Cancelling Credit Cards...need Advice

[bangkeroboy21]

Are there penalties or complications when it comes to cancelling or not retaining credit cards?

Eto kasi *** case ko mga sirs,

I have around 6 credit cards... I ONLY USE two of them, HSBC and EW, hsbc for the miles etc. and EastWest for the promos etc. Ayoko rin ksi ng madaming bills and it's hard to keep track of so many bills with so many cards, baka mabaon lang ako sa utang. now the rest, basically, these banks keep tossing credit cards my way, now to be fair, i did sign up for some of them, I'm in my 20's pa kasi and being young, fancied the idea of having some "wallet bling bling"(though i don't use them) the trouble is, ANNUAL FEES. even if you don't swipe it, you pay for it, of course may 1 year waived lahat sila. but the time will come that i will have to shell out.

Now since i feel i'm more mature than i was before, i feel i should start TRIMMING some of them off, mahirap na rin kasi with the temptations and all.

now my question/s are, may penalties or fines ba when it comes to "terminating" your CC account? and what are the possible repercussions and complications that would happen, both present and future if i do?

thanks and any advice would be appreciated!

[freelancer_babe]

Penalties for cancellation or non-usage? There should be none. Credit card issuers shouldn't penalize you for simply wanting to close your account.

Just make those calls and cancel those cards that you don't use. Of course, kung meron pang balanse ang mga unused CCs you also have to settle them before closing the account.

Yun nga lang, I heard some credit cards issuers don't want to lose you if you decide to terminate your CC kahit hindi mo na ginagamit. Kadalasan they just simply waive the annual fee para di mo i-cancel ang business mo sa kanila. That's just fine as long as you don't succumb to uncontrolled spending for the next year. If you really want to avoid the temptation, then be firm with the CSR in having them terminate your account - makukulit rin sila.

[ianonline]

if you will cancel your account tendency is that the CSR will offer to increase your credit limit to more than you can imagine (i'm serious when i said that) or if not they will offer to waive your annual fee to the point that they can be pushy..

now the question is WHY WILL THEY DO THAT?
CSR will get penalized if the closing of an account is in their watch... there are only a few reasons why a person would like to close his account.. it's either he's not satisfied, or he's not satisfied, or he's not satisfied... and it's the job of the CSR to satisfy the customers...

[KuyaDanny]

The only "fee" I can foresee from pretermination is this: if you have previously paid an annual fee and you are terminating before your anniversary, the unused portion of your annual fee might be forfeited and not refunded to you.

[shamashu9]

in my case i have a few credit cards that i do not use, one year *** ngayon september but wala ako annual charge, why? kasi i never use them from the very start that i received the card. kapag ganun, wala charge ng annual fee if you do not swipe or use the card even once, you can keep the card. if you use the card once and not use it for one year, may annual fee na un.

cancelling wont cost you anything, you just have to pay your balance if you have any, in full amount.

[bangkeroboy21]

ok...wait kahit ba "PRE-ACTIVATED" yung card, ganun din? coz i haven't used any of them, not even once! and i've yet to see a monthly card bill...ang main fear ko nga is one day i receive a bill for an annual fee!

[LaGuy]

kahit hindi mo nagamit ang cc mo,e cha-charge ka pa rin ng annual fee.yun ang nangyari sa aunt ko,galit na galit kasi hindi pa nya nagamit ang card eh may billing sya sa annual fee.at inutusan nya ako na e ca-cancel ko dun sa bank yung cc nya.

[TravelLifestyle]

kahit hindi mo nagamit ang cc mo,e cha-charge ka pa rin ng annual fee.yun ang nangyari sa aunt ko,galit na galit kasi hindi pa nya nagamit ang card eh may billing sya sa annual fee.at inutusan nya ako na e ca-cancel ko dun sa bank yung cc nya.

it makes sense, since sa mata ng banko, you are their CC holder, whether you use it or not, therefore, they charge an annual fee if mag 1 year na sya, dahil advance payment sila. So, yun, answer sa tanong ng TS. Cancel your cards sa bank mismo. You have to go there kung ayaw mo ma-hassle sa uncalled for charges. actually, pwede din to call, but to be sure, visit the bank.

[bangkeroboy21]

speaking of which...when should i call for a waiver of the annual fee? before or after the posting? I.E. hintayin ko ba na lumabas sa BILL or i PREEMPT call ko na sia?

[mazdamazda]

speaking of which...when should i call for a waiver of the annual fee? before or after the posting? I.E. hintayin ko ba na lumabas sa BILL or i PREEMPT call ko na sia?

You only have a leverage in waiving your annual fee if you are using the card heavily. Like Citibank, it's pegged at around P480K or something.

[SuperOnyx]

if you will cancel your account tendency is that the CSR will offer to increase your credit limit to more than you can imagine (i'm serious when i said that) or if not they will offer to waive your annual fee to the point that they can be pushy...

