topic Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard in Credit Cards

Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:14:02 GMT

Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Guyatthebeach — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:23:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks

Djgrolyos,

I have never had an account with Santander, but I have yet to hear a good thing about this bank. Most of their car loans are aimed at sub-prime market. I have read some horrible reviews about their credit cards and banking division as well.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

blondy250 — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:26:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks

Generally a subprime predatory lender, I would stay away.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:35:06 GMT

Wow. So glad I asked.
This was an article from USA Today about the best cash back cards you probably have not heard of... or something like that. Surprised they would put this in with Penfed, USAA, and others.
Very happy I asked. Thanks

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

kdm31091 — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:36:42 GMT

With the annual fee, it's probably not a huge gain over a flat 2 percent card unless you spend a ton on the categories.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:38:20 GMT

@blondy250 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks
Generally a subprime predatory lender, I would stay away.

While there have been lots of complaints, it's part of a major international bank (the parent is the 37th largest public company in the world) so it's not First Premier etc.

OP, search in the forum for Bravo, LOTS of threads on this. e.g.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Anybody-have-Santander-Bravo-MC/m-p/3441959/highlight/true#M953163?filter=location&location=forum-board%3Acreditcard&q=bravo

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Santander-Bravo-MC/m-p/4503427/highlight/true#M1298360?filter=location&location=forum-board%3Acreditcard&q=bravo

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

redpat — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 16:45:45 GMT

@blondy250 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks
Generally a subprime predatory lender, I would stay away.

This is an incorrect statement, they are a commercial bank and one of the largest international banks in the World. They have a small footprint in the US, they acquired Sovereign Bank.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

AverageJoesCredit — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:51:06 GMT

I can tell you once when applying for a personal loan with them, they wanted a 700 fico to approve so in my opinion , not sub prime.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:52:24 GMT

They are not the best bank and in general I have never heard good things about their credit cards. Santander aquired Sovergn Bank maybe 2 years ago?

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

fltireguy — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:54:57 GMT

They pull Ex. (They did for my son on his sphere card)... SL was ok - he had a very thin file... I think SL was 1800, no CLI as of yet (opened 4/16)

He was @698 ex when he apped. UW is the same for Bravo and Sphere cards

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 21:55:31 GMT

So it seems there is 2 opinions.

@Longtime-thx for the info on Bank and how big they are. That helps. Makes me wonder if maybe they have a sub Prime division and a regular one?? Not sure.

@AverageJoe & @Fltireguy... thx for the info on FICO scores. That's the type of info I always look for in posts-FICO requirements, CRA pulled, etc...

When you search you get 2 opinions on this bank. The USA Today article made it sound good.

They do offer 2 cards... one doesn't have a AF... its a low APR card... then the Bravo has the rewards but a $49 AF, which isn't bad for an aF. Some have $99 and up for good rewards. 3X on the top 3 categories seems good to me but maybe I am missing something.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

fltireguy — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 22:53:36 GMT

So, here is the next question. What is a point worth? Realistically, someone could come out with a card with a 10x points category. But, if a point is only worth 1/10 Of a cent, is it a good card just because it's 10 times points?

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

SouthJamaica — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 23:23:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Looks like a good overall card. 3X points on gas, groceries, and restaurants - and 1X on all others. 0% APR for first 18 months (I think-it may have been 12)

Never heard of this bank but anyone can apply. Found it on some "best cc you never heard of" article.

https://www.santanderbank.com/us/personal/credit-cards/bravo

Anyone ever heard of it or have it? Know who they pull? CLI policy, etc.... thanks

I recently opened a personal line of credit with them, and they pulled EX, and used FICO 8.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 02:51:07 GMT

One point for every $1 ( or 3 if on the good categories) it's a 1% back on all and 3% back on the bonus categories card.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 02:52:30 GMT

I found a good few article on this card from reputable sources. When I get back to my home I will find them and post the links. Still makes me hesitant till I hear others on here with "good credit" and are knowlegable have and like and would recommend it. Otherwise I would pass.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 06:31:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I found a good few article on this card from reputable sources. When I get back to my home I will find them and post the links. Still makes me hesitant till I hear others on here with "good credit" and are knowlegable have and like and would recommend it. Otherwise I would pass.

