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Discover® More Wildlife
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
10.99%. |
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Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Unlimited Rewards
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 15 Months, APR:
7.99%. |
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Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 12 Months,
APR: As low as 8.49%. |
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Blue from American Express®
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 15 Months, APR:
4.99% (for life on transferred balances). |
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Advanta Life of Balance Platinum Card
Intro Rate: 2.99%, Time Period: Until Paid |
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Chase Platinum Visa®
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
11.99%. |
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Discover® More Card
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
10.99%. |
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In This
Issue
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Cool Quote |
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They Raised My Rate |
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STATISTIC: Bankruptcies On The Rise Again |
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"Bilker Trifecta" |
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Tire Safety |
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Barack Obama talks about credit cards |
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"Outraged and discouraged, I came across
your website..." |
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The 7 Biggest Home Price Negotiation
Blunders |
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Household Math™: Home Refinance |
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John McCain's Economic Plan |
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You thought the housing crisis was bad? You
ain't seen nothing yet. |
Cool Quote
"Credit card companies have been using unfair and
deceptive practices to trick Americans into signing agreements they can't
afford."--Barack Obama
More cool quotes from past issues
Hi Scott,
Your books are great! I own 3 and have recommended them
to all my friends!
I have a credit card with a $75 annual fee that I was
happy to pay because the interest rate was fixed for years at Prime + 0% for all
types of transactions (purchases, advances, transfers). I called the card issuer
last week for some routine issues and happened to ask what my rate was. It was
raised to Prime + 4! The operator said they sent me a notification letter last
year but couldn't tell me why the rate had changed.
I don't use this card much, but it's my highest limit
card, at $25,000, so canceling it would be drastic for my utilization rate and
FICO score. I tend to use my Amex card--$45,000 of purchases charged and paid
off monthly last year, $35,000 the year before, according to the annual summary
they send out.
The operator said I could fax a copy of my Equifax credit
report to them and hope for the best, but this seems like a long shot.
Any suggestions?
Keep up the good work,
Dean
Finish reading this article
Filings dropped after the federal government amended the
bankruptcy rules in October 2005, but the numbers are rebounding. In the 15
years prior to the rule changes, there were roughly 1.5 million bankruptcies
annually--90 percent of them for individuals, not businesses. In 2007, there
were 800,000 filings. In 2008, that number will increase 50 percent to 1.2
million.
More credit card and debt statistics
"Bilker
Trifecta"
My friend, Sir Hoffman, a brilliant engineer and great
friend, sent me an email with a suggestion that he called the "Bilker Trifecta."
His idea is for you to call you credit card banks today
and:
1. Get any late charges removed
2. Demand that the original introductory interest rate be restored
3. Refund any finance charge that they tagged you for at higher rates
He did this recently--results--one call, 10 minutes, $276 saved!
The summary is that you should try to negotiate at least
three items while you have them on the phone.
Tire Safety
This ABC News story is about how aged tires can be deadly
and how you can check the age of your tires. A friend sent it to me, and I want
to share it with you. I usually keep this entire email newsletter dedicated to
money-only issues. However, I will stray this one time because I believe this
story is so important to our safety.--Scott
See story here
It's getting close to the time we have to choose a new
President. How they plan to deal with credit card banks and their lending
practices needs to be part of their platform. Here is Barack Obama in his
Change that Works for You tour, talking about predatory lending, in Chicago IL.
Finish reading the article
Dear Scott,
I lost my promotional rate of 4.99% for the life of credit
(American Express) over a month ago. (It changed to 18.99% in a split second). I
was late with my payment, I admit. This happened for first time in my credit
history. I did mark the bill as "PAID," but I didn't post the actual payment
online. Life is complex, and sometimes things just don't work our way.
Anyway, I called customer service and requested to have my
promotional rate reinstated. My request had been denied within 48 hours (I
learned this today from CSR!!!! 4 weeks later); however, nobody from AE took the
time to inform me about it!!! It seems that American Express deliberately kept
this for themselves in order to charge high finance charges. I was charged twice
in a row some $120 (I owe them about $7,000) in finance charges.
Outraged and discouraged, I came across your website and
decided to try your books. I got them in the mail yesterday and educated myself
overnight. Empowered and knowledgeable about my actual customer rights, I called
customer service today AGAIN. I did recite them a couple to-the-point sentences
of yours and stated clearly--in plain English--what I wanted. And, guess what:
They apologized for not informing me about the denial of my request in a timely
manner and were very "happy" to help in any way. note: As an ESL
(English-second-language student) I appreciate ready-to-use sentences/examples.
Results of a single call: (1) Late fees of $38 waived
without any further questioning; (2) Promotional rate 4.99% reinstated within 10
minutes while I was on hold; (3) The difference in the two interest rates
credited back to my account
Call time: about 15 minutes. Total credited to account:
$206.15 (but with my rate reinstated, I'll be saving much more). I had no
difficulty dealing with CSR and lady on the phone was actually very helpful and
understanding. I also called my other credit cards regarding the lower interest
rate, and I was 100% successful.
I just want to say thank you for writing this money and
life saving book. Money is extremely emotional. I never knew that; I'm in credit
card debt for the first time in my life. I hold two bachelors in Finance and
Management but had no idea that I have so much bargaining power as a customer of
theirs! I will recommend your powerful stuff to everyone I know. Please Scott,
continue the good work and if you can, advertise more.
Lenka
Learn how to "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt"
The 7 Biggest Home Price Negotiation
Blunders
With the national real estate market in a deep slump--and
homeowners scrambling to unload properties--consumers are in a great position to
save some cash by bidding down asking prices. "It's a feeding frenzy," says
Glenn Kelman, the CEO of online brokerage firm Redfin. But in the often-complex
process of buying a home, negotiations can be tricky, and people considering
doing so should make sure they understand what they are getting into. U.S. News
spoke with five negotiation experts and came up with a list of the seven biggest
mistakes you can make in negotiating to buy a house.
See story here
Brooke wants to refinance the balance on her home
mortgage. She still owes $125,000 at 7% after paying 36 monthly payments of
$859.77 on her 30-year loan. She gets approved for a refinance at 5.5% for a
20-year loan with 2 points and $2,000 of closing costs. Brooke rolls the cost of
all the refinancing into the new loan. How many months with the new refinance
must pass before Brooke starts saving money with the new loan?
Answer this math problem
It's getting close to the time we have to choose a new
President. How they plan to deal with credit card banks and their lending
practices needs to be part of their platform. John McCain doesn't specifically
address those issues in detail right now, however, he does present this economic
plan...
Finish reading this article
You thought the housing crisis was
bad? You ain't seen nothing yet.
Nationwide, two million homes sit vacant. Home sales are
at a nine-year low. Former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, says that housing
finance has not been this bad since the Depression. We still don't know the full
extent of the colossal subprime rip-off, but a recent Bank of America study did
some guesstimating on the scale of the consequences of the "credit crisis." The
meltdown in the U.S. subprime real estate market, the bank said, had led to a
global loss of $7.7 trillion dollars in stock market value since October.
See story here
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