The other day I was shocked to discover that the interest rate on my Citibank MasterCard was 17.5%. I called Citibank and asked the customer service representative why I had a worse interest rate than some people who never pay their bills and file bankruptcy (probably a slight exaggeration). His response was that my card was tied to the Prime Rate and had risen as that rate rose over the last year.
We both knew that was bullshit.
However, he said, because I was such a valued customer and had been with Citibank for so many years, he was prepared to offer me either 8.99% non-variable or 1.9% for 6 months followed by 11% variable. I opted for the 8.99%. Stability is good.
Now you might think I’d be excited about cutting the interest rate in half. Of course, it’s nice.
But if I were really such a valuable customer, why have they been shafting me all this time?