Would You Get a Savings Account With Your Credit Nemesis?
I got an email a few days back from Capital One, advertising their savings account (which has a 3.75% APY for balances of $10,000 or more). I don’t have $10,000 to plunk into a savings account right now, so for me it isn’t interesting, but the email itself made me think. If it would be financially reasonable of me, would I open a savings account with the very same credit card company that was my nemesis for so many years? I finally have a zero balance with Capital One (and all other credit cards, thankfully). Would I willingly enter into another relationship with them now?
Of course, money is money and banks are banks and it really shouldn’t matter. But I wouldn’t want to have a negative association with my savings account. Saving money is a happy thing.
If you’ve been in credit card debt (or still are) would you open a savings account with the company that was a thorn in your side? Or any kind of debt - for all I know Sallie Mae offers savings accounts. Or if you have, does or did the savings account give you bad memories? Leave a comment and let me know your experiences and thoughts!
Money is an odd thing.
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May 29th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
For me this is something of a “Meh, so?” thing. I personally do not care whether the company holding my money also offers credit cards. Heck, most of the local banks around here offer credit cards.
Then again, I’ve never been in a severe amount of debt.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I think I would, as long as I had a good time dealing with them when I was using them for credit. If they screwed me over royally, though, or were a pain in the butt to deal with in terms of customer service, then no way.
It’s their job to try and make money off people like me who misused credit cards, so I can’t really blame them for charging interest and late fees. The credit card I had that changed the interest rate to 29.99% after I went over the limit… I don’t think I would get a savings account with them.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
No I wouldn’t open a savings account with them. I want to have a feeling of trust about my bank and anyone who is holding my money. And I don’t have that feeling about these rapacious credit card companies. Even though they are presumably regulated. No trust, no business.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Well, business is supposed to be business, so it shouldn’t matter. That said, in most cases if one bank is offering a deal you can find the same deal from another, so indulging your emotions doesn’t hurt you, and you can get a little thrill from snubbing your nemesis.
I had really bad experiences dealing with Nationsbank on behalf of my clients. I always said that I hated them soooo much I would be willing to take a loss just so they couldn’t make one red cent off of me. They were bought by Bank of North America, and I still don’t want to do business with them. Blech.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Think of it this way- instead of paying Capital One interest, they are now paying YOU.
I think it would be sweet revenge to make money off them. (Provided their customer service was fine, of course.)
May 29th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
If I limited myself only to banks with whom I never had a bad experience, my money would be stashed in my mattress. Every bank does something stupid from time to time…
May 29th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I haven’t been in credit card debt but I wouldn’t deal with a company that treated me badly. I want to deal with companies that want to treat me well. Dealing with companies that have proven they will treat me badly is not something I want to do - even if they claim to offer a good deal.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Forgive and forget, why wouldn’t you bank with them. If for some reason you didn’t like their service or something like that I could see not wanting to put your money in their bank, but any other bank would have let you get into debt like that. You would only be punishing yourself if you didn’t get the best rate on your money.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I would. Or, I should say I did. I was in the hole to Citibank and they offered a promotion to open an online savings account ($50 bonus). I took the promo and closed the account about 2 months later. The interest rate was better with EmigrantDirect anyway.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:05 am
It is possible that it might be better to open an account with them, rather than with someone else. It might be empowering to flip the scale from debt to saving with the same bank, turn a negative into a positive, etc. Having your former nemesis paying you to use your money, rather than you paying them to use yours…sounds pretty sweet to me!
May 30th, 2008 at 1:06 am
err, I mean you paying them to use theirs, of course.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:42 am
I think if they were offering something really attractive then it would be silly to turn down the opportunity and would be a way (in a roundabout sort of a way) to get back some of the money from them that you were paying to them in interest.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I’ve been considering opening a savings account with Capital One myself… I kind of like the rewards points for the savings balance, considering I tend to like to sit on my money anyways. My only card is through them, but I’ve been a deadbeat to them from day one, so there’s no harsh feelings from my side.
One of the only things stopping me is the decrease in actual interest from my ING accounts. I know it’s because of the rewards, but I kind of like just having the money and not having to think of how far or how close I am to being able to redeem points for anything.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Depends on what the trouble was. If they had terrible customer service and couldn’t resolve things quickly then I might have to pass.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I probably wouldnt. I don’t trust Capital One enough. I think they would treat me as badly as a savings customer as they do now as a CC customer. I have never had a good experience with them. I only keep it around because it is my longest card history. Same with USBank. I had a CC and a savings account with them. They treated me very badly. Shortly after I moved my credit card to the Credit Union, I closed my savings account. I keep my checking account and joint account there only because it is too hard to move them at this point.
All in all, if a bank treats me badly, I take my business away if at all possible. I wouldnt go back, even if they offered me some great perk, because I worry that it is a trap.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I wouldn’t, not because the company would care, but because I don’t do any business with Capital One. I just don’t trust them.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:34 am
How about this question: would you work for the same company that managed to fully take advantage of you when you were pregnant in college, gave birth with terrible student insurance and put the balance of your medical bills on said credit card?
My husband works for a certain company that is owned by a certain other company which totally enjoyed taking their very high cut of interest on our student card until we (thankfully) paid it off. Now that’s a cordial relationship, no?