to stay with them. I can't see them giving more miles per $ spent and lowing the interest rate has no effect on us.

 

[FUEGO]

You could mention some of the more generous credit card offers out there right now. Amex even has (had?) one recently where they basically give you $500 in rewards for signing up for their Amex Gold card or something like that. CapitalOne Venture had a $1000 sign up offer. Chase Sapphire has a $1000 sign up offer. And those are x2 if you get one for you, one for DW. Not saying you have to apply for these, just use them as leverage when talking to Amex retention department. They may throw you a hundred bucks or couple hundred bucks in miles/cash/rewards/gift cards for being a loyal card holder. Or not, in which case you can apply for another card.

 

[Nords]

... why not just put the AmEx in a drawer...

This is the best way to get a credit card company's attention-- put theirs away and start using someone else's card. After 6-8 months they'll either start pelting you with retention offers-- or they'll notify you of cancellation and give you a number to call to discuss it.

 

[ls99]

Uh, If you have to ask...... the answer is self evident.

 

[FinanceDude]

I think all CC companies could give a rip about any of their cardholders. I called Citicard and requested a lower interest rate (currently 15.9%) Their response was "well you always pay it off in full, why does it matter"

Customer service is dead.........

 

[arebelspy]

I think all CC companies could give a rip about any of their cardholders. I called Citicard and requested a lower interest rate (currently 15.9%) Their response was "well you always pay it off in full, why does it matter"

Customer service is dead.........

I am wondering what your answer is. If you always pay it off in full, why do you care what your rate is?

I'm asking as someone who always pays in full, and has no idea what my card rates are, just that they have no annual fee.

 

[ziggy29]

I asked for 5% cash-back on all purchases on a credit card. They politely declined to accept my terms. I stopped using the card.

And they probably laughed as they should have, especially if you paid in full each month. At most they are making maybe 3% off your purchases and zero on interest if you pay in full, so why on earth would any business that wanted to stay in business give 5% cash back on everything?

 

[calmloki]

Dang deadbeat. If you would just miss a payment or two, or pay the minimum amount once in a while....

Priceless: Do Credit Card “Deadbeats” Get a Free Ride?

Lotsa deadbeats around here. me included.

 

[FreeAtLast]

They do make money collecting from the merchant a percentage of the sales transaction, and have the opportunity to charge you late fees or finance charges. Not everyone pays promptly like you do.

I also have the same card. I can remember that a few times I carried a balance into the next month because I had some unexpected large expenditures in the same cycle.

 

[Katsmeow]

My wife and I have been American Express Blue card holders for ~8 years. We spend approx $60,000/yr or roughly $5,000/month on the card. The credit limit is $30,000.

We have never once missed a payment or paid anything less than the full balance each month.

So, I'm wondering.....if I call them and say I want to cancel the card to move to another loyalty program (Capital One, a Delta Airlines card, a Marriott card, etc), will they even care? They are not making a dime off us in fees or interest so I'm guessing they won't give a rat's ass.

Am I correct or do you think they will do whatever it takes to keep me around? My plan is to use all our accumulated points on a vacation and then move to a different card. Thoughts?

Do you have the Amex Blue Cash card? It doesn't give points. It gives cash back. Personally I haven't found a rewards card that is really a long term better deal than it is. We used to have a Gold Amex card which gave Membership Rewards points. I eventually spent all the points (gift cards) and cancelled that accout since I really preferred to use the Blue cash card. If you don't have a Blue Cash card I would suggest asking if they could move your account to that type card.

 

[scrabbler1]

I'm asking as someone who always pays in full, and has no idea what my card rates are, just that they have no annual fee.

Same here. As long as they have no annual fee, maintain the grace period, and maintain a branch walking distance from where I live so I can pay the bill in person (sometimes in cash; I also get quarters for the laundry LOL!) to avoid any chance of a "lost" payment, they can do whatever they like with the interest rate.

I recognize the bank tellers on their breaks while walking around the neighborhood more than I recognize the interest rate on the dang cards!

 

[Glo]

We've had a cash-back Discover for a few years. I usually get between $400-$500 back each year. I'm happy with that, but their promotions are being cut back quite a bit. As an example, they'd give you 5 percent cash back on all grocery items for the month. Now its 5 percent up to $200. Not too crazy about that but I guess its better than nothing.

 

[FinanceDude]

I am wondering what your answer is. If you always pay it off in full, why do you care what your rate is?

I'm asking as someone who always pays in full, and has no idea what my card rates are, just that they have no annual fee.

What if I put a large purchase on there and let the balance ride because I don't want to drain cash down? With our FICO scores in the 820's you would think they could lower the rate. I sent them a letter requesting to lower my rates. My Discover card is at 9.99 so maybe I'll just close the Citi and keep using Discover.......

 

[ziggy29]

We've had a cash-back Discover for a few years. I usually get between $400-$500 back each year. I'm happy with that, but their promotions are being cut back quite a bit. As an example, they'd give you 5 percent cash back on all grocery items for the month. Now its 5 percent up to $200. Not too crazy about that but I guess its better than nothing.

I'm still waiting for FIA to tell me that the now discontinued Schwab card with 2% cash back is no longer going to be in effect. But surprisingly, for now it still is...

 

[Sarah in SC]

Zig, you lucky dog! I wish I could have gotten that card when it was still available!
Had to settle for PenFed instead.
FinDud--why do you care about the interest rate if you pay it off in full? That seems like a reasonable question for them to ask.

 

[ERD50]

I'm still waiting for FIA to tell me that the now discontinued Schwab card with 2% cash back is no longer going to be in effect. But surprisingly, for now it still is...

Zig, you lucky dog! I wish I could have gotten that card when it was still available!
Had to settle for PenFed instead.
FinDud--why do you care about the interest rate if you pay it off in full? That seems like a reasonable question for them to ask.

Fidelity still offers it. I got one ~ 18 months ago, and it always redirects to an FIA site.

edit/add link:

http://personal.fidelity.com/products/checking/content/amex_rewards_card.shtml



Only 'catch' to get the 2% is you need to set it up to deposit to a Fidelity account, and that 'ties up' $2,000. I use a cash account so I don't create any cap gains issues with a bunch of small deposits, so by some calculations, I guess you could say I'm missing out on an average long term 7% gain each year (based on 3% inflation, 4% SWR SWAG), ~ $140/year. Since it is 'cash' but not really liquid, it's a 'waste' of cash.

I guess I could put in the ROTH as current year contributions. By tax time, I'd know how much to add to top it off to the max/ Guess that would work.

-ERD50

 

[GregLee]

FinDud--why do you care about the interest rate if you pay it off in full? That seems like a reasonable question for them to ask.

I know you didn't ask me, but it doesn't seem reasonable to me. What business is it of theirs? Maybe he has an anti-usury philosophy. If he didn't care about the rate, he wouldn't be asking.

 

[FinanceDude]

FinDud--why do you care about the interest rate if you pay it off in full? That seems like a reasonable question for them to ask.

It's the principle of the thing............

 

[FinanceDude]

I know you didn't ask me, but it doesn't seem reasonable to me. What business is it of theirs? Maybe he has an anti-usury philosophy. If he didn't care about the rate, he wouldn't be asking.

Question everything is my personal mantra.........

 

[Texas Proud]

To OPs question.... based on the title.... NOPE, they don't care...


But if you pushed them a bit, I would think they would like to keep you more than let you go.... it just matters as to what you want... and is it being offered to others...

As an example... the poster who said 'give me 5% or else' will always be shown the door... now, I am getting 5% on certain purchases, but not all... but I know if I asked for it they would laugh.... it is not available out there anymore....