warren@ihnss.UUCP (Warren Montgomery) (03/07/84)
A second for the idea that stores should take national cards instead of insisting on their own. There's no way I want to keep track of yet another piece of plastic for my wallet. (Those things put together are lots bigger than my checkbook!). Actually, I am NOT waiting for the cashless society. I think that there is a lot to be said for cash: 1) Everybody takes it. 2) They don't fingerprint you when you pay that way 3) Some enlightened establishments give you discounts or shorter lines. 4) You never spend more than you have 5) You never get fouled up bills. 6) You never get billed 20% interest for getting around to your mail a little late. (anyone who willingly pays those rates is either desperate or careless.) 7) You know what your liability is when you get ripped off and can control it. etc. etc. SOME of this can be achieved by universal cards, and I do have some plastic (oddly enough, I got it for emergencies, like finding out that your hotel is a lot more expensive than they told you on the phone), but on balance, I would rather pay cash for just about anything. Many people think that they are safer because they don't carry much cash, but I would suspect that the combined liability limits on most peoples credit cards far exceeds their cash needs. No flames please, I just want people to think about "improvements" to their lives before going for it just because it sounds neat. -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
ron@brl-vgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (03/14/84)
The charge that banks get on credit cards is called the "discount" AMEX is typically 8%. Visa and Master Card is typically 3% although high volume people can get it to 2-1/2%. I've seen it go to as low as 1-1/2% for non-profit organizations. In Denver, Rocky Mtn Bankcards even let the local PBS station have it for free during a fund drive. The charge for VISA and MC is negotiated with the bank that the merchant files his slips through. -Ron
wjm@lcuxc.UUCP (B. Mitchell) (01/15/85)
For those of you who are looking around for the best type of plastic money
to carry, you might want to look at the January 85 issue of "Consumer Reports"
where there is a report about credit cards and which banks offer the best
deals on Visa and Mastercard.
Bill Mitchell ({ihnp4!}lcuxc!wjm)2141smh@aluxe.UUCP (S. M. Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA) (01/16/85)
**** ****
From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA aluxe!2141smh
> January 85 issue of "Consumer Reports and which banks offer the best deals
They only report on interest rates but not on membership charges other than
the charges of those banks that have the highest and lowest interest rates.
Personally I will never pay a bank interest for consumer credit. There is
much cheaper money readily available so the article was of little help to me.2141smh@aluxe.UUCP (S. M. Henning,) (01/21/85)
**** **** From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA aluxe!2141smh > > Consumers only reported on interest rates, not on membership charges other than > the charges of those banks that have the highest and lowest interest rates. > Personally I will never pay a bank interest for consumer credit. There is > much cheaper money readily available so the article was of little help to me. Clarification: Our credit union and even most of our local banks have loans much cheaper than the rate you pay under the credit card plans. I gladly take the 30days free credit, but that is all. Some gas cards charge interest every month you use the card after you had a month with a legitimate balance left over. At least I haven't run into a bank that does this. Anyone with whole life has a source of extremely cheap money. If you are going to borrow you might as well pay the interest to yourself, your cash value. Even stores usually have a credit plan for furniture and other big ticket items that beats the bank charges for credit card loans.
suhina@kodak.UUCP (brian suhina) (02/06/86)
Jane Bryant Quinn writes a column on consumer issues and her latest
( Feb. 6,1986 ) in the Rochester "Democrat and Chronicle" is about
low interest credit cards and cards that have no annual fee. She says
the low interest cards are in the 12 to 17 per-cent range. The cards
that charge no annual fee generally charge 18 to 21 per-cent. She
doesn't list specific banks but says someone named "Bankcard Holders
of America" publishes a list of banks that charge no annual fee for
their credit cards and a list of banks that have low interest rates
for their cards. Copies of both lists can are available for $2.95
and a self addressed stamped envelope. The address is
BHA
333 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E.
Washington D.C. 20003
I have never heard of this group. Has anyone had any correspondence
with them? I'll post a summary to the net of any interesting responses.suhina@kodak.UUCP (brian suhina) (02/13/86)
> Jane Bryant Quinn writes a column on consumer issues and her latest > ( Feb. 6,1986 ) in the Rochester "Democrat and Chronicle" is about > low interest credit cards and cards that have no annual fee. She says > the low interest cards are in the 12 to 17 per-cent range. The cards > that charge no annual fee generally charge 18 to 21 per-cent. She > doesn't list specific banks but says someone named "Bankcard Holders > of America" publishes a list of banks that charge no annual fee for > their credit cards and a list of banks that have low interest rates > for their cards. Copies of both lists can are available for $2.95 > and a self addressed stamped envelope. The address is > > BHA > 333 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. > Washington D.C. 20003 > > I have never heard of this group. Has anyone had any correspondence > with them? I'll post a summary to the net of any interesting responses. Many thanks to John Tais, AT&T Information Systems for the following info. The list of banks from the BHA organization is pretty short, only a few dozen banks listed. Most don't accept nationwide applications or have other restrictions such as requiring you to have other accounts with that bank. A few that do accept nationwide applications are: AVCO National Bank (19.2%) 17770 Cartwright Rd. Irvine CA 92714 800-524-6000 Imperial Savings Assn. (19.8%) PO BOX 23525 Bank Card Dept #925 San Diego CA 92123 800-345-3263 - outside Calif 800-542-6209 - within Calif The MORE Card (Visa, 21.9%) PO Box 3121 Evansville, IN 47731 812-473-1777 The standard disclaimers apply to both John and myself with regards to these banks and/or the BHA organization. Brian Suhina
king@kestrel.ARPA (Dick King) (02/14/86)
From: suhina@kodak.UUCP (brian suhina) Newsgroups: net.consumers Date: 6 Feb 86 14:38:54 GMT Distribution: net Jane Bryant Quinn writes a column on consumer issues and her latest ( Feb. 6,1986 ) in the Rochester "Democrat and Chronicle" is about low interest credit cards and cards that have no annual fee. She says the low interest cards are in the 12 to 17 per-cent range. The cards that charge no annual fee generally charge 18 to 21 per-cent. She doesn't list specific banks but says someone named "Bankcard Holders of America" publishes a list of banks that charge no annual fee for their credit cards and a list of banks that have low interest rates for their cards. Copies of both lists can are available for $2.95 and a self addressed stamped envelope. The address is BHA 333 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. Washington D.C. 20003 I have never heard of this group. Has anyone had any correspondence with them? I'll post a summary to the net of any interesting responses. BHA sent me a list of free credit cards which I used successfully. WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND SENATOR to get them not to pass a ceiling on credit card interest rates. Free credit cards will GO AWAY if they do that. Those of us who either pay in full every month or who only have plastic so they can get checks accepted easily will be forced to pay fees so those who run up big, revolving (revolting?) bills can get a free ride. Since low-interest cards are available (although I must admit I never wrote for that list) but probably require a good credit history t obtain, the only people who need to pay high rates are those who won't be picked up by a selective company. Those people NEED high rates to cover their losses. -dick