Ratejacking and the Science of Profit

rosmersholm

I am just posting to find out if something I have experienced is just coincidental or Credit Card Company science.

A while ago I posted that my Egg card was ratejacked to 26.9% APR and then after I had paid the balance of the card (didn't reject rise by closing the account, just paid it off first) and six months had passed they reduced my rate to 21.9% APR. Still annoyed by Egg and distrustful of ratejacking when having a balance, I still didn't use the card and kept it open with no balance. A few months later, the rate was dropped again to 19.9% APR.

The context of my own circumstances was pretty static of the time involved (no changes in income, credit balances in other places) but the cynical part of me believes they ratejacked when I had a substansial balance and dropped the rate when I had no balance in order for me to rack up a balance again.

Given the context of ratejacking (credit crunch, pressure on financial services industry) and its application, I was wondering if my cynical interpretation is true for other people (proving that CCC are just plain old, evil profit-beasts whose ratejacking isn't prompted by customer profile, but prompted by greed)

I think I already know the answer but it would be good to hear of other ratejacking or rate-reducing tracking that follows a similar pattern/