Originally Posted By skinnerbox ... and blames Senator Dick Durbin for it: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/chase-disney-dollars-were_n_843383.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...383.html</a> <> WASHINGTON - Chase bank, one of the largest issuers of debit cards, has begun telling its customers that as a result of legislation sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the company will no longer be able to offer Disney Dream Reward Dollars. Wall Street has been lobbying furiously the past few weeks to push legislation through the Senate that would delay what is known as “swipe fee reform," which requires the Fed to write rules that would reduce the fee merchants must pay for using debit cards to a “reasonable” amount. Chase's claim comes amid a dramatic behind-the-scenes fight in the Senate that pits Democrats against Democrats, Republicans against Republicans and Wal-Mart against Wall Street. “I’ve tackled the big boys, but there’s nothing like Wall Street banks to show you muscle power,” Durbin told HuffPost. On the Senate floor Thursday, the number two Senate Democrat accused Chase of trying to pressure the Senate with its letters to consumers. “Now the banks and credit card companies are pulling out all the stops. I learned yesterday that Chase, which is one of the major issuers of these debit cards across America, sent a letter to their customers in a number of states and said, you know, if you don't repeal the Durbin amendment, we're going to end up in a position where we won't be able to give you all of the rewards which we're offering you on your debit and credit card,” Durbin said. A spokesman for Durbin didn’t have a copy of the letter he referenced. Chase did furnish HuffPost with a sample of the letter it had sent to customers, but declined to respond to Durbin's charge. “Congress recently enacted a new law known as the Durbin Amendment that significantly impacts debit cards,” reads the sample letter, with the underlining in the original. “As a result of this law, we will be changing our debit rewards program. After July 12, 2011 you will no longer earn Disney Dream Reward DollarsSM when you use your Disney Rewards Debit Card.” Consumers will also miss out on a ten percent discount, the letter warns. “After October 31, 2011, your Disney debit card will no longer be eligible for the Cardmember Perks of the Disney Rewards Program, such as the Disney Theme Park Perks and 10% off select Disney merchandise purchases of $50 or more,” reads the missive. The law does not require debit card companies to cut back on their Disney bucks, but banks reasoned during the debate that the reduced revenue the measure would cost them would mean they could be less generous with rewards. Further down in the letter, though, Chase lets its customers in on some good news--the card will no longer come with an annual fee. A spokeswoman for Chase said that the fee is being waived because such costs only apply to rewards cards: No rewards, no fee. The letter also informs customers that they can still earn Disney dollars by using their credit card. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is pushing an amendment that would delay implementation of swipe fee reform by two years while regulators study how it might effect small banks, which were exempted from the law. Tester had hoped for a vote on his amendment Thursday, but it became increasingly clear throughout the week that he lacked enough support. Tester told CNBC’s audience Thursday morning that he had at least 60 votes, but did not pull up his amendment throughout the day, a strong indication he knew otherwise. Durbin, whose job it is to count votes for the Democratic caucus, wouldn’t say how many nays he had against Tester’s amendment, but, he said, “I will tell you that I’m working it.” Durbin said that consumers should ignore Chase's threat. "Don't expect any favors from this industry. If we do not regulate the credit card industry and the banks that issue these cards, trust me, the consumers will continue to lose time and time again," he said on the Senate floor. "And as for Chase, I don't think they're going to be any -- there aren't going to be any poppy flowers sold on their behalf on any street corners," he continued. "If I recall correctly, they had a 48 percent increase in profits over the last year. They're doing quite well. Now it is time to give small businesses and consumers across America a break." <> Yeah, that's right. Chase blames the Dems for trying to protect consumers from outrageous fees for rewards cards, which are essentially a form of extortion. Did you catch these paragraphs from the article: "The law does not require debit card companies to cut back on their Disney bucks, but banks reasoned during the debate that the reduced revenue the measure would cost them would mean they could be less generous with rewards. Further down in the letter, though, Chase lets its customers in on some good news--the card will no longer come with an annual fee. A spokeswoman for Chase said that the fee is being waived because such costs only apply to rewards cards: No rewards, no fee. The letter also informs customers that they can still earn Disney dollars by using their credit card." So Chase isn't required to ditch the Disney Rewards for the debit cards; it's a financial decision THEY decided to make because they're greedy. Customers will still earn Disney Rewards from using the credit card, which will continue to carry a hefty annual fee. Looks like another corporate version of blame the victim.