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You'd Better Start Checking EVERY Due Date On Your Credit Card Bills! -plus- How Your Credit Card Company May Be Setting You Up For Failure -plus- Gotta First USA Or Bank One Credit Card? [Time To Get Out The Scissors!!!!!] -plus- How Cingular Wireless Is Trying To Get Your Business...And It's Good News! -plus- Why Smaller [Square] Greeting Cards Cost More To Mail
October 17, 2002
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Dose of Dover For The Week: Humor me as I switch the format in this week's column, but I needed to bring your attention some troubling news from the credit card world. From this date forward, please be sure to scrutinize the due dates on all of your credit card bills. It seems that First USA-the nation's leading issuer of Visa credit cards-has quietly decided to start shortening the grace period extended to its better cardholders. A recent story in The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Allen Kanner, a financially-prudent First USA cardholder, noticed that his grace period (the time allowed for you to get your payment to the company before it's considered late and subject to additional Late Payment surcharges) had been sliced from 25 to 20 days. When Kanner called First USA to find out why, he was told: "Because I'd been paying my bills regularly, they weren't making any money off of me."
Sounds to me like First USA is doing what they can to increase their income generated from late fees. It stinks in my book, but I'm afraid it's a sign of things to come across the industry. Outside of a mortgage or car payment, I've never relied on the assumption that certain bills were due on certain dates. I've always made it a habit to mark on every bill exactly what the due date is, the amount (or minimum amount) due, as well as a "Mail By" date, usually at least 10 days before the due date. Incidentally, my sources tell me that this is a movement spreading through the credit card industry, so it's probably a good idea that you check your credit card bills closely even if they're not from First USA. By the way: Expect to see First USA fade into the sunset, as the company which acquired them-Bank One-phases out this brand in favor of their own.
Dear Ben: Read your column about upgrading cell phones and your suggestions for transferring the data on your cell phone. My cell service provider-Cingular-offered to do this on the spot for me when I changed plans and phones. It was ready to go in minutes. (Don't know if they all do that or not.)
Chris via e-mail
Dear Ben: Regarding your advice on transferring cell phone information from one phone to another, the last time I upgraded my Cingular phone, the Cingular store representative took my old and new phone in the back room, did some sort of transfer for me and brought me my new phone complete with all the same information. Best of all, there was no charge!
Scott C., via e-mail
Dear Chris and Scott: I couldn't find anything on Cingular's website regarding company policy and free data transfer (from old phones to new/upgraded models), but I did receive several e-mails like yours that were unanimous: All (very) positive stories about Cingular providing this service free of charge to their clients. Throw in their new "rollover" calling plan-allowing you to carry-forward unused minutes to the next month-and it's obvious Cingular's trying hard to get (or keep) your business. I use a Nokia cell phone, but my cellular service is from a different (non-Cingular) provider who made it crystal-clear they weren't in the business of helping customers transfer their data from old phones to newer models. "Sorry, we don't get into that" was their loud-and-clear message that forced me into exploring the world of data transfer. (You see there? One more thing to ask about before you sign on with a cell phone provider. Good for Cingular!)
Dear Ben: I recently purchased some "stylish" birthday cards, but wonder why it's more expensive to mail them. They're not over-sized, but perfectly square (5½" x 5½"). Why is it more expensive to mail something that's smaller?
Cynthia, via e-mail
Dear Cynthia: Because they're not standard size, the automated sorting machines will "eat" them, so the post office has to hand-sort them and pass this added expense (12 cents) along to the consumer. Don't burn an extra First Class (37 cent) stamp if you don't have to-the next time you're at the Post Office you might want to convert some of your loose change into some 1, 5 and 10 cent stamps.
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