{"id":7212,"date":"2009-07-15T20:00:02","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?p=7212"},"modified":"2009-07-15T20:00:02","modified_gmt":"2009-07-16T00:00:02","slug":"the-secret-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/the-secret-menu\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secret Menus Of Credit Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I was listening to an NPR story<\/a> about the success of the fast food franchise In And Out Burger.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the things that makes it so popular among it’s fans is it’s “secret menu”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apparently, there are items that you can order that do not actually appear on the menus in their restaurants.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, the secret menu does appear on their web site.<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit Cards Have A Secret Menu Too<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine you are working as a customer service representative for a credit card company.\u00a0\u00a0 Come on, it is not as bad as it sounds.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of my classmates at the University of Delaware were part time employees of a major credit card issuer nearby.\u00a0 For them, this was a great place to get hands on experience at a major bank.<\/p>\n

As a credit card customer service rep you are trained in how to deal with common problems and offer solutions.\u00a0\u00a0 As a college student, overseas subcontractor, or entry level bank employee you are not empowered to come up with your own financial schemes \u00a0 If you were, who knows what that would lead to.<\/a> Instead, you get to offer your customers items as needed from the bank’s secret menu.<\/p>\n

Let Me Show You How It Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, I called CitiBank and told them I was considering canceling my American Airlines MasterCard.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was then transferred to a different department that only deals with cancellations.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I explained to the representative that I don’t use my card much, and I was considering canceling it, but I was wondering if there is anything that he could offer me.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I knew from a discussion in a forum on FlyerTalk<\/a>, that they were offering double miles for three months if you told them you wanted to cancel your card.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sure enough, the representative checked his secret menu and found the offer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I placed my order, and he did everything but ask me if I wanted fries with that.<\/p>\n

In the case of my American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card, I “ordered” the 3,000 bonus points when I renewed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is enough for a free night’s stay at many locations, and I got it just for knowing what’s on the secret menu and making a quick phone call.<\/p>\n

What Else Is On The Secret Menu?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It depends on the bank, and it might depend on\u00a0 your status with them, but the menu is pretty long.\u00a0 \u00a0 There are lots of examples of increased rewards. \u00a0\u00a0 Capitol One called me and offered to increase my cash back percentage. \u00a0 How could I say no? \u00a0 Certainly you can get your interest rate lowered by asking.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Penalties and late fees are frequently removed merely by asking.\u00a0\u00a0 The sky is the limit, so think creatively.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps you would like your due date changed?\u00a0\u00a0 No problem, just ask.<\/p>\n

Sometimes The Secret Menu Is A Secret To Them As Well<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my CitiBank example, I knew the details about the entire offer, but the agent himself did not and he had to look it up!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The key is to be patient and polite.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another important factor is to make sure you are talking to the right person.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When you mention that you might cancel your card, you are then transferred to a department known as retentions.\u00a0\u00a0 Their job is to keep you from canceling your account.\u00a0\u00a0 Make sure that you get someone in retentions before you place your order.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, sometimes the steps that a retentions customer service representative will take can be absurd.<\/a><\/p>\n

In my case, they were mutually beneficial as the company retained it’s customer and I got a better deal.<\/p>\n

How Do You Find Out What’s On The Secret Menu?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Flyertalk forums are a great start, as is using “the Google”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take your favorite credit card and search for “retention bonus” or “renewal bonus”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With my Starwood Amex, I received my bonus in return for renewing a card that I had held for years, yet in the case of CitiBank, the card was virtually brand new!\u00a0\u00a0 I knew to ask for the bonus because I had read other people’s account’s first.<\/p>\n

The Bigger Lesson<\/strong><\/p>\n

These days, the media is trying to popularize the credit card industry’s\u00a0 notion that “Obama passed the Credit Card Bill of Rights, so now banks are clamping down on customers.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don’t believe it! <\/strong> There is still a highly competitive market for credit cards, and banks will still bend over backwards to make their good customers happy. \u00a0\u00a0 When banks stop filling up mail boxes with credit card offers, then you will know things have changed. \u00a0\u00a0 Until that day, if you are the type who pays your bill on time, give your bank a call.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They probably won’t say no to any reasonable offer and they may even make you an offer you can’t refuse.<\/p>\n

I’ll take a few thousand frequent flier miles over a “Double Meat Animal Style” any day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I was listening to an NPR story about the success of the fast food franchise In And Out Burger.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the things that makes it so popular among it’s fans is it’s “secret menu”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apparently, there are items that you can order that do not actually appear on the menus in their restaurants.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Secret Menus Of Credit Cards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/the-secret-menu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Secret Menus Of Credit Cards\" \/>\n<meta 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