are there any good credit cards out there?

[I~love~pie]

all these horor stories make me wonder are there any companies out there not raising rates like crazy?

[mightymoo]

My two main credit cards are with chase. One is 0%, I guess that might be an introductory rate since I just got the card last year, but I don't really remember. The other is at ~12%, looking back its gone down the last three years, it was 14% last year and 17% two years ago (according to my statements).

My citibank card, which I use very rarely has gone up from 15% to 20% in the last 6 months.

So I guess chase has been lowering my rate - but we never carry a balance, so the rate is irrelevant. Which may be why they are lowering my rate, I don't know.

[ProtoLawyer]

My credit union one is great--no annual fee, a cheesy rewards points thing I don't really use, and interest that's fixed at 9.9% unless I default on that card only (they won't raise my rate if something else goes wonky in my credit, like other providers do). I also don't carry a balance, but they don't penalize me for that.

[kirstenb]

I have a Wells Fargo CC with a rate around 8%. I have another CC with a rate around 20% but I don't carry a balance on either so I don't pay much attention to them. We have a pretty competitive rate on our AmEx too but I don't remember it off the top of my head. I have reward points for both WF and AmEx so we use them a lot during the month.

[polyhymnia]

Our favorite credit card has a 0% fee for foreign currency transactions. We use this one exclusively when we travel overseas, it's a great deal for that alone. I don't really pay attention to interest rates since I don't carry a balance but I do care about "perks" for example one of our cards is affiliated with the airline we often travel on, and we get lots of free flights because of that. So we like that card too.

[Sonnenwende]

Discover. They lowered my rates for no reason that they ever told me. Not that I care because I don't keep a balance, but there it is.

[russsk]

We have a Citi, a Chase, and an airline rewards card with U.S. bank. All our rates are 8.99 or lower, though we don't carry a balance so I don't know how much that's worth. No one has raised our rates. They can try all they want, though, we don't carry a balance so a lot of good it will do them.

We did have a BoA card a couple years back that doubled our rate for no reason, claiming that something was wrong with our credit report. That was total BS, we have great credit and there was nothing negative on it. They reduced it after we complained enough. Total PITA, though.

[ekortering]

I never carry a balance so I don't pay attention to interest rates. =) I know Chase has some good reward programs, besides the well-known United card. I really, really like using my Discover card. They send out their statements WELL in advance of the due date. I can make my payments at Sears which is a real perk -- I can pay the day it is due. You can get cash back using your Discover card, which might work really nice for those who want to have a cash system but still keep their credit score up by keeping an active card. For instance, go into Wal-mart or Target, buy a gallon of milk, and when you check out get $XXX for the week or month.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by ekortering

I know Chase has some good reward programs,

That's why we have two chase cards, one is the amazon rewards card, which gives me 1% back in the form of Amazon gift certs - trust me those never sit very long. At the minimum we generally buy gifts for far away family off their wish lists from Amazon.

The other is the Disney card, which gives me 1% back in Disney cash basically. We used that during our last trip to Disney world (you can use them to pay for pretty much everything there) and have decided to use this as our main card and save the points for our next trip.

I personally don't bother with cards that aren't no annual fee / 1% (min) back, so long as the reward is in a form that I will use.

[cappuccinosmom]

We use a credit-union card, and it's great. No fees, and we don't carry a balance so 0 interest. :

[Azuralea]

I have two credit cards. I pay off in full every month, so I don't know the rates. They're both with Chase, and they've been good to work with.

One of my cards is the Amazon card, which has worked well for us. I buy in bulk from their grocery section with the certificates I get back. I also buy Christmas gifts.

[Sonnenwende]

Originally Posted by ProtoLawyer

My credit union one is great--no annual fee, a cheesy rewards points thing I don't really use, and interest that's fixed at 9.9% unless I default on that card only (they won't raise my rate if something else goes wonky in my credit, like other providers do). I also don't carry a balance, but they don't penalize me for that.

You should get a card with rewards you are going to use. Some people here have Amazon cards, gas cards, travel rewards cards. I have a card that pays me cash. Everyone can use that, right? I mean, if you don't care about the rates because you don't carry a balance, might make sense to shop around for a card that is more in line with your lifestyle. Otherwise, why use a card at all?

[lnitti]

Originally Posted by polyhymnia

Our favorite credit card has a 0% fee for foreign currency transactions. We use this one exclusively when we travel overseas, it's a great deal for that alone. I don't really pay attention to interest rates since I don't carry a balance but I do care about "perks" for example one of our cards is affiliated with the airline we often travel on, and we get lots of free flights because of that. So we like that card too.

Which card is that? I had a card like that, but then the terms changed and now there is a 2.9% fee. I need to find another one with no foreign transaction fee.

[thixle]

:
We are in the market for a different one, after our *only* card jacked up the rate from 7% to 36% Because of "these trying economic times" : At least it will be paid off this month, so much for them making $ off of us, lol.

[tinuviel_k]

We are keeping a Visa through our credit union. They have not raised the rates at all and I don't anticipate that they are going to. And because the card is through the credit union I can simply sign on to my account online and pay my bill directly from my checking account. it is super convenient. I don't think I will ever get a non-credit-union CC again!

It is a rewards card with a 1% award program. I can use the rewards for airfare, gas cards, various store gift cards, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It is nice and flexible.

[dogmom327]

I think it depends on how you define good. Good can be the rewards or good can be the interest rate (if you carry a balance). We don't carry a balance now ( so I really like my Amazon card but the interest rate is high (I have never asked to have it lowered). I also have another Chase card that has a 7.9% interest rate so if we had an emergency, that would be the one we would use.

[FondestBianca]

Just to get things straight...

any credit card company, bank, credit union, or other credit card provider can legally raise your interest rate, close your card, or lower your avaliable balance at any time for any reason reguardless of how you've been using the card (or not using it) or your paying it on time every time. It doesn't matter what the supposed terms or current terms are. They have legal right to make changes at any point reguardless of you having fixed rates and being a good credit card holder.

I assume your question is what companies are less likely to do this but, just an FYI, any of them technically can screw you over in any number of ways. I assume credit unions are less likely to do this but, I have no evidence to back that up. I thought good standing, long history with cards and their providers, paying on time, paying over the minimum payments, using and paying down consistantly, having a high credit score, increasing credit score, lowering debt to income ratio, and making regular bank deposits was a sure way to keep my credit card standing nailed down to the banks agreement. NOPE!