Bank of America is one of those considering charging a fee just for the sake of you having a credit card, for the privilege of having one with them. Here is an article on it.
Here we have a bad economy, people can barely afford the essentials and to have just one credit card is essential these days, especially if you need car repairs, or for in emergency situations, now they want to charge people for having them.  '
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=&sParam=36514618.storyhttp://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=&sParam=36514618.story
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| Credit card companies to charge for the use of having a card |
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Jacksonboy
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Oct 26 @ 7:20PM
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I have canceled two recently because they raised my interest rate for no reason. I look forward to canceling my BOA card as well. 
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luneib
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Oct 26 @ 7:25PM
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They say you need at least one credit card so you have a good credit card rating, that it helps with lenders if you go to buy a house. I have two cards with BOA, one is a business credit card which I don't really use anyways so I definitely want to cancel that one.
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bluewind37
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Oct 26 @ 7:26PM
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Since this economy tanked, I haven't had a credit card. That was one of the first things I gave up when things started getting bad. Why? Last thing I need is the temptation to go into more debt. I get what some say about having one for emergencies and such, but, as it stands right now...I couldn't afford the extra monthly payment of having one. I use my banks debit card, for now. If they start tacking on a fee for me to use it...then that too will be gone.
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Blaiserboy
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Oct 26 @ 7:29PM
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They seem to have a mandate to gouge the public... when they have huge losses they get a bailout. and then they put it to the people who bailed them out.
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ragtopcookie
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Oct 26 @ 7:55PM
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It was the government that bailed them out......with taxpayer money.....i didnt get a chance to vote for the bailout......did anybody else out there?......  .......cookie
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Sherrybaby412
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Oct 26 @ 8:15PM
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Be careful about canceling your card due to a higher interest rate. There are new govt regulations going into effect soon. When you cancel, you agree to pay off your card at the current rate. What they do not tell you is that your minimum payment can go up 300% or more.
My sister did not know this. She paid her minimum payment this month as usual. She got a call saying her payment had gone from 100.00 to 300.00 a month. Her husband was out of work a year. They cannot afford this.
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ElmerFudd445
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Oct 26 @ 8:45PM
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Credit card companies are doing everything they can to make the cost of credit more expensive before the new laws come into effect.. Some states require that you get your unemployment payment by debit card now... then the banks get a fee if you take cash out more than twice a day... as well as a fee for the card .. Banks are making millions of dollars in some states since this has gone into effect..
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tentfire
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Oct 26 @ 9:16PM
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It's enough to make you want to go back to keeping your money under your mattress!!!!  
NO, I DID NOT vote for the bail out. I would have said, "NOOOOOOOO..." or "Where's my share, I need a bail out, too." 
I have always been one of those that felt you needed to at least have one on hand for credit sake and emergencies... use it now and then to build/keep credit. THEN... my war with them began.. ESPECIALLY BOA!!!.... them and Sears (CITI). I had ALWAYS made my payments on time, never missed a single one when I had anything on the card. Didn't use it for awhile.... then when I did use it this past year (still making all payments on time), they cut my limit to what it was at, then immediately added in the interest, which put me "over the limit" - all before I got my next statement ...... which added in BUNCHES of fees... at the same time they decided to MAJORLY hike my interest rate up by triple..... AND nearly tripled my minimum payment. It has been a NIGHTMARE and, needless to say, I will NEVER use credit cards again!!!
I am here to tell you, BOTH of those companies are as crooked as they come!
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luneib
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Oct 26 @ 9:20PM
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So true, they got a bailout, now they are getting greedy, geeeez.
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DiamondRain
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Oct 26 @ 9:21PM
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When Obama proposed, and the Democrats passed new onerous regulations on the credit card issuers a few months ago, many predicted that this would be one of the ways the companies would recoup the losses they would have under the new regulations. So it isn't unexpected.
It is the regulations imposed by Obama and the Democrats that brought this about.
And it is just one more example of the law of unintended consequences that socialists and do-gooder liberals end up sticking us all with when they force themselves and their misguided policies into the free market system under the guise of being charitable.
It's the same way the Democrats screwed up the mortgage market (and the whole economy) by forcing banks to make loans to people who couldn't pay them back "so poor people could buy homes." (now THERE'S A BRILLIANT IDEA!) (PS, they are STILL doing this one all over again NOW, even after the economic disaster it caused.)
Now we ALL are paying the price.
If your card issuer imposes this fee, call them and complain. If enough people do that, this trend might be stopped.
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ttomtarr
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Oct 26 @ 9:49PM
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I am the customer, and I get to call the shots !
They cannot exist without our business.
Anyone that sends me a charge notice, will get bits of his credit card returned to him with a note saying why I did it, and the alternative to that business I have chosen.
I wonder how many pieces it would take to make them do a 180 degree turn.
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DiamondRain
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Oct 26 @ 9:59PM
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My advice would be to call the company and complain about the fees before cancelling your card. Cancelling your card can have a negative effect on your credit rating. You don't want to do that if it can be avoided.
If you are an otherwise good customer, and you make this call, the card company might waive your fee.
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Peabianjay
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Oct 26 @ 10:13PM
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I concur...if you don't like a service, ask for change, or cancel the service.
Granted, there may be differences in the states...but, in Canada, there is a lot of free(ish) market competition resulting in good deals (for those with good credit) as well as not-so-good deals (for those without).
