Question
My first post but I'm an avid flyertalk reader and user of the good information found here.
Just cancelled my Southwest Visa through First USA. Am cancelling all other accounts open with them too. I have been trying to get First USA to act IAW the credit card dispute laws since last August ... just kept getting more form letters from First USA to send First USA more information before they'd handle my dispute. Incredible. Will write to Southwest too and tell 'em they've got a -bad partner- in their alliance.
Answer
What's IAW??
Answer
IAW = in accordance with
Answer
I have used the First USA Visa with SWA tie-in for three years. Couple of +/- to share.
The segment per $1,000 USD charged is awesome. All segments post automatically and I have never had any problems to speak of with the card itself.
As per First USA's staff, well that is another matter. Woe be it to anyone who tries to call them and hold any form of a coherent conversation. I still have four Visa's indicated with First USA, when in fact I only have one card. Every year I check my credit report and every year I write back to First USA and beg them to take off three of the non-existent credit cards. This begging letter is invariably followed up with (some form) of a conversation with the non-English speaking staff at First USA.
First USA blames TRW, and TRW states that they are only showing what First USA reports (this is correct). Well, at least they show me as not having any balances on these three phantom cards.
[This message has been edited by Butcher Bird (edited 05-20-2001).]
Answer
I agree, Butcher bird. It'd be great if you didn't have to deal with First USA and what they pass off as customer service. Customer dis-service is more accurate.
I'll miss a few tickets a year on Southwest; will have to look at some of the other Southwest credit card partners.
[This message has been edited by drtravel (edited 05-20-2001).]
Answer
First USA has ConSITENTLY screwed things up with me concerning ANY FORM of DISPUTE. Forms, forms & MORE forms--all to no avail. Did they receive the form? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. First yes, then no, then they close the dispute saying you owe them and ALL interest on the dispute.......then you call, yada yada yada, then they research.
This can take months & months.....for me over a year on one, 4 months on another.
One time I sent payment, the check cleared my checking, they claim ignorance.......4.5 months in dispute despite me sending all proof in one week!
THIS IS THE WORST BANK ANYONE CAN DO BUSINESS WITH. They will threaten you, blame you and most importantly NOT help you, unless you threaten lawyers!!!
I have had NO problems with MBNA or AMEX.
No amount of rewards is worth working with First USA. In the present you may be fine, but there will come a time when you WILL have to DEAL with them, & your sanity will BE TESTED for months. Beware my friends!
Answer
We are all on the same page here. Just for grins, your post induced me to check on my credit report again today (I do so about once a year).
Still showing four SWA Visas, only one of which is accurate. Grrrrr.......Year after year this goes on. I will send another letter to First USA and TRW and they will probably point their finger at the other party. Again. As usual. This is irksome.
Answer
Wolverine, I think we've had similarly bad experiences with First USA. Mine went awry when First USA wrote back saying my dispute was about another line item on the bill that month and why'd -I- get the names wrong. It took them months to get over that error, but they never noted the amount as in dispute, as I believe they're required to do. About nine months and many mindless form letters later, the wrong company dispute came up again, resurrected out of the blue by First USA. All in all, in 10 months I don't think they ever contacted the company I had the dispute with.
Answer
I have had Priority Club Visa from First USA, really had no problem with it because i hardly ever use it, so I cancelled the account, before I had a Bank One Platinum which I had really no problem with also, later Bank One bought out FirstUSA and integrated their Credit Customer Service to the Corporation. One thing I like about FirstUSA/BankOne is that they are one of the first banks to give you online access/payment to all of your credit cards, which indeed made my life a lot easier.
Even though I really had no problem with the company, I do fully understand that when the TIME comes, i'll see their true colors and from what I am hearing, it ain't no pretty color...
I am FirstUSA free as of now, about to open a Dell FirstUSA account because of it's excellent 2% rebate on Dell products.
------------------
Al
Answer
Afang,
Go with Nextcard Amazon. They have a 2% redemption also & it's free.
Skip the hassles of dealing with First USA altogether.
Answer
I fully agree, that dealing with First USA is much less then acceptable. I have cancelled all cards through them.
There are other credit cards, that are doing a service for their customers.
Answer
I too will never do business with First USA again. I had done business with First USA on with a non-rewards card and had a hard time dealing with them. I would send my payments in early enough and some how they still were processed as late. I was disappointed when Marriott Rewards switched to First USA, i tried it out for a while and then cancelled their service again.
This should tell you what kind of company they really are. Several months ago a received a check from First USA as part of a class action lawsuit they lost. Something to do with poor service and charging customer late fees when their payments weren't late...
Answer
try this for size, I have a Citibank World MC.While in Peru last week I picked up some Scotch for a friend in the duty free shop, the price was in US$ on the bottle,when I went to pay I gave my Diners card seems they can only charge the DC in local money(which meant a 3% charge) so I gave them my Citi MC the receipt was in US$, yet Citi added a 3% charge they said since it wasnt purchased in the US they(Citi) can charge me in the local currency(sure this way they add 3%) when I called they refused to deduct it.
