Passenger Trains > Amtrak credit card

Message regarding the Amtrak credit card states that the interest rate for unpaid balances has increased to 27%.

It might be a good practice to pay off the total completely monthly.

So much fun with the this inflationary economy.

Do you get to pay late by a time period proportional to Amtrak late trains that month?

Or just cut up the card?

Credit card interest rates have been 25% plus for years. With occasional lower rate sales for transferred balances.

Posted from Android

Well you know Gene, has to get in a dig. I haven't seen a card with under 20% interest rate since the last century.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Credit card interest rates have been 25% plus for
> years. With occasional lower rate sales for
> transferred balances.
>
> Posted from Android

Nice to know y'all signed up for those cards without reading the disclosures or the periodic notices of changes to your accounts. 

Only one of my several cards has a rate over 20%--even now, with high rates the norm. Frankly, for anyone with decent credit, I believe an interest rate over 20% is unusual, although certainly more common than pre-2022. 

Now, if you're payment is overdue, then the punitive rate is much higher than 20%...usuriously so.

Jim

My credit cards all have a basic rate of 14% to 17%, well under the 20% figure being quoted and far less than the 27% for the Amtrak credit card.

But I pay them off every month, in full and have done so for too many years to count.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/24 17:19 by GenePoon.

It's best to pay off your bill in full when you are supposed to. Many of us look for excuses not to pay it off and that's not a good look. There may be times when it is tough to pay in full on time but a good lesson to learn is to try not to spend too much money at once and also don't spend it a lot on things that you might like all the time but are not the basics. For example, as much as I want to take a lot of vacation trips by train, I put limits on how much I can spend on that. I usually do three vacations of at a least a week per year. Trips like riding the VIA Rail long distance trains, I learned that it's best to do them during the off season if possible since you can get very good deals. I have other financial things to take care of that go beyond the scope of taking too many week long vacations just to ride trains.

Many schools have cut back the teaching of financial literacy, along with frivolous things like civics and driver's ed.

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Many schools have cut back the teaching of
> financial literacy, along with frivolous things
> like civics and driver's ed.

Well said there, Lackawanna484. Back in my High School daze I had a full course of business type classes (along
with the regular high school course stuff) which taught how to write paper checks, balance your accounts, etc.
I also had a full semester of hands-on Driver's Ed, with real cars and a first rate Instructor. 

Our "student car" was a Chevy SS 396, with the performance package! A very intimidating car, for 15 yr old rookies. 
And my Civics teacher, Mr. Clouse- was one of the best teachers I ever had. His teachings still resonate with me today. 
He dwelled heavily on the Constitution, and the Founding Fathers various writings. Really solid stuff, back in the 1970s.

Sounds like interest rates are pegged to the on-time performance % of any given long distance train originating or terminating in Chicago.