Credit Card Companies

I hate credit card companies. (Don't we all!) Seriously though, what are they thinking?

I received a letter today from one of my credit card companies telling me about a great opportunity for me!!! I could now arrange to receive me statements through an Online-Only" option! Whizz! bang!! Pop!!! Wow - ain't I lucky!

So if I sign up for this, I'll get my statement sooner, without all the muss and fuss of a paper statement. And of course I'll be able to access it any time online from a secure site. And... get ready for it... it's FREE!!!

To which I respond, "Who cares?" This is nothing new or revolutionary. In fact, I've been looking at this exact statement online for months now. The only difference is that now they want me to believe this is an added value to me.

If a credit card company wants to endear themselves to me, maybe, just maybe, they should consider that I'm a pretty smart consumer. I know a bit about this whole internet thing, and I realize that online statements are a great way for them to save money. I'm guessing it costs them (conservatively) about a buck per statement to process, print, and mail them. So what they're really telling me is, "Sign up to help us make some money! Won't that be great!!!"

My suggestion to this company (By the way, their name begins with "A"), is that when you want me to help you reduce your paperwork burden and cost, make it worth my while. Offer me a .25% reduction in my rate. Or tell me that every month, you'll contribute 25 cents per online statement to a charity of my choosing. Or do what my phone company did - be honest and tell me that ultimately this is about a cost reduction on your end, and if I want a detailed statement, you're going to start charging me for it.

You want me to help you? Then don't BS me.