Citibank Security Issues?

[AndrewBird]

I'm thinking about applying for a Citibank credit card that came in the mail today. Aren't they the ones though that had a major security breach not to long ago? Are they safe to trust?

Anyone with a Citibank card have any input? Likes/dislikes etc.

[atomic]

Probably not a bad card to have and max out for when they go belly up in the near future...

[Jand3rson]

Andy, don't get any credit cards that come in the mail. Get a credit card through your bank.

I made the mistake of getting a Capital One card that came in the mail, and my interest rate just shot up to 24.something %.

[jbsjunk]

They also usually want lotsa $$ for membership fees, along with other charges that would total at least $100 before you even get the card.

+2 on the trashcan, that's what I do.

[Jean]

Read the fine print, I got my citi card years ago and it's still at 6.24%. Pretty much every card will jack your rate up to 20-30% under some conditions.

[mrsleeve]

My citi card has no member ship fees, a decent interest rate (11.9%) and I use it a lot for my hotel bills and travel expenses, as I get points to use for other travel stuff. Like free vacations and what not. They hate me as I pay it off every month, (like 30 nights in hotel, fuel, food all my expenses while on the road) and have to pay no interest on it and they pay for our vacation every other year for 2 weeks some place exotic, next year I think will be grand cayman in mid Jan.

That said they will try to get you to slip up and miss a payment by a day and jack you rates an add fees and all kinds of shit. My payment has always been on the 5-6 every month for 4 years. about 3 months ago they moved it to the 3rd, I just happend to catch it and get it in on time and things went back to the 5-6. I have seen all my cards pulling this trick trying to get you to slip up, so they can nail you to the wall.

Watch your selves with the CC guys, I have switched to cash (other than my travel expensses on my citi account). Once I pay off the 2 that have some balance on them they will get used maybe 1 a year to buy fuel or something just to keep the account active.

[AndrewBird]

The card I got is no interest for a year on balance transfers and purchases with a 9.99% variable rate after that period. No annual fees or anything.

I just wanted to transfer my balance I have on another card to this and dodge the interest for a while. But, I don't want to go with a bank that is going to screw me over in the end.

[Turf1600]

Credit cards are not your friend

[nando]

Probably not a bad card to have and max out for when they go belly up in the near future...

uhh, yeah.. try that and let us all know how well it works out.

I have two citi cards, one from 2000 and one a few years later. I actually refinanced most of my school debt on to them - 1.99% fixed interest rate for the lifetime of the balance was pretty hard to turn down (that was 4 years ago). I don't use it for anything though, and to be honest the few times I've had to deal with their customer service (reps in india), it was not a good experience. Otherwise I haven't had any problems.

[atomic]

uhh, yeah.. try that and let us all know how well it works out.

I should have added the :sarcasm: to the end of that.

Credit cards are not your friend

For most people, yes.

When I use my cards they get paid in full on the first of the following month, period. No matter how much is charged in total.


;)

[Jand3rson]

Andy, don't do it. jbsjunk is right, they probably want close to $100 in sign up fees and "one time" fees that they will charge you right off the bat before you even get the card. Shred it. Don't just throw it away, shred it. And that variable 9.99% interest rate doesn't mean shit. 9.99% is what they will start it off at once you enter the variable rate period. Then they can jack it up to whatever they want.

Get a credit card through your bank or a local credit union.