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Mailbag Monday: Help! My Issuer Canceled My Credit Card

debitcardMy husband called Chase Visa about his Marriott card (which he has had since 2002 in excellent standing) to have his 22.4% interest rate reduced (which I have done often for my card based on your recommendations– I now have 13.2% for a long time).  They refused. He asked for a supervisor who also flatly refused.  He told them he would cancel his card, and they did!  He carried a large balance each month, and was either paying off a large portion of it or, lately, paying the total balance.  We enjoyed the Marriott points, but now he says he will share my card and use his American Express instead.  Is this typical in this economy? Thanks so much for your time.

— Jennifer

Hi Jennifer.  I really can’t say how typical it is.  It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a large piece of research where hundreds or thousands of people tried – at once – to get their interest rates lowered and the results were recorded.  (Hey US PIRG: How about it?) Anecdotally, though, I’ve heard some stories like yours.  I’m very glad your husband is paying off his balance every month – rewards, whether they’re hotel points or frequent flyer points or even cash back, are never worth what you pay in interest.  What I would suggest is figuring out what kinds of rewards matter to you the most and then perhaps applying for a card that will give you a lot of them.  The Amex may do the trick for that, but there are a lot of cards offering big bonuses these days just for signing on and spending a few thousand dollars in the first few months (which business travelers like your husband often do anyway).  You might as well get the kind of rewards that can put you on a tropical island (or wherever you want to go) for a few days for free.