Originally Posted by
ashill
I know this may not be helpful, but mileage-earning credit cards are a great deal if you pay off your entire balance in full every month (in which case the interest rate is entirely irrelevant) and a pretty lousy deal otherwise. My advice: don't use a credit card for spending that you couldn't pay for in cash if you so chose.
Exactly!
I wonder if OP has late-paid his card that triggers the default rate? Because AA card's regular rate is definitely NOT 29.9% - looking at my cards online it shows 13.24%. Only when one late pays or past due by 30 days? the rate then jumps up to the default rate.
Originally Posted by
ashill
Is Citibank slimy? Of course.
So as AMEX, so as any other credit card issuer.
Wait till OP get more of AMEX who currently with its default rate at almost 10%, is cutting people's credit lines, shutting down accounts deemed risky, or asking Financial Reviews when it is not happy with the spending pattern...
Originally Posted by
dayone
If one carries a balance, a rewards card is a very poor choice.
Right on. If one cannot pay off the balance but must charge it (live above one's mean?), one is better off to use a plain-vanilla card that carries low rate.
Surprisingly, I saw my Citi PPE card shows only 9.24% rate, and my Citi Profession actually has a 0% APR, although it is totally irrelevant to us because we never carry any balance.
Also while the 0% BT checks still flowing in, they all carry a minimum 3% one-time fee, with NO CAP. It is like every week such checks would land in our mailbox and they got immediately torn up and ended in the trash.