9.3.2012
I am pretty well organized with my finances and like to read articles about how to be financially fit. Some time ago, I read somewhere that in order to build your credit better, you should not pay your credit cards to zero like I always do, but should leave a couple dollars left, and you will get your credit improved. Well, this is exactly what I did with my Chase Perfectcard Credit Card, and next month I am checking my fees, and see that for "borrowing, $20" for one month I am being charged $80 in interest. So I call the customer service, and they tell me that if you don't pay your balance to zero, you are charged an interest for the full amount of the balance... and what made me really mad was that I would be charged the high interest for the full end of statement balance for the next three months, even if I paid it off... not this my friend is a total RIP OFF, and advertising 10% or 20% interest rates on the credit card is totally misleading. Let's say you make a mistake when paying your online bill by a couple dollars, and you spend a few thousands dollars on the card every month... so this typo will cost you a few hundred dollars, and has nothing to do with any interest rates. What's wost is that the way it's hidden from a ordinary customer is a total rip off.
Word of advice: have a few credit cards, so that you can quickly switch if something like this happens to you. Use mint.com to get alerts whenever you are bing charged fees, and really apply for credit card in person at the bank, and have the banker explain to you exactly how to use this card, and what the fee structure will be.