I left it that when the fee comes due Im out of there plus I have NO plans to pay the 81 cents.They said then late fees etc will be charged,I told them where they could put those charges. So dont feel so bad about First USA which I too have recently dropped as a card holder.
Answer
Craz,
In the memeber statement, it clearly states that 1% is added by Mastercard & 2% is added by Citibank.
Citibank & First USA are 2 of MANY banks that are currently charging 3%.
If you want cheap FX charges, go with MBNA which stays at 1%.
Nexcard and AMEX at 2%, are also other options.
Word of advice: swallow the 80 cents in dispute--you don't want your credit history to be impacted--AND THEY WILL report you....definitely not worth screwing your credit report over 80 cents--especially when Citibank has always been upfront about their 3% FX surcharge.
In the end, even 3% charge is markedly better than having money exchanged at Thomas Cooke or going to an ATM & paying a fee.
Answer
Capital One charges nothing on overseas transactions. This saves me a bundle every year.
Their mileage program is not worthwhile, IMO. But for purchases abroad, it is nice to have a card with no fees attached.
Answer
I dont have a prob with the 3% if the charge was in a foreign currency,however it was in US$!! I dont feel that its up to the CC to decide that it must be in local currency when my receipts are printed with the price in US$ and the equalivent in local money.
They say anything outside the US no matter what is in local cuurency,heck Im asked all the time do I want to be charged in US$ or local currency. If I chose US$ then thats the way it should stay. Its not the 81 cents as much as the principle of the thing. And I still plan NOT to pay the 81 cents!!!
Answer
Craz,
Ouch. I hope your cerdit report doesn't get hit. What'll you do about the interest charges Citibank will charge?
Answer
You may wish to get the "Quantum" MasterCard from MBNA. When travelling abroad they do not charge any ATM fee and apply the interbank rate on currency conversions. The card has no annual fee.
Answer
not too worried about my credit in as much that i recently got a couple of new cards(just for the initial pts etc) each one gave me a $15,000 limit. As for the interest ill call back once I get it and see if theyll remove it if not I guess it'll just keep adding up,I really dont care.
Answer
Craz,
You may not want to rack up too much in the way of open lines of credit. Excessive available (open) lines hurt your (FICO) credit score.
Even if you turn around and close the lines after getting the pts, etc., a high number of open/closed accounts also hurts your credit score. Granted, the reduction in your credit score is pretty minor in comparison to the true "bad" news type of items (charge offs, etc.).
Odds are that a few extra cards here and there will not result in a higher interest rate on a house or auto loan. But, if you are on the border vis-a-vie getting one rate or the other, even a few points differential on your score can make the difference.
Answer
B.B.,
thanks for the concern and info,but w/o going into any details basically I have no use for credit other than for the cards and on a daily basis I get at least 2-3 offers for cards already pre approved.But have NO use for them,NEVER did I pay even 1 cent for late fees or interest in over 25 years.
as for cars usally purchase them outright no leases.
Answer
Good man, Craz.
Under those parameters, your approach makes sense. And definitely on purchasing an auto versus entering into a lease (albeit a lease can make a little sense under the parameters of a business). Esp. if the lease rate works out to be less than the weighted avg, or preferably marginal cost of capital.
Answer
Interesting, on my trip to EZE I used my Citibank AA MC and the Starwood AmEx. I charged items on both cards, sometimes in USD and sometimes in Argentine Pesos. Add to the confusion that the symbol for Argentine Pesos is also "$". I kept good record of which items were charged in USD and which in Pesos. I did get charged the 3% on the Peso charges. Unfortunately the charges for items in USD but purchased in Argentina were on my AmEx so I can't tell you what Citibank would have done to me. I can tell you AmEx just charged it in USD exactly as I signed for it on the receipt, no extra charge or conversion fee. Do I understand the point correctly that your receipt is in USD but Citibank is adding the fee anyway? Citibank seems to be making a mistake by adding the fee. Do you think it might just be the customer service person not understanding the point? Maybe you can write to them including a copy of the receipt showing the charge in USD. I say that because we all know the caliber of customer service we receive lately. I know what you mean about it being the principle, that is more infuriating than anything.
Answer
FirstUSA is just full of problems. I still cannot believe that BankOne bought them! I used to live in Arizona and banked with ONE and became a shareholder. Ever since the FUSA fiasco ONE stock has been in the toilet.
Oh, I agree with the Citibank comments. They also are very poor about disputes. They don't recognize a written dispute UNTIL you send back their little form, even though you have already written it up! And that class action settlement is crap. They should refund every penny of late charges.
Also, is Citibank the only company that tacks on a late charge if you don't pay by the due date, not the end of the billing cycle?