I experienced this. Metrobank offered to waive my annual fee and increase my credit limit by 500% if I would retain my credit card account. I did use that card quite often prior to cancelling, but for the topic starter's case where he would be closing credit cards which he never used? Unlikely.

in my case i have a few credit cards that i do not use, one year *** ngayon september but wala ako annual charge, why? kasi i never use them from the very start that i received the card. kapag ganun, wala charge ng annual fee if you do not swipe or use the card even once, you can keep the card. if you use the card once and not use it for one year, may annual fee na un.

This is incorrect, sir. In fact, you can get charged with annual fees
even for cards that you didn't even activate. I am speaking from experience.

Just wait for those annual fees. They may appear on your statement this October.

---------------

To the TS, just call customer service to have those cards cancelled, then follow it up with another phone call after a week. Make sure to call before those annual fees are due--this is important. You can't cancel a card that has any remaining balance due for payment, which includes annual fees.

[bangkeroboy21]

I experienced this. Metrobank offered to waive my annual fee and increase my credit limit by 500% if I would retain my credit card account. I did use that card quite often prior to cancelling, but for the topic starter's case where he would be closing credit cards which he never used? Unlikely.

i've seen the ads and fine print saying you have to at least spend this much and that much a year para daw i waive, but i also know that this can be very relative

so, by your experiences mga sirs, how much was your average spending on those said cards to have the annual fees waived?

[thephantom]

speaking of which...when should i call for a waiver of the annual fee? before or after the posting? I.E. hintayin ko ba na lumabas sa BILL or i PREEMPT call ko na sia?

call after seeing the charge. banks cannot reverse anything not stated in the account.

[SuperOnyx]

i've seen the ads and fine print saying you have to at least spend this much and that much a year para daw i waive, but i also know that this can be very relative

so, by your experiences mga sirs, how much was your average spending on those said cards to have the annual fees waived?

RCBC - I only used this card twice and on it's anniversary I called to have it cancelled. CSR asked why, I said I won't be using it anymore. She puts me on hold, after 2 minutes, she came back begging me to retain the card with a promise that she would waive the annual fee. She really did literally "beg". (My annual spend: +/- 3,000 php)

UnionBank - I called CSR and asked if they have any offers for annual fee reversal. She said they don't. I asked if it's true that I don't have to pay the annual fee if I close the account. Her answer this time was that, since I don't have any remaining balance on my account, she can have the annual fee reversed. (My annual spend: +/- 10,000 php)

HSBC - CSR said I should have made an annual spend of 200k to have the annual fee reversed. I asked if there are other options. She said she could waive half of the annual fee. I agreed. (My annual spend: +/- 40,000 php)

MetroBank - CSR said they will waive the annual fee if I spend 5k pesos within 30 days. I said I really just want to have the card cancelled. After two weeks, they called me back to say my annual fee is already reversed and offered to increase my credit limit if I reactivate the card. I said I already cut the card in pieces. They said no problem, they'll have it replaced for free, which they did. (My annual spend: +/- 20,000 php)

EastWest - CSR asked me to spend 3 thousand pesos within 3 months to qualify for an annual fee reversal. (My annual spend: +/- 5,000 pesos)

Citi - CSR was firm on saying they don't waive annual fees anymore. Since I have unbilled installment charges on my Citi card, I wasn't able to cancel it. (My annual spend: +/- 60,000 pesos)

Equicom - After requesting for the card to be cancelled, they just said okay, no offers. (My annual spend: zero)

Allied - Same with Equicom, no offers. (My annual spend: zero)

[ianonline]

^^ wow taray ng equicom.. haha...

if in the first call you are not successful call again right after your first call... most of the time it's not about the company's policy but the mood of the customer representative who got your call..

[LaGuy]

^^ wow taray ng equicom.. haha...

if in the first call you are not successful call again right after your first call... most of the time it's not about the company's policy but the mood of the customer representative who got your call..

malaking bagay din yung mood ng csr.
paano kung before ka nya na entertain, eh may customer na nagsusungit sa kanya.

[bangkeroboy21]

malaking bagay din yung mood ng csr.
paano kung before ka nya na entertain, eh may customer na nagsusungit sa kanya.

yeah... am beginning to believe that, given some recent experiences, medyo mataray nga minsan tono ng boses nila, while we're on the topic sirs, by your experiences, what time BEST TUMAWAG? yung tipong chances are good mood pa CSRs hehe

[mozilla099]

yeah... am beginning to believe that, given some recent experiences, medyo mataray nga minsan tono ng boses nila, while we're on the topic sirs, by your experiences, what time BEST TUMAWAG? yung tipong chances are good mood pa CSRs hehe

Early morning, then malambing ng "good morning" ka muna

kakaunti lang ang callers sa mga oras na yan at less stress sa part ng CSR

[LaGuy]

preferably early morning..
but who the hell will call csr early morning just to reverse your annual fee??!!

the important thing is may etiquette ka when calling..lambingan mo kung gusto mo.

[mozilla099]

effective yung early morning at lambing, I do it with BPI, full reversal ang nagrant