Lowering annual fees
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I have got myself an ANZ FF Platinum card. I came up through the ranks so to speak...originally had the FF card then upgraded to the gold then finally to the platinum. Great card with great earn rate for FF points especially on the AMEX.
Only problem is the high annual fee. It's a whopping $295! It isn't a huge problem. I can afford to pay it but I rather wouldn't.
My friend told me a tip whereby I should call up and threaten to close my account because I have been given a better deal by another bank. My friend said at this stage the bank should fall on their knees by offering me all sorts of offers to keep me as their customer. I tried this and to my suprise it was almost as if they were happy to let me go! Only question they asked was why I wanted to close. I told them why and they seemed satisfied. I had to then tell them to keep it open so I could think about it more.
Why would they do this? If it helps answer my question I can tell you that I spend a fair bit on my card but pay the full balance off every month.
Hi Jimbo,
All financial institutions (in fact, almost all businesses) will have retention strategies. These are rules and formulas used to determine whether you're a financially valuable customer and therefore whether they should go out of their way to keep you.
If you're spending a fair bit on your card and paying the balance in full every month, it's possible your bank is losing money by keeping you as a customer! They pay interest on every dollar they extend to you. In fact, the annual fee is the only way they're making any money from you at all, so it isn't surprising that they were reluctant to waive it.
Ironically, it is the 'bad' customers -- the ones who have large credit card debts and pay a lot in interest that banks like the most.
Good luck,
Cameron.
All financial institutions (in fact, almost all businesses) will have retention strategies. These are rules and formulas used to determine whether you're a financially valuable customer and therefore whether they should go out of their way to keep you.
If you're spending a fair bit on your card and paying the balance in full every month, it's possible your bank is losing money by keeping you as a customer! They pay interest on every dollar they extend to you. In fact, the annual fee is the only way they're making any money from you at all, so it isn't surprising that they were reluctant to waive it.
Ironically, it is the 'bad' customers -- the ones who have large credit card debts and pay a lot in interest that banks like the most.
Good luck,
Cameron.
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