The card has an AF after the first year. You can get 3% in each of those categories with free cards (not just one for all though) so is the AF worth the convenience, or, if you want few cards, will you spend eough to outweigh what you would get with a 2% everywhere card (or cancel after first year!)

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

csryang — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 09:12:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I found a good few article on this card from reputable sources. When I get back to my home I will find them and post the links. Still makes me hesitant till I hear others on here with "good credit" and are knowlegable have and like and would recommend it. Otherwise I would pass.
The card has an AF after the first year. You can get 3% in each of those categories with free cards (not just one for all though) so is the AF worth the convenience, or, if you want few cards, will you spend eough to outweigh what you would get with a 2% everywhere card (or cancel after first year!)

See my link for card comparison on 3X credit cards with no AF

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/No-AF-3X-credit-cards-comparison-Bank-of-the-West-Golden-1-UMB/m-p/4819277

Even for those with geographic restriction, sometime there's a way to bypass that by donation or by joining some organization

Santander Bravo offers $100 bonus right now if spending 1k. I guess it can be treated as a no AF card for the first 3 years (otherwise $49 AF after 1st year).

3X on gas, supermarket, restaurant (not sure if it's including fast food places??)

Previous post pointed out that it's 1 point = 1cent but what's the minimal redemption amount?

Limit of 15k points that can be earned in each calendar quarter in the 3-point reward categories

Points do not expire as long as account in good standing

3% FTF

Restricted to some states on the East coast. (in-branch application only)

It looks decent to me but I probably would only apply for it if I have a branch near me and then keeping it only for 3 years.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

UncleB — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 11:04:59 GMT

@csryang wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I found a good few article on this card from reputable sources. When I get back to my home I will find them and post the links. Still makes me hesitant till I hear others on here with "good credit" and are knowlegable have and like and would recommend it. Otherwise I would pass.
The card has an AF after the first year. You can get 3% in each of those categories with free cards (not just one for all though) so is the AF worth the convenience, or, if you want few cards, will you spend eough to outweigh what you would get with a 2% everywhere card (or cancel after first year!)
See my link for card comparison on 3X credit cards with no AF
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/No-AF-3X-credit-cards-comparison-Bank-of-the-West-Golden-1-UMB/m-p/4819277
Even for those with geographic restriction, sometime there's a way to bypass that by donation or by joining some organization

Santander Bravo offers $100 bonus right now if spending 1k. I guess it can be treated as a no AF card for the first 3 years (otherwise $49 AF after 1st year).
3X on gas, supermarket, restaurant (not sure if it's including fast food places??)
Previous post pointed out that it's 1 point = 1cent but what's the minimal redemption amount?
Limit of 15k points that can be earned in each calendar quarter in the 3-point reward categories
Points do not expire as long as account in good standing
3% FTF
Restricted to some states on the East coast. (in-branch application only)

It looks decent to me but I probably would only apply for it if I have a branch near me and then keeping it only for 3 years.

Without looking any further at the card itself, the in-branch application only will put a severe damper on this one for many of the folks on here... similar to how it did for the BBVA/Compass NBA Amex card once it went in-branch only.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

kdm31091 — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 11:37:16 GMT

The in branch application thing kind of makes sense. Santander is a conservative bank and really doesn't want people just applying for CCs (similar to US Bank). They want the whole banking relationship out of you. If you apply for a CC in branch, they can try to convince you to open more than just a CC. I'd also guess they don't want influxes of applications as the underwriting team for CCs is probably pretty small.

That said, I still don't think this card is anything amazing. 3% on categories with a $49 fee isn't impressive. They do have a no AF card but it's just a flat 1%. If you bank with them and meet certain requirements I believe they will waive the Bravo $49 fee, in which case it's an easier sell.

Re: Santander Bank Bravo MasterCard

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 14:40:50 GMT

@csryang wrote:

Santander Bravo offers $100 bonus right now if spending 1k. I guess it can be treated as a no AF card for the first 3 years (otherwise $49 AF after 1st year).

Personally, I HATE this type of calculation! As some no AF cards also have good bonuses, I like to keep the things separate. The $100 is yours to keep (once you meet the requirement) so the question, after the first year, is "Does it make sense to keep this card?" and the fact that you have got some money up front doesn't, alone, justify keeping it.