Prime vs Subprime

[MarineVietVet]

After being a part of these forums for a few months I realize the Cap 1 card I got 12 years ago in the middle of my BK was probably considered "subprime". It may still be considered as such. But it was all I could get at the time and I was grateful to have it. It has never had a high CL (only risen to $4000 after all this time) but it's been there when I needed it and I can't see closing it for any reason.

If I'm looked down upon for having such a low class card then so be it. It helped bring my scores to where they are now.

(myfico)
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

CC interest free as of 8/09
Time can heal all wounds and a low FICO.
"Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a recovering crediholic".

[DI]

Capital One stucked by me in 2004 when others didn't. I have a love/hate relationship with them.  We are still going strong since 10/2001, but the CL is weak at $750.

[wmarat]

I believe that ppl use term "sub prime" to express their dissatisfuction with financial institution, at least I do.

[haulingthescoreup]

Perhaps we could start substituting the term "high-maintenance" for those banks that seem to delight in bleeding their customers dry.

I agree that there is a market for subprime cards. But is it really necessary from a risk perspective to charge consumers monthly as well as yearly fees? Fees to pay their bills online? Inexplicable delays in posting payments?

To me, that's abusive, not being cautious. It's fleecing their captive audience. High APR's, OK. Low CL's, sure. These directly deal with the increased risk that the lender is taking on in extending credit to those with shaky credit pasts. Even high annual fees can be justified. But this other stuff is just sleazy, IMO.

When a new member posts that s/he's trying to recover from one credit disaster or another, and asks if So-and-So is a good bank to start with, I think it's perfectly legit to warn them to stay away from certain cards, maybe trying a secured card from a CU instead. So "subprime" or "high-maintenance" or "vulture" cards --there ought to be a colloquial phrase we can use for this type of card.

For the others, "rebuilders" seems like a perfectly good term, while avoiding the "subprime" label.

[marty56]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Perhaps we could start substituting the term "high-maintenance" for those banks that seem to delight in bleeding their customers dry.

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LOL l would be more than happy to come up with a different name for say BofA but it wont be forum friendly.  I like the suggested rebuilder term.  How about AA-friendly to describe say Chase and CLD-prone to describe say AE.

[wajj]

I like the "high-maintenance" term for some of these cards.

As an exampe of why we should avoid "sub-prime", there is a post in another thread about someone having a Barclay's card.  One of the earlier responses stated that Barclay's was "sub-prime" and the poster asks if they should be worried about having a "sub-prime" card reporting.  This is the type of thing that irked me to the point of starting this thread.

I happen to like my Ameriprise card (issued through Barclay's).  You can't knock 1.5% cash back on everything with a healthy CL, 7.00% APR, no annual fee, and the other perks.  I wish all my cards were as "sub-prime" as this one

Message Edited by wajj on 11-13-2009 03:44 PM

[marty56]

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@wmarat wrote:
I believe that ppl use term "sub prime" to express their dissatisfuction with financial institution, at least I do.

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+1.  I also use the sub-human term for CSRs of a sub-prime CCC.

[wmarat]

Ameriquest is/was HSBC issued card

Do you mean Ameriprise by Barclay?

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@wajj wrote:

I like the "high-maintenance" term for some of these cards.

As an exampe of why we should avoid "sub-prime", there is a post in another thread about someone having a Barclay's card.  One of the earlier responses stated that Barclay's was "sub-prime" and the poster asks if they should be worried about having a "sub-prime" card reporting.  This is the type of thing that irked me to the point of starting this thread.

I happen to like my Ameriquest card (issued through Barclay's).  You can't knock 1.5% cash back on everything with a healthy CL, 7.00% APR, no annual fee, and the other perks.  I wish all my cards were as "sub-prime" as this one

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As I said, whatever floats your boat. 

[wmarat]

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@marty56 wrote:

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@wmarat wrote:
I believe that ppl use term "sub prime" to express their dissatisfuction with financial institution, at least I do.

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+1.  I also use the sub-human term for CSRs of a sub-prime CCC.

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[wajj]

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@wmarat wrote:

Ameriquest is/was HSBC issued card

Do you mean Ameriprise by Barclay?

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@wajj wrote:

I like the "high-maintenance" term for some of these cards.

As an exampe of why we should avoid "sub-prime", there is a post in another thread about someone having a Barclay's card.  One of the earlier responses stated that Barclay's was "sub-prime" and the poster asks if they should be worried about having a "sub-prime" card reporting.  This is the type of thing that irked me to the point of starting this thread.

I happen to like my Ameriprise card (issued through Barclay's).  You can't knock 1.5% cash back on everything with a healthy CL, 7.00% APR, no annual fee, and the other perks.  I wish all my cards were as "sub-prime" as this one

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Fixed -- thanks

Message Edited by wajj on 11-13-2009 03:45 PM