If you get a Citibank/Shell credit card offer in the mail, check it before you throw it out. I was about to send the envelope through the shredder, like I do with most CC offers. Then I felt a plastic card inside. I found a $25 gas card from Shell, which they activate if you apply for the card. So you spend 5 minutes on the phone, they activate the gas card, you get the new CC and close the account when it comes in. That's what I did anyway.

It gets late early out there. - Yogi

Your credit score goes down every time you open a new credit card.
It can take many months for it to go back up.
You are playing with fire.
Unless you need another credit card.

Hi,

I finally got my Shell/Citi credit card closed about a month and a half ago. They have a horrible late charge, $39, which I found when one of our payments got waylaid. So I sent in the amount requested only to find the next month, interest charged on the balance that included the late charge.

I took their charge and add $.10 and sent a check with a note asking to have my card and account canceled. When the next bill came in showing a $.05 credit, I called their 'customer support' line to cancel the card. For the next three months, they sent a bill showing a $0.05 credit. I finally made a second call to 'customer support' emphasizing I wanted the card canceled ... so far I haven't received a bill.

I still buy Shell gas and would have enjoyed the 5% discount but all of that was wiped out by one miss laid payment and a $39 late charge. I sent a letter to Shell marketing complaining of this practice.

So as far as I'm concerned, get the $25 credit card. Then when you get the bill, print of this note from one VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER:

Robert J. Wilson
Huntsville, AL 35802

Remind them that the cost of getting new customers is much higher than a $39 late charge. Losing repeat customers is much more expensive than that stupid, cruel and anti-customer late charge.

Bob Wilson
ps. Feel free to send a copy to Shell Marketing.

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Bob, I understand how p.o.'d you are, but I think I would edit out my address....sorry, there are some odd people out there and, well, it really doesn't take much these days....I had a very similar problem with Mobil and a bill for 0 that took 3 months to clear up....seriously, they were sending me overdue notices for $0.00 go figure?

Yeah, be careful Bob Wilson. Identity theft is a bug-a-boo these days.


http://www.yourcreditadvisor.com/blo...timate_gu.html

Bob,

I have yet to pay any kind of late fee whether it was deserved or not. I merely threaten to leave and that seems to trigger someone to step in and make the fee go away. I tend to cancel anyway, just so that they know I'm serious. But usually it's on a subsequent charge. Did that not work? CC company's don't want to lose a customer.

It sad that you have to go through the motions of cancelling to get them to bend. At which point, the amount of time spent on the phone just angers you to quit anyway, even when the remove the charge.

I won't touch anything that has CitiBank on it. They still owe me 60 bucks!

I used to have a Union Oil credit card (Citi provided) and they posted six charges for several hundred dollars on it that I didn't purchase. I chased it and they agreed to reverse the charges. But they would not reverse the "processing charges" and "late fees" that resulted from my not paying them when the statement came due. (I did pay the legitimate charges -- and on time.)

They still owe me that sixty bucks, and they will not see my smiling face again until they pay it.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

While your credit score may take a minor initial hit from the card issuer pulling a copy of your report, by having the extra available credit if you get the card, your score will actually increase in the long run. (higher credit available and lower % of usage)

Any card willing to give you $25.00 up front, is worth looking into in my opinion.
The trick is not to carry a balance on the card (or any cards for that matter).
The interest will quickly take away any profit you make from the initial offer.
It is also not wise to cancel any cards (especially your oldest ones), They tell the creditor how long you have had credit.

Of course everybody has a different situation, but this offer seems pretty attractive.
Get a new line of credit (which will help increase your score in the long run) and get a 25.00 gas card UP FRONT?!? Definately worth a second look!

(I did not get this offer, but I am watching my mailbox for it)

08feh

A phone call is usually enough to get a fee waived. Over the years, I've had a couple of misplaced bills that resulted in late fees. If you are a customer in good standing, I think they just want to hear "lost in the mail". I have even been prodded into saying that by a customer service rep. Saying you want to cancel your account can help as well.

Everything is negotiable. I've had a credit card with an annual fee for a while now. I've had the fee waived all three times is was due now. One time I said that I wanted to cancel because my wife had an offer for the same credit card with the fee waived for the first year so I was just going to cancel and have my wife apply. They waived my fee. Another time I just said I wanted my annual fee waived. They said they absolutely could not do it. I called back a few days later with an issue. At the end of the conversation, they asked if there was anything else they could help me with. I asked about getting the fee waived again. They said "sure, let me transfer you to somebody that can do that for you".

Also, I personally do not think a $25 perk is enough to warrant applying for a credit card. There are so many better offers out there. For example, that credit card I was talking about was a Frontier Airlines card that gave 15,000 frequent flyer miles with your first purchase and waived the fee the first year. With Frontier, 15,000 miles is good for a free flight. I've also had credit cards that gave $100 gift certificates to a store of your choice after your first purchase.

I push a lot of business expenses through credit cards, so I am really big on taking advantage of their perks.

5% on gas, grocery stores, drug stores
3% on all restaurants and amazon.com
2% on all travel

Good points.

Add

Advanta 5% on all utilities (cable electric and cell phone).

08feh