Credit card issuers have heeded the call and are standing up for the little guy by offering coronavirus assistance to vulnerable consumers.

Credit Card Issuers Step Up To The Plate

American Express

American Express intends to waive late fees and interest charges. They will reduce their interest rates based on a case-by-case assessment of customers who are in need of help. The New York Times has revealed that American Express plans to enable cardholders to dodge payments without incurring any penalty .i.e. no interest will be accrued if you don’t pay at the moment.

If you want to skip a payment or interest fees due to financial issues, then take out your Amex card. You will find a number on the back of your card. Call or sign into your account so you can initiate a chat session with a customer representative. Explain clearly what COVID-19 has to do with your current financial status.

Amex is also canceling the Amex Travel fee, which is being used for working on flight modifications up to April 30.

Bank of America

Visit the Bank of America website and learn how the bank is providing customer service via a tailored and up-to-date help page in these challenging times. In case you cannot pay for your credit card on time, the bank allows you to submit an online request for payment deferral. However, keep in mind that the bank does not plan to forgo interest charges.

For more details, call the number provided on the back of your card.  

Barclays

Barclays has designed a pretty solid program—one of the best among the credit card issuers. You can skip late fees and payments, and increase your credit lines. There is also a help page where the company specifies that cardholders can use their online account to dispute any transactions.

Capital One

On March 12, Capital One sent an email to its customers, encouraging them to log into digital banking tools (such as online and app access) for accessing their accounts.

If you want to avoid financial problems due to the COVID-19, you can choose any of the customer support lines of the bank and ask them for support. The bank has explicitly encouraged its clients to reach out to them for help because of the pandemic breakdown.

Relief will be available in many forms, such as deferred loan assistance, minimum payment assistance, and fee suppression. Moreover, recently, on April 5, the bank released some resources on its site that deal with fraud prevention, individual customer assistance, and travel cancellations. There is also a new web page that provides guidance to customers for the SBA Paycheck Protection Program.

Chase

So far, Chase has remained behind other prominent credit card issuers—there is no announcement of a policy for skipping payments without interest. You can still ask for financial assistance via the number written on the back of your Chase card to find out about any relief program.

Also, if you made a travel booking on the Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal for a trip (comprising more than seven days), you can forward a request for cancellation and type your details on an online form to get a refund.

If you own a Sapphire Reserve credit card, you can take advantage of Chase’s $100 annual fee credit provided the renewal date of your card is from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2020.

Keep in mind that the call centers of the bank have limited hours, so you might have to experience long wait times. Therefore, it is recommended to use the mobile app instead.

Citi

Citi has announced an “always-on” assistance program. Like a few other credit card issuers, it includes collection forbearance programs and credit card increases. For more details, you can call the number that is on the back of your card.

There has been some relief for bank accounts of small businesses as well. They can reach out to the bank to get fee waivers remote deposit capture and monthly service fees. They can also avoid penalties for early CD withdrawal. Banks like Citi are doing their part to help consumers saty out of debt collection.

Discover

Unlike other credit card issuers, Discover does not give away business cards. As a personal cardholder, you can consider reaching out to the company via phone, mobile app, and online customer service. At this point, the customers can get support, which is related to late payments, fees, and payment timings.

Like others, Discover has also come up with a dedicated FAQ page for the COVID-19 affectees.

Fifth Third Bank

Among all the credit card issuers, Fifth Third Bank has arguably created the most comprehensive plan for customer support. Customers are offered 24/7 support via online or mobile app channels. For the time being, you can only visit the bank by making an appointment. If you have got to make simple transactions, then you can take advantage of the drive-through service.

Assistance will be provided to customers for COVID-19 issues related to loans secured by real estate, credit card balances, and auto loans.

For example, you can also get payment deferrals for around 90 days without incurring any late fees for vehicle payments. Similarly, the monthly payment requirements on consumer credit cards have also been waived for 90 days without incurring any late fees. Meanwhile, the payment forbearance for the mortgage and home equity programs has been extended for 180 days without late fees.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Marcus by Goldman Sachs facilitates the COVID-19 affectees by offering personal loans, postponing loan payments for 30 days, and waiving interest rates for the deferral periods.

Hopefully, with such extensive support from credit card issuers, you can easily avoid financial issues during the pandemic period.