My spouse and I had to make several purchases of some big-ticket household items that had been stolen from us in a home burglary that needed to be replaced. We had a few card choices to choose from but we decided to use our Advanta card. While my first real experience with Advanta started out a bit rocky, I must say that Advanta’s customer service and handling overall of my account was surprisingly positive.
When I got my first statement though, I was shocked by the total amount of the finance charges. I soon discovered that the interest rate wasn’t the 7.9% that I thought it was. It was 16.99% … more than double the APR that I originally anticipated. I jumped online to check on my account and discovered the interest rate had been jacked up way back in August. I hadn’t really noticed the jump in the APR because I hadn’t used the card for several months and I just assumed (danger) that things were fine with the card. We’d been using another rewards credit card (with a much higher ongoing interest rate) for additional purchases instead. We were paying the balance on the rewards card off each month though without fail so the higher interest rate on that card was irrelevant.
As you can imagine, I was pretty embarrassed for not being aware of the interest rate increase. After all, I rant and rave every day about the importance of keeping track of changes to the terms and conditions of your cards, and the interest rate had been inexplicably increased for several months without me even realizing it.
In addition to feeling like an idiot for carrying a balance on the card with the highest interest rate that I had, I was also agitated about why the rate had been increased in the first place. So I called Advanta.
I got even more agitated when I first called because I got a pre-recorded message informing me that customer service representatives were only available during business hours from 8:00 am to 5:00 PM Eastern time. With my work schedule, those hours were going to make it nearly impossible for me to call during their business hours. And, what credit card company doesn’t offer 24 hour customer service, anyway? This was the first time I had ever come across a card issuer that didn’t provide 24 hour customer service.
After finally reaching Advanta customer service, I asked the representative why my interest rate had been increased. After putting me on hold, she came back and told me she could lower the rate back to 9.09%, but she couldn’t lower it down to the 7.9% that I had anticipated in the first place. While I was happy to have the rate decreased, I still needed to know why the rate had been increased at all. When the rep asked if there was anything else she could do for me, I politely reiterated that she never told me why the rate had been increased at all from the rate first offered to me.
She rambled on about how not everyone qualifies for the lowest APR and their underwriters look at certain blocks of customers that meet certain criteria and they change interest rates to fit certain risk profiles. They then notify their customers of any APR changes by mail and, if the customer doesn’t cancel the card agreement because of the rate increase, the change is made to the APR automatically.
My level of agitation was starting to build as I listened to this mumbo jumbo. But the customer service rep did help to calm my nerves by telling me that she’d credit my account for the finance charges I was charged in the previous month – which were well over $100. I didn’t actually ask to be credited back those charges so I was pleasantly surprised by the offering. I was polite and courteous in my tone with the representative and wasn’t belligerent in any way. (Admittedly, I have been pretty gruff with service reps at certain card issuers in the past, but that’s a story for a different day).
In the end, I didn’t pay any interest on my Advanta balance at all. Even after the finance charges were credited back to me in full and with an interest rate increase that was only slightly higher than what I originally anticipated, I decided then and there to pay the balance off in full.
Although my Advanta card no longer has the lowest ongoing APR of all of my cards, my experience with Advanta overall was very positive, and I’ll remember that the next time I need to carry a balance on a card for a while.
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You must be a good employee writing such nice words about a Hyena; look around and ask real business owners what they think about Advanta.