Answer
I'm using Citi AA WM as well, and luckily i haven't had any disputes with them yet. I'm planning on terminate this card by the end of next year since my membership is due. I heard some good things about Capitol One, but they do not have any worthwhile affinity cards nor rebate cards... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
------------------
Al
Answer
Craz,
I don't know how much credit knowledge do you have.. but if you care about your credit worthness, check www.myfico.com (http://www.myfico.com)
Then read a few posts from www.creditnet.com (http://www.creditnet.com)
Basically, you will be hit with a late payment fee of $20 and this will accumulate a 20% interest. Before you know it, you will owe them close to $50 for a 80 cents debt.
They do not care about your credit and as long as you have a late payment (30 days and more), your credit score (FICO) will drop. The longer this late payment goes, the lower this score will drop.
Once this score drops to below a certain level (usually around 650), you will start having problems getting credit. In fact, your existing credit card companies might cancel your cards. Most credit card companies pull their customer's credit on regular basis, typically three to four times a year. Once the score falls below their minimum (different in each bank), the account will be closed as the customer is considered "too risky".
So don't just say "I have other cards and why do I care?" If you really want to do this for principle, be prepared to sue them and pay big on legal fee. Otherwise, they will not care, they will simply keep charging late fee plus interest until your credit is totally ruined.
Read the sites that I referenced. Good luck.
Answer
First USA does not charge any additonal mark-up on foreign currnecy transactions for United Mileage Plus Visa and Mastercards. Only the underlying 1% from the Visa or MC.
Since First USA seems to whack many of their other cards with add-ons for foreign currency, this may well be part of the contract with United.
Answer
Get this!.......I closed out all my old First USA accounts I had years ago after my BAD experiences with them.
Last week I received a statement giving me about 38 cents CREDIT from a "class-action lawsuit."
I :
1.) can't believe that this First USA card is STILL OPEN, and,
2.) can't believe I get 38 cents back from the numerous late fees they imposed on me back in the days when First USA was scamming customers by cashing payments in late to charge late fees!
THESE GUYS JUST DON'T GET IT DO THEY!!!?
[This message has been edited by Wolverine (edited 06-25-2001).]
Answer
From what I've been told in the past, if you tell a credit card company to cancel your card they don't do it most of the time. What they do is make it inactive. They are hoping you will come back some day (and also they won't have to give you any bonus offer again). You have to ask them to permanently cancel your card, remove it from credit agency reports, and have a letter sent to you stating that they have done this.
It surprised me when I saw my credit bureau report how many cards were on there that I cancelled (I thought) a long time ago.
Answer
Wow! You have convinced me to cancel my FUSA card today. That's what I like about this forum,....all the good heads up info to fellow travelers. I haven't had a problem, SO FAR, with this CC but I'm getting out before it catches up with me. Too many complaints here to test my luck! Thanks again!
Answer
Re: First USA (SouthWest's Partner) - About 12months ago, maybe 16-18mo ago, the Dallas Morning News wrote a huge expose of First USA's Credit Card program....in effect, DMNews reported (among other scams) they [FirstUSA bank] purposefully delayed posting consumers' payments to account until certain payment deadlines were missed, which apparently then triggered very stiff penalties, higher interest rates, etc.
I distinctly remember this article (or series of articles) because I called SWAirlines and (complained) and asked them if they were aware of the scams their choice of credit card partner was involved in. The SWA rep I spoke with admitted she was aware of the recent news regarding First USA.
I believe I recall, but can't say for certain, that the FTC got involved and fined First USA....
So....if you guys think FirstUSA is "incompetent"...you might consider the perspective of " if FirstUSA were doing this on purpose, what would be the effect" ? Instead of "incompetent", seems they were extremely competent in ripping off consumers.
BTW - I hold one of these cards, but do not actively use it. I find moving miles from AMEX is as efficient and much easier to deal with.
If you go to this site you might can find the reports in Dallas Morning News' archives -
http://www.dallasnews.com/
Answer
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by ILUVCITIBANK:
DMNews reported (among other scams) they [FirstUSA bank] purposefully delayed posting consumers' payments to account until certain payment deadlines were missed, which apparently then triggered very stiff penalties, higher interest rates, etc.
Actually, there was a large class action lawsuit that recently settled. I think I got $0.29. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif
Answer
just checked my citi acct on-line and sure enough finally got the credit for that 81 cents that I felt shouldnt have been charged.
once I faxed a copy of my DC statement from 9/00 where I also did a duty-free purchase overseas that was charged in US$,they couldnt rely on ALL overseas transactions are in foreign currencies and NEVER in US$. It wasnt the 81 cents as much as where did CITI-BANK get off to charge for a transaction in forgein currency when the receipts etc are all in US$. I guess their way to make a quick 3% for no reason what so ever.
Well for the time being Ill be keeping the card as well as my eyes on their statements more so now than ever B4. Guess its time to put the Citi-AA card back into the wallet.