What's in your Wallet?

And more importantly, is it perhaps, getting a little stale?  

Since I refinanced our house last year, I've taken on the project of refinancing our LIFE  (see column on why you should change your health insurance policy).  So this morning I gazed down in disgust upon a credit card doing nothing but taking up space in my wallet, and gave it what my dad calls an "order to show cause". (yeah, he's a lawyer).

It's a Capital One card I got back in June of 2001, when the "No Hassle" card was the cool new thing.  You'd earn points for everything you bought, and then you could redeem those points for travel -- any airlines, any hotels, no restrictions.  This was pretty revolutionary at the time, because the only other credit cards offering mile rewards were airline specific.  Well, fast forward to 2012 and this card is pretty much the crappiest mileage rewards card available, yet it's still in my wallet, unused and unloved. 

Why the fall from grace?  Because everyone's offering much better deals now.  Even CapitalOne!  They have cards that give you twice as many miles for every dollar you spend, lower APR's, and lots more perks.  My card is now advertised as the starter card for those trying to build their credit, which means it's for people with bad credit who can't qualify for a better card.  This card is now kind of an embarrassment.  It reflects badly on my image.  But will Capital One ever call me and say, "Ya know, you're getting a pretty lousy deal on that card you have with us relative to what you could be getting with some other cards we offer"?  No.    That would be like saying, "We'd like to make less money off of you."

Why do I still have it?   Change can be scary.  And it's been a busy decade.  Besides, if you keep opening up new credit card accounts every time you see a good deal offered, your credit score can suffer from the "hard inquiries" involved in applying for a card, and if you close accounts you've had for a long time, that can ding your credit score in the "length of credit account" category.   You need a pretty credit score so you can get the best credit card deals, and the best rates on any other borrowing you do, so you have to be careful with this stuff.

The problem with credit cards is that just like wireless carriers or health insurance companies, they keep changing their offerings, and you really need to periodically check and see if you're still getting the best deal available, lest you become that sucker that's still paying twice as much as everyone else for the same thing (a.k.a their favorite customer).

So I cleared an hour to devote to calling Capital One and giving them a chance to offer me something better before I remove their stinky card from my wallet altogether.  I researched a little before hand, and I decided I wouldn't mind having one of those nice new Venture cards they offer.  You know, the ones with the Alec Baldwin ads?  

(ring)

Me:  "Hey, Capital One, I don't use the credit card in my wallet with your name on it because your reward and fee structure is really pretty pathetic compared to other cards, even the ones you yourselves now offer."

CapitalOne:  "Oh, you mean you'd like one of the good cards we offer instead of the crappy one you have now? Well, we'd be happy to upgrade you."

Me:  "Will you make a hard inquiry with the credit reporting agencies?"

CO:  "Nope. It's an 'upgrade', not a new account."

Me:  "Will this count as closing one account and opening another?

CO:  "Nope.  They account will still date back to 2001, nothing will really change except you'll earn twice as many points and pay a lower APR."

Me:  "Do I get the 10,000 points you give new card holders when they spend a thousand bucks?"

CO:  "yep."

Me:  "Will you wave the first year's fee for me like you do for new card holders?"

CO:  "Yep."

Me:  "Do I get to keep my points?"

CO:  "Yep."  

Me:  "Does this card have one of those 'Concierge services' that will accommodate my strange and specific whims?" (click here to read more about that)

CO:  "Yes, and roadside assistance, and extended warranties, and fraud protections, and rental car insurance….."

Me:  …running out of questions… shocked at how easy that was... kicking myself for not having done it sooner.  Wow.  "Ok, thank you, nice Capital One lady."

(click)

Now I'm not endorsing the Capital One card, or any other product  (although this Venture card looks like a pretty good deal).  The point is that you should probably assume no one's offering you the best deal available until you ASK for it.  My wallet will smell much better now, and so will I, as I will no longer have an embarrassing card that tells the world I have bad credit, but will instead have a card that says I am a savvy and confident woman who knows how to force her credit card company to bow down and serve her!  (ok, it wasn't that dramatic, but I'm feeling rather empowered and triumphant at the moment.)  

Roar.