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance I got that letter from Chase. I don't get Disney points, just regular points from my Chase debit card. I racked them up pretty good too since I use my debit card for everything, but that's a thing of the past in June too.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox Can't you use a Chase VISA to earn points? That's what we use, for everything. Then we pay the card off in full, every single month. We treat it like a debit card.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Yeah, I guess that's what I'll do. Did you ever notice when you're paying with your debit card at the store, and you're trying to use it like a credit card it's like the stores are trying to keep it a secret that you can do that? The screen pops up for you to enter your pin number, and it doesn't give you the credit option unless you hit the cancel button, THEN it pops up with the credit option.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt This is only the Debit, correct? I have about 200 pts for our Cruise next year!! DCL tee for me!!
Originally Posted By mawnck >>That's what we use, for everything. Then we pay the card off in full, every single month.<< Yep. This is what economists call "what you should be doing." ;-) Those "rewards," BTW, are really just a bribe for you to use the card so that the bank can collect their much bigger "rewards" from the store. If it's a store you really want to support, then pay cash. Since the whole Too Big To Fail garbage happened, I've backed WAY off on using the credit cards. As a credit union member I can always find a free ATM in the immediate vicinity. Go ye and do likewise (including the credit union part). No sense in enriching the big banks any more than the US Government is forcing you to. >>This is only the Debit, correct?<< Yep.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer My credit union pays rewards in the form on higher interest rates and refund of ATM fees. It's much better than points.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Semi-related. We recently made a $16,000+ purchase using our Wells Fargo Mastercard. We took money out of one account, put it in our Wells Fargo savings account, then paid off the Mastercard purchase. We did the payoff online. And, earlier this month, we were in Mesa, AZ for about a week to see the Cubs at Spring Training. We made some unexpected purchases while there and we did several online transfers of funds from Wells Fargo savings to Wells Fargo checking. Both accounts are interest bearing, but who are we kidding, the interest is nominal. Anyway, since we're only allowed six online transfers a month, Wells Fargo charged us a $10 excess activity fee for every transaction over the limit of six. I knew about this policy, but when we went to interest bearing accounts for both savings and checking, we were supposed to be exempt from the fees. Federal Regs allow for fees over six transactions each month, but it's discretionary on the part of the bank. The idea for the limit is that you'll park a large sum of money in an interest account just to get the interest, knowing it isn't going to stay there. But since both our accounts get interest, no fees. Well, that has apparently changed. Of all things, when I trasnferred over $16,000.00 of my own money to Wells Fargo to pay off their Mastercard, because it was an electronic transfer and over the limit of six, they charged me $10 because I paid them back over $16,000.00. What the hell. So, when I got back from Arizona, I went into the Wells Fargo branch located on the first floor of the building where I work and asked for the fees to be waived. The little girl who works there said there was no way, she'd get fired. The only way to possibly waive them was to call Customer Service. I said she had to be kidding, what is it that she does there then? I got charged the fees because I DIDN'T go into a branch and do the transfer, but now that I'm IN the branch I have to call to get the fees waived. Moreover, fees I was charged because I gave THEM over $16,000.00. Looong story short, all they would do is waive 50% of the fees. That's it. But at the end of my last phone call about this, the person helping me, whp readily acknowledged the absurdity of it all, gave me a "special number" for account holders like me that specifically addresses fee waivers. Woo-hoo.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>gave me a "special number" for account holders like me<< I assume that would be the number for your nearest credit union? Cause it'll solve those problems and lots of others. It absolutely baffles me why ANYBODY would have a checking or savings account in a major bank. It's just throwing money away.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< It absolutely baffles me why ANYBODY would have a checking or savings account in a major bank. >>> The convenience of a large branch network.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>The convenience of a large branch network.<< To do what? And how much are you paying for it?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Outside of this fee fiasco, I'm not paying a damn thing for it. Credit unions are not the panacea you seem to be making them out to be.
