For the third time in about three months, I have gotten an offer for a preapproved Platinum Mastercard from Chase Manhattan. Sounds good, right? Nope. The APR is an insane 22.9% after 6 months. I am not kidding. The teaser rate is 9.9%. Does Chase Manhattan seriously think that I am going to get a card with them that has a signifigantly higher APR than any card I have (which are all Classic cards)?
RE: What is wrong with Chase M I can't see your offer, of course, but mine was for 9.9% variable with a PENALTY rate of roughly 22.9%. If you fail to make required payments on time for any two months in a six month period, then they stick you with the penalty rate. Is it possible that you misunderstood what the offer said about "six months?"
RE: What is wrong with Chase M I read this 6 times because I thought that I must be wrong, but I read it right the first time. Here is what the fine print says: Preferred Pricing: 9.99% Introductory rate for 6 months. Thereafter, for Chase Standard and Platinum MasterCard: 22.99% Nonpreferred Pricing: Up to 28.49% I assume that the Nonpreferred pricing is the penalty rate.
RE: What is wrong with Chase M Good for you for looking at the offer fully, and understanding what you were making a dissision on. If more people were like Centurian these big businesses would give the average consumer a bit more respect, and not try this S--t!
RE: What is wrong with Chase M Thank you for quoting directly from the offer. It looks clear if you assume that you are being offered the preferred pricing to begin with. However, I remember that my own offer from Chase was very hard to understand. I seem to remember that preferred and nonpreferred were the two options once you got kicked out of your promotional rate for late payments. Preferred for one late, nonpreferred for two or more? I believe Chase used "preferred" in a misleading way. You've done a lot of work on this, and I'm not saying you're wrong. It's up to me now to find in my own offer both: (a) The words you quoted; and (b) Evidence of a promotional rate separate from the preferred and nonpreferred rates. Thanks again for your hard work on this. I'll try to get back in touch. If you're totally right on this, then I'm totally shocked that Chase Manhattan, my favorite bank so far, would make such an offer.
RE: What is wrong with Chase M Another direct quote: The regular preferred pricing rate will be maintained as long as you make at least the minimum required payment due on your account and all other loans or accounts with us and your other creditors, the credit limit is not exceeded, and any payment on your account is not returned unpaid. Otherwise the non-preferred pricing rate will take effect from your last statment closing date.
RE: What is wrong with Chase M In answer to your question, nothing is wrong with Chase Manhattan. I've been to chasebanksucks.com and I have an account with them. You are receiving an offer at non-preferred rates. Preferred rates are: For Platinum MasterCard/Visa, Standard MasterCard/Visa Classic: 2.99% Introductory rate for 6 months. Thereafter, for Platinum MasterCard/Visa: 13.99% if your balances are greater than or equal to $2,500/15.99% if your balances are less than $2,500; for Standard MasterCard/Visa Classic: 17.99%. Non-preferred: For Platinum MasterCard/Visa, Standard MasterCard/Visa Classic: up to 24.49%. For Standard MasterCard/Visa Classic with Alternate Pricing: up to 28.49%
RE: What is wrong with Chase M Here's the text from my offer, which I received in January 2000 and returned in March 2000: Preferred Pricing: For Chase Platinum and Standard MasterCard: 9.9% For Chase Standard MasterCard with Alternate Pricing: 9.99% Introductory APR for 9 months. Thereafter: 19.99% Non-Preferred Pricing: 23.49% The text you quoted about "Preferred Pricing" sounds very close to what was called "Alternate Pricing" in my offer. Assuming that you quoted completely, and didn't omit the words "Alternate Pricing," then this offer represents a total omission of the old preferred pricing. In addition, some of the rates were raised by 3 to 5 percentage points along with the general downgrade. Now, it could be that only some preselected groups receive a diluted preferrred pricing, and that others receive something comparable to what I did. But if that is the case, then the use of the term "Platinum" is highly misleading. It would cover everything from truly prime pricing to their nearly subprime pricing, formerly called alternative pricing.
RE: What is wrong with Chase M Those are stricter terms than the ones mentioned in my offer. I was basically right about what I said, but Chase confused introductory and preferred so much in my offer that your offer actually simplifies things, albeit in a downward direction.
