Comments on: Credit Card Skip-A-Payment Offer Does You No Favors

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:34:27 +0000

I am with you– don’t skip. Round up . . . $38.75 pay $50. Make extra payments. Do this and you can skip without really skipping.

By: Mike Fallon

Mike Fallon — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:39:52 +0000

You should always be skeptical of these types of offers. The credit cards companies will bleed you dry if you let them and this is just another way for them to increase their profits by seemingly doing you a “favor”.

By: Squeaky

Squeaky — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:13:59 +0000

Another “service” that isn’t exactly a favor is the “convenience check” that sometimes comes attached to the bill.

It’s possible to rack up thousands of dollars in debt with one easy transaction. Then even if the “convenience check” has a zero percent interest rate ALL of the other higher-rate debt continues to accrue interest until the low-balance debt is paid off completely. The payments you make will be applied toward the lowest interest debt, so the higher interest debt is in a sense protected.

Never have I heard of a bank offering a service to any customer that didn’t translate into some added revenue or cost savings for that bank. It doesn’t make sense from a business perspective given that a bank exists to make money for its shareholders. The dynamics are different for a credit union, because its customers and its shareholders are the same people.
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi

By: Squeaky

Squeaky — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:50:03 +0000

Another “service” that isn’t exactly a favor is the “convenience check” that sometimes comes attached to the bill.

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:04:01 +0000

@JT Locke: My score dipped a bit after closing two or three cards. It’s hard to know what to blame it on since there is no way to isolate the impact of those one or two moves.

Conventional wisdom says to leave accounts open, or at least the oldest ones. But I rarely listen to conventional wisdom.

By: JT Locke -- The Frugal Housewife

JT Locke -- The Frugal Housewife — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:56:00 +0000

Just curious…

What effect, if any, did closing out the credit card have your credit score? I’ve heard so many stories that you should close out a credit card or that you shouldn’t close out a credit card. It gets a little confusing.

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:38:23 +0000

It’s a nice feature to have since it may come in handy in a REAL emergency.

But logically, the only reason it’s offered by the banks is because it benefits the banks in their attempt to keep you as a customer for life. We should reject that kind of “priviledge” on instinct!

By: RB @ Richby30RetireBy40

RB @ Richby30RetireBy40 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:27:20 +0000

Honestly, NEVER skip a payment, it’s not worth it. Pay the minimum before you have to skip a payment. I’ve had $10,000 credit card bills before, and the most I’ve ever had to pay was 1% minimum i.e $100. Usually the minimum is around $20. Just pay the minimum. It’s not worth ruining your credit.

Rgds, RB