Warning on credit cards, everyone. At least, on Citibank credit cards.

[puroy]

Got this email by a friend of mine. Grabe, more than 8 years na yung creditcard ko sa Citibank and never ako na-inform about this tactics. Anyways, good thing I always pay in full kaya never ko na-experienced ito.

Fair warning on credit cards, everyone. At least, on Citibank credit cards.



Did you know that if you let a certain amount “revolve” to the next period, the computation of the finance charges for that amount includes purchases in the CURRENT period?



Here’s what happened to me:



My bill last June 23 = 20,000.00



I paid only 15,000.00 on my due date last July 15. Hence, I let 5,000.00 “revolve” to the next period.



I spent over 90,000.00 between June 23 and July 23 using my card, all of which I intended to pay in full on my due date (August 15).



My expectation of my bill for July 23 = 5,000.00 + finance charges against 5,000.00 + 90,000. Right?



Wrong. My bill last July 23 = 5,000.00 + finance charges against 5,000.00 + 90,000.00 + finance charges against 90,000!!!



Yes, even if the 90k hasn’t “revolved” yet, I got interest charged against it because I let 5k revolve the previous period.



I got so mad I had my credit card cut. I’m back to the cardless world.

[aga_cruz]

buti na lang wala ako credit card

[shadow]

totoo ba ito?

[puroy]

yes, it's true...confirmed po yan nung friend ko. after nya malaman, pina-cut na nya agad yung cc nya. grabe talaga cc companies. lahat may loopholes para lang kumita.

[ronw123w124]

Ako naman, nagtataka ako why I never get my bill for my Shell Citibank, so I called them up yesterday morning to ask why my bill is taking so long, sabi nung nakausap ko my bill was sent last July 10 and that it was due on the 31st of July, so nag-panic ako then I just asked her to fax my billing statement, buti naman within 5 minutes I got a copy of my bill, I just went to the nearest bank and paid my bill in cash, kasi if I pay in check baka ma-overdue pa yon at patawan pa ako ng pagkalaki-laking interest.

[yapoy86]

bottomline mag bayad ng maaga... tatay ko may credit card din... pero hindi nya hinahayaan na meron outstanding balance na hindi bayad.. pati nga yung yearly renewal fee nya eh na haggle pa nya na free bawas na lang sa points kaya ayun wala na kokolekta credit card sa kanya..

[batangmahal]

yes, it's true...confirmed po yan nung friend ko. after nya malaman, pina-cut na nya agad yung cc nya. grabe talaga cc companies. lahat may loopholes para lang kumita.

grabe pala! they really want to milk the cash out of our pockets!
i had my citibank cc cut about a a couple of years back kasi too much ang charges! buti pa ang bpi, so far.

[impulzz]

Yup, its confirmed... just called citibank hotline... its
previous balance - payment + current purchases x 3.5% = finance charge

as per the operators explanations... all international credit card companies have the same computation... like standard charter, HSBC... she also mentioned it's because current purchases are considered borrowed money

so i got my equitable-BDO bill and computed their finance charge... and its previous balance - payment x 3.5% = finance charge

current purchases are not charged

[tidus1203]

Actually di naman yan scam kasi ganun naman talaga nakasulat yan sa terms and conditions when you get the card or the one written on the back in your statement. Of course full payers like us should not worry about it...

Ang alam ko lang na credit card that does not include current purchases as part of the principal charged with interest is BPI. I think BDO ganun din eh parang Citibank the way I read their terms and conditions.

[CVT]

I think you can get away with it(yata - since this was a few years ago), payment of surcharge on current purchases that is, if you pay the card within 3 days of your purchase for each of the items you purchased......

Of course, this defeats the purpose of credit cards where you pay the whole amount on one single payment....

6505:Bath:

[mazdamazda]

That is all explained in the fine print when you get your credit card.

If you become a "revolver", any purchase that you make is levied outright by the finance charge.

You can offset this by paying in advance since any payment also has a corresponding "negative" finance charge.

[greenlight]

Yup. I learned about this also a few years back. Sabi nga ng misis ko na utangin ko na lang sa kanya ang balance that I can't pay for a particular period and I pay her the finance charges that I was supposed to pay Citibank (plus the principal, of course). Hehe. Iniisahan na naman ako ng misis ko.

Well, after that incident, I use my credit cards like debit cards where in I pay the full amount during due date. Kung kulang ako sa cash, I just borrow from relatives (and wife also) and lucky me, that these people don't charge me finance charges.

However, I still feel that Citibank has one of the better customer services among the different credit card companies.

[siacojin]

I hate my Citibank credit card, maraming tumatawag sa office nagaalok ng insurance, promo this and promo that, nakakaistorbo. Sa HSBC wala pang tumawag sa kin ni isa. Sa account statement ng Citibank kung ano anong charge ang nakadagdag every month. After ko mabayaran ang credit ko sa citibank ipapaclose ko na to.

[uls]

buhay pa pala Citibank?

[mazdamazda]

Yup, the customer service of Citibank is above average... had a problem with my card upgrade before and they resolved it after I sent them an email.

Bottom line... if you don't want to be charged with financing fee, surcharges and the like... pay your monthly bill in full.

__________________

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[theveed]

To the original poster, notice the whole page of terms and conditions in the credit card application form? It's stated there.

[jeDi13]

bottomline? do not purchase anything if you can't pay your balance due on the billing statement due date..

just my two cents..

[bluemica]

bottomline? do not purchase anything if you can't pay your balance due on the billing statement due date..

just my two cents..

agree! if you cant control gupitin mo na card mo

[puroy]

Actually di naman yan scam kasi ganun naman talaga nakasulat yan sa terms and conditions when you get the card or the one written on the back in your statement. Of course full payers like us should not worry about it...

Ang alam ko lang na credit card that does not include current purchases as part of the principal charged with interest is BPI. I think BDO ganun din eh parang Citibank the way I read their terms and conditions.

sir, if you look closely doon sa unang post ko I never said na 'scam' sya. my intent is to warn all credit card users na may ganito palang policy ang mga credit card companies. ako nga eh, 8 years na gumagamit, ngayon ko lang nalaman.

also correction lang po, wala sa statement of account yung info. or fine print, nasa letter po when you received your credit card. FYI.

[puroy]

To the original poster, notice the whole page of terms and conditions in the credit card application form? It's stated there.

ah ok. thanks for the info. sir theveed. yung kuwento kasi sakin ng officemate ko was nandoon daw sa letter kasama when you received the card.