topic Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints? in Credit Cards

BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 07:46:30 GMT

Edit: Applied and approved - 2K SL, 0% 13 months, 21.24% after.

So BBVA keeps sending me these invitations at least once every 3 months but I’m kind of put off by the extremely wide 13.24-31.24% APR range.

Is there anyone who has this card that can say anything about it? I am thinking I am probably better off not risking it but some DPs could potentially make it worth the app — it just seems like it’s a predatory offer disguised as something good and maybe I should stick with growing my relationship with NFCU so I can balloon my cashRewards which has 11.65% interest from its 3K SL - but I’m happy to be proven wrong which is why I’m asking.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

ChargedUp — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 04:07:25 GMT

I get TONS of BBVA mailers. Searching BBVA on here leads to a mixed bag of some people hate 'em, some people like them. I've read concerns that their online interface is glitchy and a little difficult to deal with.

Clear Points doesn't really give me anything I don't already have in a card, along with the wild swing in possible interest rates has kept me at bay from looking at them any closer.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 04:16:53 GMT

@ChargedUp wrote:

Clear Points doesn't really give me anything I don't already have in a card, along with the wild swing in possible interest rates has kept me at bay from looking at them any closer.

Yeah if the 3x categories are ONLY restaurants, travel, and home improvement then I would probably do better with the PayPal MC for straight 2% all the time.

I did do a search and hadn’t really seen anything that recent but it’s also a bit difficult to manage this site on a cell phone so I could definitely have missed posts.

I am up for my 91/3 with NFCU on 12/6 so I’m going for my first CLI request on the 10th (arbitrary day that feels lucky lol) and if I can get my cashRewards up to at least 5K, I’ll probably not apply for a new card. 4 is enough for now and I have been using the Member Mall to boost my cash back with Navy anyway so maybe my best path is to just stay with them as my daily spend card.

It is difficult when you get these offers in the mail and gives me a twitchy app feeling 😂

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

ChargedUp — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 04:19:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:
I get TONS of BBVA mailers. Searching BBVA on here leads to a mixed bag of some people hate 'em, some people like them. I've read concerns that their online interface is glitchy and a little difficult to deal with.
Clear Points doesn't really give me anything I don't already have in a card, along with the wild swing in possible interest rates has kept me at bay from looking at them any closer.
Yeah if the 3x categories are ONLY restaurants, travel, and home improvement then I would probably do better with the PayPal MC for straight 2% all the time.

I did do a search and hadn’t really seen anything that recent but it’s also a bit difficult to manage this site on a cell phone so I could definitely have missed posts.

I am up for my 91/3 with NFCU on 12/6 so I’m going for my first CLI request on the 10th (arbitrary day that feels lucky lol) and if I can get my cashRewards up to at least 5K, I’ll probably not apply for a new card. 4 is enough for now and I have been using the Member Mall to boost my cash back with Navy anyway so maybe my best path is to just stay with them.

It is difficult when you get these offers in the mail and gives me a twitchy app feeling 😂

I know the feeling but NFCU is great institution to grow with from what I hear and it sounds like their card is serving you well! Best of luck on the CLI request.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 04:28:04 GMT

@ChargedUp wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:
I get TONS of BBVA mailers. Searching BBVA on here leads to a mixed bag of some people hate 'em, some people like them. I've read concerns that their online interface is glitchy and a little difficult to deal with.
Clear Points doesn't really give me anything I don't already have in a card, along with the wild swing in possible interest rates has kept me at bay from looking at them any closer.
Yeah if the 3x categories are ONLY restaurants, travel, and home improvement then I would probably do better with the PayPal MC for straight 2% all the time.

I did do a search and hadn’t really seen anything that recent but it’s also a bit difficult to manage this site on a cell phone so I could definitely have missed posts.

I am up for my 91/3 with NFCU on 12/6 so I’m going for my first CLI request on the 10th (arbitrary day that feels lucky lol) and if I can get my cashRewards up to at least 5K, I’ll probably not apply for a new card. 4 is enough for now and I have been using the Member Mall to boost my cash back with Navy anyway so maybe my best path is to just stay with them.

It is difficult when you get these offers in the mail and gives me a twitchy app feeling 😂

I know the feeling but NFCU is great institution to grow with from what I hear and it sounds like their card is serving you well! Best of luck on the CLI request.

