the air

Before you decide to blast me for applying for a new credit card, do realize that not all credit cards are evil. Actually, all credits are evil IF you don’t pay your balance in full by the statement’s due date. Since I pay the balance in full every time, credit card companies don’t make very much money off of me. Currently, I only have two credit cards, an American Express Blue for Students and a Capital One Platinum Visa. Although I am still a college student, I do have quite large credit limits. Combined, both cards grant me a limit of $14,000. Now it’s time for one card to simply disappear.

I’ve been quite unhappy with Capital One for two reasons:

1. Unsatisfactory customer service
2. Unrequested and potentially dangerous benefits

I usually never have to call customer service for any of my banking needs. However, when I do have a need, I expect phenomenal customer service. I’ve had my American Express for over four years and my capital one for over three years. To date, I’ve only called American Express twice, both times to notify them of me leaving the country and authorizing my card to be used to make international purchases. On the other hand, I’ve called Capital One for billing issues, international use authorization, and false charges. Each instance, I’ve had barely acceptable customer care representatives that did little to help me out.

For instance, when my flight had to make an emergency landing in Goose Bay, Canada due to my mother falling ill, guess which card did not work. If you guessed Capital One, pat yourself on the back. I called them up 14 days prior, 7 days prior, and 24 hours prior to my departure and they kept confirming that my card would work when overseas. I needed to pay a portion of the medical bills for my mom’s health immediately as well as buy food and lodging for ourselves. Thanks to Capital One, I couldn’t pay squat, even though I had a $10,000 credit limit. When I called them up, they said they would activate the card for international use and it would take 48 hours to take effect. Bastards!

Long story short, American Express took care of everything and even called American Airlines on our behalf and made sure that we were on a flight back to Chicago the next day. Moreover, American Express gave me temporary unlimited credit limit for my duration in Canada. Now that’s what I call customer service. After that incident, I vowed that I would look for another card and it would never be Capital One.

However, even after all that, I kept my Capital One because of its high credit limit. The last straw came last week when I received a booklet of 10 blank checks from Capital One. Why did they send it? Their thinking was that those checks could be used as a convenient way to buy gifts without having to carry my credit card. What the hell were they thinking? Those were blank checks that anyone could sign for any amount and I’d be liable for them. Bastards! This is also not the first time; I’ve received these blank checks over 6 times since I signed up for this card. Capital One is EVIL!

Clear from American Express

This card was introduced in 2005 and has virtually no fees. Here’s a quick snapshot of its features:

My APR for this card will be 13.49% and if I default payments twice within a 12-month period, it will adjust automatically to 29.49% annually. So as long as I don’t make any late payments, I’m in good hands. Moreover, the APR is on par with Capital One, so I’m not really losing out. Here’s to a more satisfied feeling knowing that my card is American Express. Actually, all my cards are from American Express :).

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