That sounds appealing, but there are so many $10 and $15 monthly warts on my balance that the burden of adding another (with even a minor overcharge fee) feels pretty high. I wish their lower tiers had double the current limits.
Definitely make sure you get one where they're willing to scale up the credit limit. Our cardable expenses are now more than our limit so we have to pay it off multiple times a month.
High limits that quickly get paid down are not a problem. I've even once called my CC company to request an increase specifically for the purpose of putting through one large charge to get the rewards on it--I explained exactly why I wanted it. (It was going to cost me the same if I used a CC or a check.) I paid off the pending amount at the time so the whole amount was available. One big charge, paid off next month, then back to normal.
The credit union I use has the same 10 transaction requirement to get rewards checking, but it might be a better deal because there's no balance cap on the interest rate (although, the rate isn't as nice), and you can use their rewards visa (credit, 1% back) to make the transactions.
I try to put my low dollar recurring charges on it, cell phone, personal hosting, isp, etc, which gets most of the way, and some out and around small spending gets me over the hump. I'd rather not have to jump through this dumb hoop, but it means less transfers back and forth between checking and saving and less worrying about timing on big payments.
I’d be happy with a “refill if under $10 up to $x/month”. If they can cut off when you’re out of credit they can presumably do it for other criteria, too.
On the topic of "tiers," I have found that with Citibank, when my credit card has a small balance, I get really good phone support. If my card has a medium balance (say, $2,000 to $9,000), I get shoved off to a third-world call center. But when my balance climbs over $20,000, I get the good service again.
Yes, my balance fluctuates wildly month-to-month. Travel.
Why ignore offers to increase credit limit? I keep accepting higher credit limits because I was under the impression there is no down side. (I only ever use a small fraction of my limit and never carry a balance.)
Because I didn't want the temptation to use it. Especially if I found myself in a challenging position. I'd far rather have it brought down to a limit I would choose. They increase it precisely to tempt you to use it, after all.
At one point I had as much available credit across two cards as balance on the mortgage, whereupon I decided it was silly and I'd like them to reduce please.
>You cannot have more than $50 in credit at any time.
Just curious, why a $50 limit? I'm the weird kind of guy who likes to pay years in advance. If possible, please consider raising this limit to $100 or even $200.
Yeah $500/yr fee is ridiculous. I think my card is 1/4 of that and I’m sure I break even the first month since almost everything I pay for goes through that card. Utilities, cell phone bills, after school program fees (and before that daycare), all other recurring bills besides mortgage/car, restaurants, groceries, anything else I want or need to buy go through the same card. Always pay the balance in full each month no matter how painful.
Generally, annual fee cards have an equivalent free tier card. You should be able to just call the credit company and ask to downgrade to the free tier (usually after a year or two). They will usually honor this request. This conversion also doesn't affect your credit since it preserves your limit, balance, etc. YMMV but this has been my experience.
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