Cancelling any contract (including credit cards) has no negative impact on your credit rating, so long as the terms of the contract are fullfilled. (ie. You still have to pay the current balance owing.) Again, this might be different in the states, but certainly shouldn't be.
There are a few "socialist" laws limiting loan-sharking (ie. protecting the financially challenged from themselves).
Too many people are willing to suffer poor treatment by companies. We'll complain to friends or family (or online), but continue to support the very companies we criticize. Is it any wonder they're so happy to screw us? (Monthly services: cable, home phone, cell phone, credit cards, etc. tend to have the worst customer service...likely because customers aren't willing to do without.)
My 2 cents. :-)
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Peabianjay
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Oct 26 @ 10:13PM
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I concur...if you don't like a service, ask for change, or cancel the service.
Granted, there may be differences in the states...but, in Canada, there is a lot of free(ish) market competition resulting in good deals (for those with good credit) as well as not-so-good deals (for those without).
Cancelling any contract (including credit cards) has no negative impact on your credit rating, so long as the terms of the contract are fullfilled. (ie. You still have to pay the current balance owing.) Again, this might be different in the states, but certainly shouldn't be.
There are a few "socialist" laws limiting loan-sharking (ie. protecting the financially challenged from themselves).
Too many people are willing to suffer poor treatment by companies. We'll complain to friends or family (or online), but continue to support the very companies we criticize. Is it any wonder they're so happy to screw us? (Monthly services: cable, home phone, cell phone, credit cards, etc. tend to have the worst customer service...likely because customers aren't willing to do without.)
My 2 cents. :-)
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zanie
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Oct 26 @ 10:38PM
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I just canceled all my credit cards because the interest rate was going up next month to 30%. All of my payment would be going to that and nothing toward the balance. More good news from our leaders.
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Berrysplash
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Oct 26 @ 10:52PM
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Yikes! What is going on? I thought banks would be putting a cap on things like raising the interest rate or charging fees on credit cards etc. I understand the whole idea of debt and people not wanting to incur more but how that is going to help? I do believe you need at least one credit card for emergencies and/or to establish a good credit rating or even book a hotel room etc but other then that be very careful.
Plus remember if enough of you complain to your credit card company and enough of you are in good standing they won't up your limit or charge the fee.
If they do that is just plain wrong! 
Just my 0.2
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DiamondRain
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Oct 26 @ 11:20PM
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Cancelling any contract (including credit cards) has no negative impact on your credit rating, so long as the terms of the contract are fullfilled.
This is incorrect.
Cancelling a credit card will usually adversely affect your credit rating regardless of whether or not you meet the terms of the cardholder agreement. The reason is that the ratio of used credit to outstanding credit is one component of your FICO score and cancelling a card will (typically) increase that ratio.
If your credit score is important to you, you should try to work it out first instead of cancelling it.
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Yojimbo44
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Oct 27 @ 12:18AM
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I haven't seen anyone bringing this up. I avoided getting a card for a while in the early 80's because of the fee on the cards. Then I found a no-fee and now have two, I pay on time and don't carry a balance. Actually, that made it hard to get a card back then in the first place. I used to save up, pay cash, and not get in debt. Not having a credit history made it very difficult to be accepted.
I don't use Interact, okay, twice in my life, because I hate being nickle-dimed on service charges. And it's not always easy to find my bank's ATM; go to another bank's or unaffiliated ATM and it's a service charge. It's just more convenient to use a credit card if it's accepted.
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DiamondRain
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Oct 27 @ 12:41AM
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People who pay their cards on time and in full every month are known by the term "deadbeats" in the credit card industry because the company makes no financing fees from them and the company has to incur expenses to provide the service to the cardholder.
I am one of these "deadbeats." I have had credit cards for 30+ years, paid every single month on time and in full, and never paid any interest.
Usually you think of a "deadbeat" as just the opposite kind of person. But the card providers point of view is different. It costs the credit card company money to provide you with the convenience of being able to use your credit card. They are rightfully entitled to be compensated for the associated services they provide.
So why, you might wonder, have they provided these free services for the so-called "deadbeats" all these years? Because they also collect a fee from the merchant every time you use your card. So even if you pay them nothing, they make money when you use the card to buy something.
After all these years, of providing these services for free, what happened that they are suddenly changing the game?
Easy, Obama and the Democrats passed new laws sticking it to the "evil card companies." Everybody cheered that the man was getting a flogging.
And now, the man is fighting back. Suddenly everyone isn't cheering anymore.
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malexand
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Oct 27 @ 9:14AM
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I am also a deadbeat. But, I am a card merchant as well. Over the last year I paid 6.8% on an average of 7 card transactions per month.
The newest fee is for fraud insurance and cost me $99 per year. Other merchants that I have talked with say they are paying $10 per month.
I spent two months researching different card processors. These are basically middlemen to the 2 or 3 national companies like Paymentech. This a little of what I found:
It's a totally unregulated industry.
Not one will state all the fees you will pay unless you specically ask about each one.
Some will out and out lie. Read the contract very closely.
Equipment rental can cost up to $35 per month for 3 years. I bought mine for $250.
Corporate cards like those the power company and state uses cost more to process because they are deadbeats. These are most of my transactions.
If you think the card user is getting screwed, think again.
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