Bank of America & Alumni Association

[Broodwich]

Have any of you been following the articles in the Register showing the questionable relationship between Iowa's two largest Universities and the Bank of America?

DesMoinesRegister.com

DesMoinesRegister.com

Bank of America is terrible. It took my girlfriend nearly 2 years to pay off her balance (which wasn't substantial) because of their revolving due dates, and their policies regarding posting dates and times. Why is ISU pairing with a bank of such low reputation, and one that has little or no economic involvement in central Iowa (unlike Wells Fargo)?

When it came time to get a mortgage she ruled out Bank of America (even though our broker was pushing it) because of the problems she had with them.

Also don't you see a conflict of interest here where these Alumni Associations and the University benefit when cardholders maintain a balance? Or get greater incentives to sign students (because of higher interest rates, and their inability to pay off cards monthly).

I know students are adults, but I think this is like giving people free crack samples then sitting back to reap the benefits.

[Wesley]

Only American Express is worse than Bank of America.

[dmclone]

I've had one credit card since I was 20 (my only one ever) and after 16 years I'm thinking of getting rid of it because Bank of America bought them.

[Broodwich]

Have you had similar experiences with the BOA-********?

[brianhos]

It pays to discover!

[Hasbeen]

Here's an idea....don't charge more than you can afford!!!

If you run into a late fee or overlimit fee call and tell them to remove it or you'll cancel your card. It costs way more to attract a new cardholder than to remove a $30 late fee.

[SlyCy]

Sad to see the Alumni Association is still promoting credit cards. They mailed me an app. in college with a cool Cy on the card and $2,000 later I was deep in doo-doo. Yes, it was my fault and I learned from it but it does seem a little bit odd they push these cards so much. Especially to college students when debt management is such a huge issue anyway.

By the way, we now don't have credit card debt but we charge everything on a Capital One and pay it off monthly. Four of us fly on vacation every year for free because of the Capital One No Hassle Rewards. Last years was Disney.

[Tulsa Cyclone]

I bank at Bank of America and have my mortgage through them. I have gotten good customer service from them and free banking services. If I lived in Iowa I probably would be a Wells Fargo customer because of Wells Fargo Arena. They spend $10 Million for the naming rights to the arena, invested in the community, that gets my attention.

I am not a fan of CitiBank. If the ISU Alumni Association went with CitiBank I would cancel the account.

[Rogue52]

Bank of America has changed the policy regarding posting dates/times. You can now make a payment at anytime and as often as you like (at least with a preferred Mastercard). The revolving dates are jacked up though.

In any case, I have the Alumni Association card and have had no problems. Low interest rate, pay the bill on time, watch charges, etc. I got a good rate because of a decent credit history. But the agreement has helped out some students who have very little credit history and would otherwise not have access to a credit card.

Do students need credit cards? Probably not. But with purchases such as books, etc., having a credit card is a nice luxury instead of having to hand $500 in cash across the counter. You just have to be responsible.

[Kyle]

I find it interesting the different stories people have. I've used nothing but my Citi card for the past 6 years or so and really like it, although I pay off the full balance every month.

I did have problems with Capital One giving me an account I never asked for. I got a statement one day and said WTF? Apparently they'd had an open account in my name for two years and I had no clue. Nothing was ever charged to it thankfully.

My wife had a problem with Wells Fargo losing a check she deposited a while back.

I also keep having problems with the online banking at my local small-town bank deciding that it doesn't want to let me sign in anymore. I've had to reset my password twice now (and no, I didn't just forget it).

[Wesley]

If we get $500k, Iowa alumni must be pulling in more than a million a year.

[bhoodjer]

I have the American Express Alumni card and I absolutely love it. Great rate, great rewards, great customer service and my payment date has never changed. I can't speak to BOA's other products (I use Citi for almost everything else) but my experience has been good.

[jbhtexas]

I've never had a problem with my BOA ISU Alumni Association Card, American Express, or Capital One card. I did get jacked around by CitiBank once.