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This is Jobetta Hedelman, posting to add something I didn't get a chance to say on the show.

I have a hard time buying the arguement young consumers, whether they're responsible or run into credit problems, build "brand loyalty" with their cards. I never paid attention to which company issued a card, and with all the banks/lenders switching ownership these days, it's hard to stick with a company even if you DO have "loyalty" to it.

I have one credit card now that I signed up for because it was connected to a non-profit that received a part of the proceeds. I used it for a hotel room on a trip and paid it off in full. The card was from WaMu, which was of course recently sold to Chase. When Chase sent me a new card, it was no longer connected to the non-profit. The ONLY reason I got that particular card was because of the non-profit, and I would not have chosen to do business with Chase.

The same problem occurred with my student loans. After I got my BA, I consolidated my loans through a private lender that locked me in at a very low interest rate and promised that when I went to grad school, I'd be able to add those loans into the program. I chose that company because I wanted that option. However, in the time between then and when I finished graduate school, the lender was either purchased by or merged with Chase (I wasn't told which). Chase changed the terms and wouldn't let me add the graduate loans in. So again, even if I did have "loyalty" to the specific lender, it didn't matter because the loans were sold without my consent.

posted 4 years ago
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