Amex & BA - 2009 Master Thread
Jan 7, 2009, 3:02 pm
#46
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,753
Nothing to do with the fee, I'm afraid.
I pay no fee, but I've had the letter notifying me that my APR has gone from 16.9% to 19.9%, notwithstanding the fact that I never carry a balance*.
And I'm also afraid that BoE base rate and retail lending rates are only very tenuously linked. Or not at all in some cases!
*Why do I need to tell you this? Because powlo comes from very near me and may think that I'm poor too.
I pay no fee, but I've had the letter notifying me that my APR has gone from 16.9% to 19.9%, notwithstanding the fact that I never carry a balance*.
And I'm also afraid that BoE base rate and retail lending rates are only very tenuously linked. Or not at all in some cases!
*Why do I need to tell you this? Because powlo comes from very near me and may think that I'm poor too.
Jan 7, 2009, 3:33 pm
#47
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: London
Posts: 3,459
The back of mine says it's going up 3%, from 16.9% to 19.9%.
The "total charge for credit" paragraph doesn't mention an annual fee at all (I have an Amex platinum card). It also quotes the APR as 19.9% on the front of the letter.
I thought the current climate had interest rates falling?
The "total charge for credit" paragraph doesn't mention an annual fee at all (I have an Amex platinum card). It also quotes the APR as 19.9% on the front of the letter.
I thought the current climate had interest rates falling?
Jan 7, 2009, 3:48 pm
#48
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Dorchester, Dorset UK
Programs: BA Gold, BMI, ANA, HH Blue, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,063
They've done well out of me this month, taking my December payment twice!
Jan 8, 2009, 2:02 am
#49
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Diamond, Hilton Gold,
Posts: 558
I have had my fee increase letter.
It also contains an offer to "Collect up to 1000 Bonus BA miles during Feb 09 and March 09". 50 BA miles for every transaction over £20 to a maximum of 1000.
I am phoning to challenge the fee increase as I hold a second card and was told previously a reduced fee of £30 would be applicable.
It also contains an offer to "Collect up to 1000 Bonus BA miles during Feb 09 and March 09". 50 BA miles for every transaction over £20 to a maximum of 1000.
I am phoning to challenge the fee increase as I hold a second card and was told previously a reduced fee of £30 would be applicable.
Jan 8, 2009, 2:25 am
#51
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Programs: EY Platinum
Posts: 1,609
FWIW, my wife got a letter with the 16.9 to 19.9% APR increase but no fee. I got the letter with a higher APR increase, and a £30 fee. Neither of us is a Platinum Card holder.
Jan 8, 2009, 6:22 am
#52
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: BoJoVille - Host City of the best ever Olympics!
Programs: Meh!
Posts: 886
.
Jan 8, 2009, 9:26 am
#54
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: BoJoVille - Host City of the best ever Olympics!
Programs: Meh!
Posts: 886
Jan 8, 2009, 9:45 am
#56
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
Strange people. I have both the Amex and both Plats. Each year they charge me the £120 and I have to call them and they then credit it back. I've got the increased charge letter and called them and asked if they could fix the account details so the charge simply isn't made. After a delay they came back and said that the charge will be charged and credited each year but it has to be done manually - and I'd have to call each year.
What a system.
What a system.
Jan 9, 2009, 1:05 am
#57
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,357
(Although reading from above this looks like a bit of luck rather than the norm)
Jan 9, 2009, 1:43 am
#58
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,929
Not to worry - the Torygraph is taking up our cause - "Amex charges record levels for credit" on the front of their business section this morning! Can't find the main piece, but from their comment section:
Chop up the card 
Originally Posted by The Torygraph
A premium liberty from Amex and BA
The British Airways Premium Plus card is aptly named.
You get a socking great premium all right – 46pc APR, just when Bank rate has landed at 1.5pc. Plus you're gouged with a £150 annual fee.
What charlatan of a lender has come up with this you wonder? Step forward those high-fliers from American Express, the brains behind this jumbo-sized rip-off.
They've just raised the APR by 25pc, making their bit of BA plastic the most expensive in the skies. Who says inflation's dead?
AmEx's cabin crew insist that the fee has gone up after seven years on the same flight path and that its very existence bumps up the APR. There's a simple solution to get it down again then: chop the fee. Chopping up the card wouldn't be a bad idea either.
The British Airways Premium Plus card is aptly named.
You get a socking great premium all right – 46pc APR, just when Bank rate has landed at 1.5pc. Plus you're gouged with a £150 annual fee.
What charlatan of a lender has come up with this you wonder? Step forward those high-fliers from American Express, the brains behind this jumbo-sized rip-off.
They've just raised the APR by 25pc, making their bit of BA plastic the most expensive in the skies. Who says inflation's dead?
AmEx's cabin crew insist that the fee has gone up after seven years on the same flight path and that its very existence bumps up the APR. There's a simple solution to get it down again then: chop the fee. Chopping up the card wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Jan 9, 2009, 2:16 am
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London and Zurich
Programs: AA, BA, Mucci: Sir Roger des Directions Routières, PCR
Posts: 13,609
Jan 9, 2009, 2:23 am
#60
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,613
I don't pay any fee for the AMEX, so that can't be taken into account.
Care to explain to a layman how this isn't bad?
Cheers,
Rick