Comments on: Help me find a credit card that won't bend me over unlubed

Question: Help me find a credit card that won't bend me over unlubed

clango — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:53:59 -0800

Are there any credit card companies with reputations for being decent to their customers? I've gotten the "free for 90 days auto-enrolled credit protector" crap for the last time. Currently running without a balance, planning to dispute this nonsense and then deny the company my continued business if possible. Visa/Mastercard are preferred, but my annoyance has opened my mind to other options.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:58:00 -0800

American Express hasn't pulled any weirdness on me at all and sends out the bonus/extra services ads sparingly compared to some of the Visa cards I have.

By: box

box — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:02:10 -0800

My credit union is wonderful. Credit unions, in general, have a pretty great reputation.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:03:19 -0800

Yes, seconding credit unions (even though I don't belong to one). They are much more accountable to their customers because they have physical locations you can go to.

By: damn dirty ape

damn dirty ape — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:09:35 -0800

Discover is pretty painless.

By: amtho

amtho — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:18:24 -0800

Thirding credit unions. I've got a Visa through mine. They've been great.

By: Comrade_robot

Comrade_robot — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:32:15 -0800

American Express placed quite high in customer satisfaction recently. The downside is that not everybody takes it because they charge the merchants more.

By: frosty_hut

frosty_hut — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:59:05 -0800

Discover was just rated the best credit card in a range of categories by Consumer Reports. I just got one of their cards, and it's my best card by far.

They do try to upsell you over the phone (if you buy $100 worth of overpriced crap on your card before the end of the month, you get ten cashback points!), and I had to make it super clear that I didn't want to purchase extra protection on the card when I first signed up. But for the most part the reps are helpful. I like the ease of use of their web site too.

They haven't been involved in any scandals like the ones Providian and Bank of American were embroiled in.

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:59:50 -0800

I loathe my American Express card least, although it charges a yearly fee.

By: clango

clango — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:39:28 -0800

Y'know, I kind of prefer the idea of paying an annual fee to having one TAKEN from me under false pretenses.

By: kamikazegopher

kamikazegopher — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:44:02 -0800

Discover was awesome to me after my house was robbed. They sent me a new credit card overnight, even though I didn't request expedition. Also, when I called to report my card stolen, they reviewed my account and lowered the interest rate during the same call.

By: altcountryman

altcountryman — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:28:23 -0800

I've had Discover for years and always been happy. However, you'll run into places, it's mainly been mainly restaurants for me, who do not take it. Personally, I think a Visa or Mastercard is a necessary backup, depending on how necessary a credit card is for you.

My Visa is the REI Visa through US Bank. I've also had that one for several years and no complaints.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:04:54 -0800

I have a credit union and I never have to deal with stuff like this. I've had the card there for ten years. I've had mixed experiences with Discover. A few months ago they somehow cashed the check I sent them but didn't credit it to my account. They eventually straightened it out, but I had to be really proactive with them about it, they were not great with giving me information and basically treated me like a criminal of some sort until we got to the bottom of it and then didn't apologize.

By: paleography

paleography — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:36:54 -0800

Nthing credit unions, and I'll also recommend USAA (yet again), which has some of the most lovely customer service I've ever experienced, in both their banking and credit card divisions.

By: nax

nax — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:44:04 -0800

I think in general companies treat good customers well. Don't go over your limit, pay your bills on time, keep the card for years, and they'll do right by you. At least I've never had any issues with any credit card company.

By: jeversol

jeversol — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:54:02 -0800

The best companies I've delt with over the years have been American Express and US Bank. My credit union has appalling interest rates on their credit cards because they outsource their logo to a third party for the card service.

Best thing about AmEx is their online dispute process. Someone jacked my card info like 5 years ago through some crappy online store. I called them to get the card canned and reissued, but the actual dispute was all web-based. I tried to dispute a charge on a Citibank Master Card at one point. It was worse than dealing with the IRS ("Mail us form AOD-4029B along with copies of all receipts, correspondence, and a personal letter describing why it should be reversed.")

US Bank's customer service is still US based, and are always helpful.

I got a Juniper (Barclay's US) card less than 9 months ago because it's 9.9% fixed. So far, they've been really easy to work with as well, but havn't had a very long relationship with them.