I jumped ship quickly with my personal checking and savings accounts and rejoined my old credit union (which I'm really wishing I hadn't left). Sadly, I didn't take my credit cards with me just yet as I felt I would most likely need to get my feet wet with the credit union first before I might be able to be offered credit cards or loans with them. Although I have only been with the credit union for less than a year, I gotta move on with them and leave Chase behind.

A few days ago, Chase sent me a notice telling me there was (yet another) change in my terms. Beginning February 2010, they want to increase the interest rate on my "business" credit card to 29.24% (from its current 20.24%) and my personal credit card to 23.24% (from 18.24%). I have been making my payments on time (except one time when I somehow forgot to make a payment) and only used my personal credit card for mostly small purchases, such as gas and food. So, being as good of a person as I can be, why is Chase upping my rate?

That's right. The nearly $1000/year in Interest I pay to Chase isn't enough for them. So, they figured it would be best to increase my interest rate to a level I can't afford. (The full letter in attached to this post.)

Sadly, the purchases I made on the "business" card was for the business I had hopes of starting up, but never came to be. I was already in the process or trying to sell off the stuff I purchased for the business when this Change in Terms letter came.

Now, this wouldn't be the first time Chase has increased my interest rate. In fact, this would be the third (yes, third) interest rate increase in a year! Here's a chart showing my credit card interest rates over time:

As you can see, Washington Mutual / Chase started out fairly reasonable, but starting in 2008, it all went to hell. Chase has been steady (but high) after their takeover on my Business card but kept upping the rate on my Personal card.

So, what am I to do? I could try negotiating new rates with the different credit card companies, but who know how long that would last. I could try moving all my cards to the credit union, but who knows what rate I would get AND if I would even qualify. Same if I tried applying for a loan with the credit union.

All I do know is that I don't want to do business with Chase anymore and in the end, I'm going to be screwed. It's all a question of which direction will hurt the least.

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