Yeah totally! I actually wish I knew about NFCU and my eligibility sooner because I added Discover and SSFCU to my wallet in March (closed my PlayStation and Ollo cards leaving just my Cap1 and new Discover and SSFCU which was definitely a bit of a misstep on my part closing no fee cards but live and learn) which is probably why my SL was so small since I had just been extended 5K by SSFCU and 7500 by Discover on basically the same day and then not even 6 months later I went for the cashRewards but if the fact Navy gave me their lowest APR is any indication, as long as I show Navy love as my spend card and age up my accounts, that card should grow quickly.

I just have to be patient. I want to enter the garden but I want my Navy at least up to 5K, if not 7.5K to match Discover first.

Thanks for the replies, I’m throwing these BBVA mailers in the trash. If I really need a new card, I’m probably better off shooting for another card with Navy with their interest caps of 18% than a predatory lender like BBVA anyway.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:08:55 GMT

What is it you'd like to know about BBVA? I have two CCs with them currently. Both are two of my lowest rate cards. Certainly much better than anything Chase offers rate wise.

Their customer service is a little rough around the edges. They've improved the website and app over the years.
They make it easy to pre-qualify. And you already know your limit before you submit that application.

Here's one of the pre-quals I did through their phone app recently. Still haven't pulled the trigger on this one.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:15:06 GMT

@Gmood1 wrote:
What is it you'd like to know about BBVA? I have two CCs with them currently. Both are two of my lowest rate cards. Certainly much better than anything Chase offers rate wise.

Their customer service is a little rough around the edges. They've improved the website and app over the years.
They make it easy to pre-qualify. And you already know your limit before you submit that application.

Here's one of the pre-quals I did through their phone app recently. Still haven't pulled the trigger on this one.

Well I did go to the site and put the invite code in and it threw an error and said it can’t find the page lol.

I heard that a prequal from them is pretty much solid but how are they with low income? I’m disabled (SSDI) so I get 18k a year - 648 TU, 680 EQ, 670 EX

I would probably do better to wait until I have use for a new 0% card (my Discover is 0 until June) but right before seeing your response, I came across the thread of people getting huge SLs and low interest rates, even people early in their rebuild, so I may be very off base thinking they’re going to give me some super high APR.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:30:32 GMT

They seem more score driven than just income. They soft pull EX for pre-approvals. BBVA uses Vantage score EX and Bank card EX Fico 9 or standard Fico 9 for credit apps, if I'm not mistaken.

I know it's Fico 9 EX, just not sure which version.

I do know they have been very aggressive lately at offering CCs and loans.

I did the pre-qualification for a personal loan. They bugged me for a month, calling to see if I still wanted it. Lol

I only did it out of curiosity.

I'm on a 0% promotion with them now. Points post quickly. The rewards can be used instantly for other purchases. A message will pop up on your phone after using the card. Requesting if you want to use available rewards towards the purchase you just made.

They use your phone's location to verify your purchases as well. Those that aren't initiated on line.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:33:18 GMT

@Gmood1 wrote:
They seem more score driven than just income. They soft pull EX for pre-approvals. BBVA uses Vantage score EX and Bank card EX Fico 9 or standard Fico 9 for credit apps, if I'm not mistaken.
I know it's Fico 9 EX, just not sure which version.

I do know they have been very aggressive lately at offering CCs and loans.
I did the pre-qualification for a personal loan. They bugged me for a month, calling to see if I still wanted it. Lol
I only did it out of curiosity.
I'm on a 0% promotion with them now. Points post quickly. The rewards can be used instantly for other purchases. A message will pop up on your phone after using the card. Requesting if you want to use available rewards towards the purchase you just made.
They use your phone's location to verify your purchases as well. Those that aren't initiated on line.

Their online system is a mess.

It approved me for 2k SL, 21.24% after 13 months then kicked me when it was loading the terms and then kicked me again when creating the online account... not a good start.

I doubt I will even activate this one, red flags go off like crazy when the website is such a mess.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:41:15 GMT

Once set up it's ok. They've been upgrading it over the last year. The $100 spend bonus posted the next cycle after completing it. Much faster than Navy or Wells Fargo. Still waiting on my checking account bonus to post with them. It has been very slow to post!

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:44:58 GMT

Well I’m not impressed so far. And no 24 hour customer service is a ding too.

Fortunately its an EX HP so it won’t affect my NFCU CLI chances in 9 days.

I doubt I will put enough spend on this card to get the SUB with such a low SL but I will give them a chance. Maybe they will grow and maybe they will be willing to drop ongoing interest later. But a 5th card in my portfolio isn’t a bad thing either so I don’t really regret apping at this point, especially when it’s only my 2nd EX pull for the year.

