Nicole was hit with a surprise 6 point interest rate increase on her Citicard, so she fought back. Her story is a good reminder that you should look at all of your options and be prepared to argue on your behalf, even if you’re not in a position where you can just pay off the entire balance and walk away.
fees
United Adds $800 In Fees To $560 Trip, Loses Customer For Life
By 11.14.08
And let’s not forget the exorbitant booking fee for using miles for one of our tickets. The actual FLIGHT was only $280 round trip per ticket, but with the booking fee TO USE THE MILES TO PURCHASE A TICKET, we wound up paying over $500.
Airlines Considers $10 Fee For Sitting Away From Babies
By 11.10.08
WestJet recently sent out a survey to its readers to look at a list of $10 fees and respond which they were okay paying with. One of them was a $10 fee for not having to sit near screaming babies and small children. The airline also wanted to know if customers would be interested in $10 savings for putting up with or giving up certain things, like savings for not earning frequent flier miles or savings for having a seat that doesn’t recline. Brilliant business move or deceptive fare increase? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Delta To Add $15 First Checked Bag Fee
By 11.5.08
The AP says that the new mergeriffic Delta will be adding a $15 fee for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag when traveling domestically, which is consistent with Northwest’s existing policies.
US Airways To Charge $7 For Pillows And Blankets
By 11.4.08
US Airways is planning on copying JetBlue and start charging $7 for pillows and blankets. This is how we’re going to save the airline industry, with fees for not being cold? No wonder they’re in a tail-spin. [NYT] (Photo: Presidente)
How To Avoid Record-High Bank Fees
By 11.3.08
Bank fees are increasingly disproportionate to the cost of business they’re supposed to cover, as shown inBankrate’s latest annual survey of consumer banking costs.
- Average NSF (non sufficient fund) fee: $28.95, a 2.5% increase from last year
- Average ATM surcharge is $1.97, up 1%
- The minimum balance required to avoid fees on interest checking accounts at a brick and mortar bank: $3,461.84, up 4%
- The average minimum required to open an online checking account: $650.81, up $517.48
Fees are designed to take advantage of your inattention. To avoid getting tripped up…
Should An Infant With No Seat Have To Pay A $320 Fuel Surcharge?
By 11.1.08
Here’s an interesting situation. When babies fly domestically, they fly for free — but international flights require a ticket and, apparently, a huge fuel surcharge.
How Midwest Airlines Is Like Schlitz
By 10.31.08
How is Midwest Airlines like Schlitz beer? A traveler angry over how Midwest’s wider business seats now cost an extra $50 explains. [Upgrade: Travel Better]
Attention: Credit Card Companies Have Realized That You Are Broke
By 10.29.08
The New York Times has an article detailing what promises to be the next fun financial crisis — credit card debt! Apparently, credit card companies have only just now realized that you people are broke! Whoops.
Faced With A Broken Health Care System, Some Doctors Are Opting-Out
By 10.28.08
A combination of rising costs and low insurance reimbursements is forcing some primary care physicians to opt-out of the insurance game completely — accepting a flat fee instead of private insurance or Medicare. For a $4,500 annual fee, patients who formerly used their insurance to pay for doctor’s visits can get 24-hour access to doctors, unhurried appointments, home visits and state-of-the-art annual physicals. Or they can find another doctor.
Scam: Prepaid Phone Cards Deliver About Half The Minutes Promised
By 10.23.08
MSNBC says that a recent study by the FTC showed that on average, prepaid long distance phone cards only delivered about half of the minutes advertised.
Tonik Insurance Sneaks 20% Premium Increase On Customer After Approval
By 10.13.08
Tonik is the rad, x-treme! lifestyle health insurance for young people who can’t afford regular insurance—sort of the Poochie of health insurance, except it’s not going to go away. Aasma wrote to us to let us know that when she signed up for it over the weekend, she got a nasty surprise after she submitted her credit card information.
Ticketmaster Is Evil And Must Die
By 10.12.08 — Updated: 6.19.16
Ticketmaster is an evil monopoly that steals cash from defenseless consumers. They are infinitely more evil than their hated 30% surcharge would suggest, and they must be destroyed.
Royal Caribbean Levies $14.95 Steak Surcharge
By 10.4.08
Do you like flying? Well then you’re going to love cruising with Royal Caribbean! The cruise line recently announced plans to charge customers who order steak in the main dining room a $14.95 surcharge.
DirecTV Debits A $446.60 Cancellation Fee — For Service You Canceled Within 24 Hours
By 10.1.08
Meet Brandon. He canceled DirecTV after less than 24 hours (the agreed upon time limit to avoid a fee, apparently), only to see that DirecTV debited $446.60 from his checking account.
Advanta Raises Your 8% Credit Card To 20% Because The Economy Is Bad
By 9.26.08
I have had an Advanta Credit Card for a little over a year now. My interest rate prior to a few days ago was 8%. My credit rating is very good, and I have always made my payments on time. As I was looking over my bill for September I noticed a fee of $75 dollars. A few clicks later I found that my interest rate had been raised to 20%.
House Passes Credit Card Bill Of Rights… But Senate Is Too Busy With The Bailout
By 9.23.08
The House of Representatives passed legislation that’s commonly known as the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights today, but the bill is expected to be ignored by the Senate while they work on that whole $700 billion bailout thing.
