As I’ve said more than a few times on this blog, have you considered a credit union? CNNMoney has an article on their site today that points out some of the benefits to switching to a credit union if you are unhappy with some of the changes that banks are making to their credit cards. As regulations tighten on banks and financial institutions, they are coming up with new ways to keep extracting money from you for the privilege of using their card. One of the latest trends is that if you are late on a payment, they will take away some of your credit card rewards. The only way you can get them back is to pay a late fee and a $29 charge besides. Pathetic.
I was happy to see that the co-branded Amex card that I use from Costco isn’t one of the cards that has this new policy. I’m guessing Costco wasn’t a fan of sticking it to their members like that. If I’m wrong, please let me know.
Anyway, the article goes on to point out that credit card fees at credit unions are much lower than traditional banks. Yet another great reason to switch.
On thing that I wasn’t aware of is that credit unions use collateral from other loans you have with them for your credit cards as well. That means that if you have a mortgage with the credit union and a credit card, they can use your home as collateral for the credit card. That isn’t the case with most banks. Since we never carry a balance on our credit cards, this isn’t really an issue for us.
Here’s a link to the article:
Credit unions best revenge for credit card holders