It also just kicked my EX score UP a point to 671 😂

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 05:54:49 GMT

I have cards with higher interest rates than what they gave you. Lol

As long as the bills are PIF. The interest rates mean nothing.

I think my Chase Freedom is close to 25% now thanks to the feds raising the rates every other week.😂

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:04:31 GMT

@Gmood1 wrote:
I have cards with higher interest rates than what they gave you. Lol
As long as the bills are PIF. The interest rates mean nothing.
I think my Chase Freedom is close to 25% now thanks to the feds raising the rates every other week.😂

Yeah to be fair, that’s the same interest Discover gave me in March and I added 3 new cards this year with a pretty thin profile so honestly I’m kind of amazed it didn’t go to review.

The 11.4% approval in September for my cashRewards (lowest at the time) and my 18% SSFCU WMC approval in March just kind of gave me hope I was out of 20+% hell.

I am almost always a PIF’er so yeah, I know it doesn’t affect me but it’s still a nice to see thing.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:23:04 GMT

Yeah..you can't use NFCU as a measuring stick. They march to their own beat. 😆

Congrats! At least it's not a denial.

I use to pay attention to that stuff. As long as I have a useable limit, I could care less about rates with credit cards. Anything over 0% is too much for me to consider carrying a balance on.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:27:15 GMT

@Gmood1 wrote:
Yeah..you can't use NFCU as a measuring stick. They march to their own beat. 😆
Congrats! At least it's not a denial.

I use to pay attention to that stuff. As long as I have a useable limit, I could care less about rates with credit cards. Anything over 0% is too much for me to consider carrying a balance on.

If I hadn’t read that their customer service can be rude I would call Monday and try to recon for 5K. I have read that their payment system is wonky and a 2k SL means I am going to have to pay multiple times a month if I want to push for that SUB and not risk high utilization getting reported.

And true about NFCU. I actually haven’t gotten a denial for a card in awhile - I got Amex in March too but the SL was low and I called and immediately canceled it and they still reported it two months later as closed with two months of history and made a mess. I wasn’t happy.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:42:51 GMT

They've never been rude to me. Just not very knowledgeable.
I know when auto pay is setup. You can only pay once, not counting the auto draft.

You can easily do the SUB with $500 a month spend over 90 days. Utilization on that card would be 25%..not a big deal.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:49:22 GMT

I don’t really like autopay, I always do manual pull payments. One of the reasons I only keep so many cards.

And I’m definitely utilization sensitive but this card brings my total limits to $25,750 and I tend to be right around 1% when my statement cuts so I’m not terribly concerned, I just need to make sure BBVA doesn’t cut a statement early like NFCU did for my first statement that almost caught me with my utilization high.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 07:03:21 GMT

My BBVA statements always cut around the 20th of the month. Both cards are due around the 15th. I didn't set them that way. Just the way BBVA set things up.
Just the opposite for me. Most of the CCs that don't allow auto pay, are the ones that get very little use here. I at least like to have the minimum payment set up to auto pay.
I've worked to hard to build perfect payment history the last 8 years. To let a $15 missed payment screw it all up.
All it takes is one, to tank your scores.

I keep Credit Karma topped out in the payments section. Lol

That means more to me than the rates.😂 It wont go over 1000..I've tried.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 07:11:04 GMT

I micromanage the crap out of my accounts so I never miss anything and whenever I charge something on a card, I add it to my budget app (Fudget) as an expense for the PIF and the due date then mark it off when I schedule it. Not only that but I have a finance folder on my iPhone with all of my banking apps in them and I check quick balances with 3D Touch multiple times a week. I have post-Chapter 7 PTSD so I stay on top of everything - also I know from personal experience that if you make a payment from their app and you save the screenshot, if it doesn’t post you call and send them the screenshot and they fix it in their system. Capital One tried to say I was late early on with them and that screenshot saved me the late fee when they took the payment the day after it was due despite being scheduled for the due date.

My CK doesn’t have that many payments but I do have 100% on 80 reported lol.

Even before my BK, I was actually never late on anything. I just unfortunately had a huge cut in my income and then I went out on disability so bankruptcy was inevitable.

Re: BBVA Compass ClearPoints?

Gmood1 — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 07:21:59 GMT

And I thought I micromanaged my accounts too much.😂
Yeah, I have way too many charges to mark stuff down like that. I'd lose my mind.🤣
I let those million dollar computers the lenders use handle mine. I just keep up with the bulk posted to each account. If their system screws up. It's on them..not me.