Applied Bank's VISA Business Card (their business. your fees)

[unusuallyconfused]

Probably the worst card that I just received in my quest to rebuild my credit and start building up a credit history:

Applied Bank's VISA Business Card

I knew what i was getting into when I signed up but Jesus.

This card pulled my TransUnion report only.

APR is 23.99% and Late Payer APR is 29.99%

Credit Limit: $350.00

Fees right off the top:

$125.00 "account origination fee"

$9.95  per month monthly "maintenance fee".

So the card comes out of the envelope with $134.95 in charges on it.

Thank God. I was afraid that I was going to have to actually purchase something at the store just to get a chance to use this card. Thanks to the fees, I can rest easy and just pay off the fees to build credit!

Then just to "own" the card, it costs $9.95 per month. Forever.

Additonal Card Fee? Replacement Card Fee? $30.00

What if you want to actually be responsible and pay off your credit card balance? That costs, too!

Pay by phone? $6.95

Represenative Assisted Payment? $12.95

Online Payment? $6.95

Credit or Debit Card Payment? $10.95 per payment.

ACH payment to them through a pre-authorized direct debit of a deposit account: $6.95 per payment.

I'm gonna be sending them a check I think. They don't mention any fees for that except for the implied cost of a stamp.

My favorite is the "Credit Limit Increase Fee": $100.00

Bhahahaha. No thanks. I'll keep the $350 limit. When I need more, I'll take the $4,000 that USAA gave me with no fees.

Anway, if anybody is expecting to get this card or thinking about it, it's a high price to pay for rebuilding credit, but it's an option to get you going.

This was (after FingerHut) the second line of credit that I attempted to signup for and was successful. Had I know I would have been approved for much better offers I wouldn't have done it. But I did.

One good point to the story?

I paid an expeditited delivery fee for $20 and Applied Bank delivered my new card via UPS! bhahahaha.

[09Lexie]

😳

[john398]

Wow thats rediculus

Also I thought business cards were for business use, so I am lost, is this a personal card or business card?

[Robertwd82]

I started rebuilding creit with their secured gold card. 300 dollars i sent in. 50$ fee is the only fee I've ever had to pay and online payments havent cost me anything.

Was good for me, I'll close it at the end of 23 months now that I've established and have better cards with no annual fee.

[shanac]

I've had Applied Bank's regular card for almost 6 years and I think they charged me the 29.99% APR from the get go! I started out with a CL of $500 and now it's at $2150. I recently received an offer to increase it to $2450 for their infamous $100 fee. I declined. My monthly maintenance fee went from $9.95 to $15 and now it's at $5. I knew what I was getting into when I accepted this card--with the exception that I did not know that they don't offer a grace period with the interest! Interest accrues immediately after you make a purchase. To their credit, Applied did notify me last year that they were lowering my maintenance fee from $15 to $5 and giving me a CLI of $300 (they waived the $100 fee) for being such a good customer. I will have a zero balance on this card in a week. I will continue to pay the $5 monthly maintenace fee for awhile until I cancel it. I've had the card for 6 years and it factors into my AAoA but at some point I'm going to kick it to the curb.

I got around the $6.95 payment fee by setting up payments through my bank account. Also, Applied doesn't report the monthly maintenance fee to the credit bureaus. For example my balance is $356 but on my CR it shows as $351.

[Epcot]

Those fees are crazy. Ouch!

[NJTurnpike]

6 years of those fees. my condolences to your bank account

[shanac]

Yeah, it pains me to even think about it! I'll cancel it after I'm approved for Discover IT, BCP and Freedom. 

[vish1]

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@shanac wrote:

I've had Applied Bank's regular card for almost 6 years and I think they charged me the 29.99% APR from the get go! I started out with a CL of $500 and now it's at $2150. I recently received an offer to increase it to $2450 for their infamous $100 fee. I declined. My monthly maintenance fee went from $9.95 to $15 and now it's at $5. I knew what I was getting into when I accepted this card--with the exception that I did not know that they don't offer a grace period with the interest! Interest accrues immediately after you make a purchase. To their credit, Applied did notify me last year that they were lowering my maintenance fee from $15 to $5 and giving me a CLI of $300 (they waived the $100 fee) for being such a good customer. I will have a zero balance on this card in a week. I will continue to pay the $5 monthly maintenace fee for awhile until I cancel it. I've had the card for 6 years and it factors into my AAoA but at some point I'm going to kick it to the curb.

I got around the $6.95 payment fee by setting up payments through my bank account. Also, Applied doesn't report the monthly maintenance fee to the credit bureaus. For example my balance is $356 but on my CR it shows as $351.

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I am sure you know this, but just to reiterate, you do NOT have to keep a account open for AAoA. Once you close a card, it counts towards your AAoA for 10 more years.

[shanac]

vish1--I don't think I fully grasped AAoA. Thanks for sharing that. I will definitely close this account at the end of the month.