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IHG Priority Club Visa - Warning!
bealine99
Posts: 21 Forumite
in Credit cards
If like me, you thought collecting Priority Club points when using a credit card was a good idea, be aware - be very aware:
1. The card is operated by Barclaycard. That in itself is a reason not to have the card as far as I am concerned, having had a very bad experience 40 years ago when someone's Barclaycard in Suffolk had the same machine identification as my little Baraclaycash card down in Devon. Overall it took 5 years to sort the mess out and I still reckon I lost over £500 (a considerable sum when I was a spotty youth without much idea about money.)
2. We use my card exclusively for our fuel purchases, or when we stay at Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza Hotels, and clear the balance each and every month. That earns us Priority Club points which gives a free hotel stay every now and again. Rather nice to have!
Last month, by mistake I left a balance of £0.10p on the account - must've hit the wrong key when I was doing my internet banking. How much interest would they charge on 10p d'ye reckon? 1p / 2p even 10p if they have to round it up?
No - the answer is a whacking great £3.36 which works out to a monthly interest rate of 3360%! ................and you think wonga.com is bad!
Yesterday, the customer service team, predictably, refused to refund the interest charge because "if you don't pay the statement balance in full, interest is calculated on the entire amount - in my case £280.19.
3. If you make the sorry mistake of thinking the card has anything to do with IHG Priority Club and you pay for a Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza hotel overseas, watch out! You will be stitched up like a kipper! Not only do you pay a "Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee", you also suffer from abysmal exchange rates considerably worse than those published on xe.com and the Hotel will charge you a percentage of your account for "Credit Card Transaction Fee".
Priority Club Points? I think I would be better off without them!
1. The card is operated by Barclaycard. That in itself is a reason not to have the card as far as I am concerned, having had a very bad experience 40 years ago when someone's Barclaycard in Suffolk had the same machine identification as my little Baraclaycash card down in Devon. Overall it took 5 years to sort the mess out and I still reckon I lost over £500 (a considerable sum when I was a spotty youth without much idea about money.)
2. We use my card exclusively for our fuel purchases, or when we stay at Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza Hotels, and clear the balance each and every month. That earns us Priority Club points which gives a free hotel stay every now and again. Rather nice to have!
Last month, by mistake I left a balance of £0.10p on the account - must've hit the wrong key when I was doing my internet banking. How much interest would they charge on 10p d'ye reckon? 1p / 2p even 10p if they have to round it up?
No - the answer is a whacking great £3.36 which works out to a monthly interest rate of 3360%! ................and you think wonga.com is bad!
Yesterday, the customer service team, predictably, refused to refund the interest charge because "if you don't pay the statement balance in full, interest is calculated on the entire amount - in my case £280.19.
3. If you make the sorry mistake of thinking the card has anything to do with IHG Priority Club and you pay for a Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza hotel overseas, watch out! You will be stitched up like a kipper! Not only do you pay a "Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee", you also suffer from abysmal exchange rates considerably worse than those published on xe.com and the Hotel will charge you a percentage of your account for "Credit Card Transaction Fee".
Priority Club Points? I think I would be better off without them!
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Comments
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If like me, you thought collecting Priority Club points when using a credit card was a good idea, be aware - be very aware:
1. The card is operated by Barclaycard. That in itself is a reason not to have the card as far as I am concerned, having had a very bad experience 40 years ago when someone's Barclaycard in Suffolk had the same machine identification as my little Baraclaycash card down in Devon. Overall it took 5 years to sort the mess out and I still reckon I lost over £500 (a considerable sum when I was a spotty youth without much idea about money.)
2. We use my card exclusively for our fuel purchases, or when we stay at Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza Hotels, and clear the balance each and every month. That earns us Priority Club points which gives a free hotel stay every now and again. Rather nice to have!
Last month, by mistake I left a balance of £0.10p on the account - must've hit the wrong key when I was doing my internet banking. How much interest would they charge on 10p d'ye reckon? 1p / 2p even 10p if they have to round it up?
No - the answer is a whacking great £3.36 which works out to a monthly interest rate of 3360%! ................and you think wonga.com is bad!
Yesterday, the customer service team, predictably, refused to refund the interest charge because "if you don't pay the statement balance in full, interest is calculated on the entire amount - in my case £280.19.
3. If you make the sorry mistake of thinking the card has anything to do with IHG Priority Club and you pay for a Holiday Inn or Crowne Plaza hotel overseas, watch out! You will be stitched up like a kipper! Not only do you pay a "Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee", you also suffer from abysmal exchange rates considerably worse than those published on xe.com and the Hotel will charge you a percentage of your account for "Credit Card Transaction Fee".
Priority Club Points? I think I would be better off without them!
40 years is a long time to bear a grudge ! Let it go !!
As it was your mistake that you didn't pay the right amount, why don't you call them and ask them to refund the debit interest as a gesture of goodwill ?
As for the other fees, surely you knew about these before you used the card ?0 -
When I registered my card they set up a direct debit to collect the full amount. WIthout any asking from me - they just asked if that was what I wanted to do.0
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I'm not aware of a single credit card that doesn't charge you the interest on everything if they don't get full payment (excluding promotional 0% offers obviously).
The vast majority also charge foreign exchange fees, and whatever fee the hotel charged would also be the same for any credit card.
If you did lose £500 then your personal grudge against Barclays seems more than reasonable. I don't see why that should have any baring on anyone else though.0 -
Perhaps we should ask to change the thread title from IHG Priority Club Visa - Warning! to Pretty Much Every Credit Card ever in Existence - Warning!Are you for real? - Glass Half Empty??
:coffee:0 -
Yes, the other posters are right. You recognise it was your mistake that set off the charges. It's what credit card companies do, nothing to do with InterContinental.
Also, you say 'the Hotel will charge you a percentage of your account for "Credit Card Transaction Fee"'. Are you sure? I stay extensively at hotels in this group and have never paid such a fee. The only place I'm aware of where hotels routinely charge a credit card fee is Australia, and that's not confined to IHG. It's local practice.0 -
No offence, but I'm not sure you understand how credit cards work. I think apart from the loss of £500, everything else in this thread is a non issue.0
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Shock Horror!
Credit card charges customer exactly in line with agreed terms and conditions!!
Something must be done!!!!!!We need the earth for food, water, and shelter.
The earth needs us for nothing.
The earth does not belong to us.
We belong to the Earth0 -
If like me, you thought collecting Priority Club points when using a credit card was a good idea, be aware - be very aware:
when I was a [STRIKE]spotty youth[/STRIKE] without much idea about money
Hopefully the spots have cleared up but your iddeas about money haven't
That earns us Priority Club points which gives a free hotel stay every now and again. Rather nice to have!
Priority Club Points? I think I would be better off without them!
Make your mind up :cool:
Hopefully you got the Black Visa card through their latest promo?
40K points and the first year fee of £99 refunded.
Also a free night voucher when you spend over £10K each year.
Offer ends June 6th-though it has been extended once all ready.
Upgrading from an exisiting PC Visa doesn't get the offer. So close and apply for a Black one or get the Mrs to apply for a Black one in her name.0 -
blindman
I thought I'd missed that offer, many thanks for the link0
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