B of A to Customers: Drop Dead

Bank of America, in its typical manner of biting the hands that feed it, has decided to tick off the Snowed family once again. Because we have made the choice not to use their card (or any other credit card) but to work as hard as possible to pay it off, and because we had an interest rate less than 10%, B of A has told us that our rate will jump to almost double what it was.

It apparently is not just us; B of A is apparently (per several sources) raising rates for about four million customers. Mind you, these are customers who have not defaulted or missed any payments. (No, those people get their mistakes paid for by the rest of us.)

So, what is one to do when one still is paying a balance and is about to get hit with an outrageous interest rate increase? First of all, don't use the card! Cut it up. Second, call B of A and decline the changes to the card's terms of service. You will still be able to pay off the card under the old terms (including your old rate) as long as: 1) you never use the card again (which is why you should cut it up!); and 2) you continue to make at least the minimum monthly payment (and hopefully you are paying a lot more every month).

I got the impression when I called to decline the change in terms that many people were doing so; the representative on the phone did not even try to talk me out of it, but simply made the change and closed the account. If that many people are dumping B of A's cards, that can't be great for B of A's bottom line. Way to treat your faithful customers there.