Paying for your credit cards..........

NickX

My first ever credit card was a Barclaycard and I seem to recall there was a annual fee of £10 applicable.

Funny thing is I didn't mind at the time, but if they tried to introduce one now I would definitely cancel.

Rikki

pandas66 wrote: »

I had a VISA attached to my current account a few years ago that was 'fee free' initially, when an annual fee was applied I sent it back.

:hello: Hi panda........glad you sorted the computer out.



I have a credit card described as free for life.

My bank offered to upgrade it and offered a lower interest rate fixed for a few years. If I didn't want this option I had to call and advise them of it. This is what made me wonder that my bank would possibly be charging for their credit cards further down the line.

I turned down their offer.:D I only use the card in emergencies and pay it off each month.

YorkshireBoy

Banks would love to start charging for credit cards and bank accounts (in some part, to recover the lost revenue from bank charges).

However, I believe fee-free accounts will always be available for those with a higher credit score and/or higher disposable income.

So my vote would be 'yes, for some' (and that's not an option )

nzseries1

I moved here from New Zealand a couple of years back, and there you still have to pay to have a credit card - the equivalent of £10 per year.

I think though that is because there is a LOT less choice over there.

exel1966

From what I remember of my early days of cards, annual fees of £10-15 were commonplace as the market wasn't as flooded and the competion wasn't as fierce as it is today.
But then came the BIG american financial arms (MBNA, Cap1, General Electric) and they shook the card business up by removing those type of fees, offering lower rates and incentives and which probably forced the market into what it is today.
However, profits have fallen for these organisation due to the 'credit crunch' and usually the first to pay for such events are the customer.

ldn-100

Although relatively small, annual fees were always one of things that put me off getting a credit card. When Morgan Stanley introduced an annual fee a year or so ago I cancelled my card to avoid paying it. The cash back on the card would easily have covered the fee, but I guess the principal of it annoyed me. With so many kinds of cards, there will always be another provider somewhere who will offer a pricing scheme that suits you better. You just have to do the research.

LongTermLurker

Following on from Post #17, and a bit off topic, remember the short-lived attempt to charge people to withdraw their money from other banks' cash machines? At something like £1 a go? For small withdrawals you could end up paying 2% or more. Out of protest, I moved my current account from Halifax to Nationwide because Nationwide didn't charge a fee - I still used the Halifax machine cos it was closer, but they didn't charge other banks' customers, only their own.

The moral of this story is that there is no thought put into charges - they are just penalties for being loyal; there will always be someone who offers a fee-less card, and they will get the business which in turn will force banks to drop the fees.

Rikki

I wondered as I have a credit card described as free for life and my bank now want to change it.

NickX

Rikki wrote: »

I wondered as I have acredit card described as free for life and my bank now want to change it.

Which card is it ? And how much do they want to charge ?

Are they offering any additional benefits now that there is a charge ?

sjc_2

Personally I don't think they will ever charge for CC's again. The backlash it would cause from customers when they can quite easily make more than the standard charge by increasing the APR Charged by a percent.