topic Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid in Credit Cards

Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 06:19:08 GMT

What are some cards that you should just not apply for to begin with?

Apparently Santander is not a good bank to deal with so that takes the Sphere and Bravo into this category.

CreditOne has insanely high AFs for what you get and I've read bad things about their customer service so I would put their offerings on the list as well.

What else is a no-go and why?

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

CYBERSAM — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 06:26:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
What are some cards that you should just not apply for to begin with?

Apparently Santander is not a good bank to deal with so that takes the Sphere and Bravo into this category.

CreditOne has insanely high AFs for what you get and I've read bad things about their customer service so I would put their offerings on the list as well.

What else is a no-go and why?

Any card that you don’t need and provides no benefit to you, should be avoided!

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 08:19:46 GMT

Personally I wouldn't ever get a Credit One or First Premier Card. I understand those who want to re-build their credit may be pretty desperate to do so, but there are definitely alternatives to paying high annual fees/monthly fees, fees for this and fees for that to get back on your feet.

For those who have bad credit, join Navy Federal Credit Union through the Navy League and get their secured rewards card which has no annual fee, a 1 point per dollar spent rewards program with additional rewards through their member portal, a 9.24%-18% interest rate, and no annual/foreign/transaction fees. Why would you pay $99 a year for a card that'll charge you for simply requesting a new design, or charge you a 35% interest rate without a rewards program? Ludicrous. Since Navy is pretty lax on their credit standards I'm sure anyone with a credit score above 500 can get one.

I've only heard of Santander but I've never used them. I do know they have contactless debit and credit cards which is cool, but I haven't heard too much regarding customer service, card underwriting standards, or unique features of the bank.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 11:21:14 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
What are some cards that you should just not apply for to begin with?

Apparently Santander is not a good bank to deal with so that takes the Sphere and Bravo into this category.

CreditOne has insanely high AFs for what you get and I've read bad things about their customer service so I would put their offerings on the list as well.

What else is a no-go and why?
Any card that you don’t need and provides no benefit to you, should be avoided!

Agreed! Look for cards that meet your spend and fit your lifestyle.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

tricie17 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:23:31 GMT

I do not believe that these cards such as First Premier and all that fall into the building and/or rebuilding category should be counted out and for these reasons: 1 the credit world is changing and a large segment of the population are credit challenged. 2 although these cards have various fees, you have one year to start paying which gives that year to put a credit challenged person in a better position for some of the better cards and 3 let us face the fact that some of us need the "toy cards" as stated to become as savvy as some of our myfico forum members. The Credit Unions are a good place to start but even they have their standard credit numbers and also everybody will not be approved for everything regardless of numbers.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Open123 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:24:09 GMT

These days, assuming one had the available options, avoid any card rewarding 1% cpp or less on general (non bonus category) charges. Unless carrying a blance, where 0% promos and low APRs should be the goal.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

NRB525 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:27:50 GMT

The only Absolute rule which we should all follow in credit is never miss a minimum payment.

Everything else, including which cards to app, how much credit to go for, how many HP to incur, how much AF to pay, and how much utilization to carry, are optional choices.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

tricie17 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 13:39:31 GMT

Thank you NRB 525. I think not missing a minimum payment is the start and to add, try paying more than minimum if able.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 14:00:01 GMT

Cyber and NRB have two of my favorite points. If a card doesnt serve you or work for you, dont apply for it just to get it. Then youll be stuck with cards that will at least be sock drawered at worst cancelled and wasting a hp ( yes i know for some hps are not worth worrying about but when you are rebuilding, to me, they are valuable)

Of course the best thing to do is never miss a payment which really shows your responsibilty with said card but also helps build our score.

For me, i have learned by wasting a couple hps when i really didnt have to, if you are going to apply for something, stop and ask yourself , do i already have something i could use to purchase that or already does what im about to apply. I just use an example as if you were going to apply for a furniture store or perhaps another visa. If you realize you can use something you already have and of benefit to you, you will save yourself an hp that perhaps you can use later on. Hope that makes a little sense

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

creditguy — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 15:19:36 GMT

We all know the answers are going to be credit one and first premier right off the top, but in the bigger picture I'd say it depends on where you are in your credit life that dictates what cards to avoid. Obviously a person with a 750 score would avoid Credit One and FP, but a person at 500 would love to have an approval from them. Avoid a card that will not benefit you in any way shape or form, a useless card is a useless card and can come from any bank if it doesn't fit your profile. Only you know what cards will work for you and what cards you should avoid.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 16:10:21 GMT

I would say:

Any card that charges you $25 every time they give you a CLI is a card to avoid.

Any card with no grace period is a card to avoid.

Any card that charges you a third of the SL in fees before the card shows up is a card to avoid.

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Even people with really bad credit can avoid these with a secured card from a reputable company. It just requires a little upfront collateral, but if you're looking at an unsecured card with $150 in upfront fees, you may as well save up the extra $50 and go to Cap One or somewhere instead.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 16:27:12 GMT

Well said @ michikade

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

joltdude — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 16:41:49 GMT

I get there are people who are desprate for any type of card approval.... but do the math....

Saving up 200-300$ for a secured card with very upfront to no fees... vs something that will cost you that within the first few months of use... AND keep charging those fees..

It really makes sense to wait to squirrel away to get a secured card......

The other thing that drives me nuts... is holding on to dead weight.... once you get above these cards... close em... they did their job...

Making on time payments.. and not missing things... PLUS not having a card thats eating your wallet or only havint it as short term as possible to move up... is the main goal.. theres paying your dues and then theres what comes close to extortion....

-J

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 17:08:13 GMT

First Progress. DH has to wait 10 weeks before they refund him his security deposit.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 17:21:59 GMT

I never understood people that had 2-3 $450AF cards that are often costing the user money and sometimes are Sock Drawered..

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

wasCB14 — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:03:19 GMT

When some secured cards come with rewards and no annual fees...sometimes even with no credit check...I'm surprised that the old garbage is still so popular.

@Anonymous wrote:
I never understood people that had 2-3 $450AF cards that are often costing the user money and sometimes are Sock Drawered..

I'm not sure about those particular cases, but keep in mind that some cards offer perks that exist totally independently of how much a person spends, or whether the card is used for a particular transaction.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

RaiseMyScoreASAP — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 00:14:24 GMT

I read that Santander was only available to Puerto Rico residents.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

fltireguy — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 00:29:10 GMT

@RaiseMyScoreASAP wrote:
I read that Santander was only available to Puerto Rico residents.

The Santander JetBlue card is only available to residents of Puerto Rico... the rest of the USA and territories gets the Barclays version

I have a Santander Sphere card.. I have no issues with the bank at all

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 01:17:46 GMT

First Premier avoid if you can although sometimes it's your only option, use it until you can get better. Credit One, it depends on what they offer. Some here think they only offer no grace period cards, that's changed. If you look at their NASCAR cards you will see they offer a low end card that's not bad if you're a NASCAR fan. I've read where their regular product can offer grace period. You must READ CAREFULLY the terms and conditions. If you can afford a secured card, that is best. Find one that offers the chance to graduate to unsecured with low fees, there are several good ones from the major banks and credit unions along with local ones. Make sure you READ AND UNDERSTAND the terms, it's your responsibility and that way you can get a better deal.

Re: Cards you should absolutely avoid

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 05:08:15 GMT

Chase Amazon card. Can't product change. Takes a hard pull to get a CLI and there are 5% amazon cards out there.