Are You Reading What Your Credit Card Issuer Sends You?

No one likes unpleasant surprises. Unfortunately, that's what you could get if you don't read everything your credit card issuer sends you.

One of the most important things you can do is read the fine print on your credit card agreement, so you know what's coming. And, after you have your credit card agreement in hand, you should make sure that you read everything your bank sends you -- just to keep up with changes that credit card issuers like to make to agreements. Often, these notices come separate from your credit card statement.

David Lazarus at the L.A. Times offers a rather emphatic plea to keep up with the information that credit card companies send to you:

Lazarus' column on the topic chronicles the story of a former bank insider who got the runaround from Capital One credit cards. The story is a lesson in credit card issuer tactics meant to increase profits.

In the column, Lazarus describes a former bank insider who failed to read his mail from Capital One due to an injury that had him laid up in the hospital for six weeks. As a result, he lost all of his rewards points when the card issuer switched him to a non-rewards plan. Here is what Lazarus writes about the tactics used:

Pam Girardo, a Cap One spokeswoman, said the bank sent letters in September 2009 to "a small group of customers who did not appear to be engaged in their rewards program" — that is, they weren't using their plastic as much as the bank wanted them to.

The customers were told that their rewards program was ending and that they had 60 days to opt in to a new one. "If they did not opt in, then they were converted to a non-rewards account," Girardo said.

This is the sort of thing you really need to be on the lookout for. Mailings from your credit card issuer that change things up because of your non-action are on the rise. This is because it allows the credit card issuer to do what it wants if you don't "opt in". If you missed something in the mail, then you could find yourself stripped of rewards points, paying a higher interest rate, or saddled with any amount of inconvenience. Even the best credit cards may have these practices.

And, of course, getting the credit card issuer to put things back the way they were is extremely difficult. The credit card issuer has done its legal duty, and informed you of the impending changes. If you haven't read the notice, the credit card issuer figures that's your problem -- if under extenuating circumstances.

In the end, after hours of frustration due to the runaround, the bank insider was offered his reward points back -- but only because a reporter from a prominent newspaper called the credit card issuer for comment on the case.

Let this be a lesson to you: Read everything your credit card issuer sends you. Everything. And remember: Many issuers package these notices and changes to look suspiciously like junk mail, which might prompt you to unceremoniously throw it out. Don't. If it comes from your credit card issuer, make sure you read it.