Originally Posted By charming husband ">>The convenience of a large branch network.<< To do what? " In case of a local disaster, with a large branch network it is much easier to get funds than it would be if your cash happened to be tied up in a small local credit union or bank.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***In case of a local disaster, with a large branch network it is much easier to get funds than it would be if your cash happened to be tied up in a small local credit union or bank*** I would think that in the event of a disaster, temporary options would probably open up in the event that your institution is temporary out of commission (for example, up in the North of Japan right now, they've set up outdoor tables and portable machines in order to dispense cash to people who's homes were destroyed by tsunami, people who in some cases may have lost all of their records and their bank cards etc). And if it turns out that the local institution in question was completely destroyed, FDIC insurance would certainly apply. That doesn't seem like a particularly valid reason to choose a large institution (as SD wrote, convenience IS a valid option, certainly...but I wonder how many people don't realize that all the hidden fees and charges actually add up to a bad decision financially speaking, when their motive in the first place is to save cash).
Originally Posted By Mr X Now that I re-read my post, I suppose those outdoor tables are run by bigger institutions and not local ones, so it COULD be a valid reason for banking with the big boys, perhaps. But even so, other support systems go into place in the event of a disaster, so it's far from the main concern anyway (seems to me, anyway). One could always turn to the red cross or whatever to meet basic needs until more substantial assistance becomes available (like FDIC).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Credit unions are not the panacea you seem to be making them out to be*** Most people I've read about and heard from seem to think they're better than the big banks. And many have also raved about their small town banks as far as good customer service (and that seems to be pretty much true)...not to mention the fact that the big boys don't really care about being S&L's very much, their bottom line is more along the lines of big, quick profit any which way they can find it. So, it's not too surprising that they treat their customers like a commodity (or a liability, depending). Luckily, in Japan banks don't tend to treat customers that way (I can keep an account open forever with a zero balance with no penalty, for example). Of course, Japan pays very low interest and has for the past couple of decades. But now it's pretty much the same all over, so perhaps it would behoove the banks in America to start treating their customers a little more respectfully if they expect to keep any of them (there's always the under the mattress option, after all...and then the big boys would be royally screwed!).
Originally Posted By mawnck >>In case of a local disaster, with a large branch network it is much easier to get funds than it would be if your cash happened to be tied up in a small local credit union or bank.<< Assuming you had any money left after they've fee'd you to death to pay for the executive board's monthly bonus checks. As for access, you should know about the Credit Unions' Co-op Network. More free ATMs than any of the major banks. <a href="http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/atmlocator/index.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.co-opfs.org/public/...ndex.cfm</a>
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder We're a member of two different credit unions, in addition to banking with Wells Fargo. Neither credit union is available to us after 5:00 p.m. weekdays or at any time on weekends for customer service. Both have very small limits on debit card transactions in any single day. But we get all that for free.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Neither credit union is available to us after 5:00 p.m. weekdays or at any time on weekends for customer service. Both have very small limits on debit card transactions in any single day. But we get all that for free*** What's so bad about that? Seriously. We live in such a 24/7 world these days, but there is always a price to pay. Back in the olden days, we used to bank when the banks were open...is that so bad?
Originally Posted By fkurucz "Neither credit union is available to us after 5:00 p.m. weekdays or at any time on weekends for customer service." I have none of those issues with my credit union.
