Brother APP Spree all approved.. but not so great APR...

[Fico2Go]

My young brother went on his first app spree in a while.  He was approved for 2 AMEX, 1 CHASE, 1 Priceline, and 1 Discover.  

He was excited and should be.  Unfortunately just found out all his APRs are in the 20.00%.  OUCH!!! 

His scores are in the low 700s.  

Goes to illustrate that getting an approval doesn't always bring the best outcome since getting CC issuers to drop the APR will take quite some time and for others outright difficult.  

I recall not long ago when getting any approval was a dream come true.  But as we study the approval patterns it's becoming clearer that perhaps getting approved at the wrong time can hurt down the road.  

[OHWWCB]

Ouch! Well, good for him on his approvals. Maybe after a few months he can begin working on getting the APR lowered.

[longtimelurker]

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@Fico2Go wrote:

My young brother went on his first app spree in a while.  He was approved for 2 AMEX, 1 CHASE, 1 Priceline, and 1 Discover.  

He was excited and should be.  Unfortunately just found out all his APRs are in the 20.00%.  OUCH!!! 

His scores are in the low 700s.  

Goes to illustrate that getting an approval doesn't always bring the best outcome since getting CC issuers to drop the APR will take quite some time and for others outright difficult.  

I recall not long ago when getting any approval was a dream come true.  But as we study the approval patterns it's becoming clearer that perhaps getting approved at the wrong time can hurt down the road.  

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Yes, that is why there is a stress here on gardening, even though you can probably get the card, you won't get it with good terms.  Generally it is to avoid toy limits, but APR as well.   Toy limits are more annoying, because you have to pay several times a month (and can't buy a "big" thing) whereas to avoid APR you can pay in full just once.

[coldnmn]

Congrats to DB! It's better then denials. Thanks for sharing.

[mikelo22]

Grats on the approvals. On the bright side, that will encourage him not to carry balances then.  

[Dw4250]

There is hope. Some banks do periodic reviews of credit and will reduce your APR. For example, I opened my BOA Travel back in April 2014 with a dismal 22.99% rate, but last month they auto reduced it to 14.24%. Not bad...

Of course this varies from bank to bank. I've heard Chase is notorious for leaving people at the same high rate they started, but YEMV.

Just advise your brother to use his cards responsibly and PIF/keep balances low and I'm sure he will get those rates down eventually.

[bigblue7722]

ive said it once and  i will say it again. If your looking for a low apr card dont go with the big banks. The big banks offer great rewards and are some great ways to earn money but they apr are very high. If you want low apr please look at a local CU. 

[ChargeItPlease]

Congrats to your brother. I hope that after some good history, he can get those APRs down.

I second what bigblue said. DCU has given me my lowest APR to date, 15%, which considering that my others are in the 20s isn't bad. DCU goes as low as 8%, I believe. Other CUs have low rates too.

[Hockeyplayrr]

SDFCU will give you 6.99% apr if your ex score is 720+

[-Wade-]

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@Fico2Go wrote:

My young brother went on his first app spree in a while.  He was approved for 2 AMEX, 1 CHASE, 1 Priceline, and 1 Discover.  

He was excited and should be.  Unfortunately just found out all his APRs are in the 20.00%.  OUCH!!! 

His scores are in the low 700s.  

Goes to illustrate that getting an approval doesn't always bring the best outcome since getting CC issuers to drop the APR will take quite some time and for others outright difficult.  

I recall not long ago when getting any approval was a dream come true.  But as we study the approval patterns it's becoming clearer that perhaps getting approved at the wrong time can hurt down the road.  

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Congrats on your success