topic Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!! in Credit Cards

First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Sheridan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:28:11 GMT

I received a First Premier card in the mail the other day and today I finally sat down and looked at the terms. Here it goes: 49.9% APR!!! $75 annual fee the first year then $45 after. Then, no monthly servicing fee the first year, $6.50/mo after. They want me to pay the $75 up front and will have $300 limit ($225 available). I would be okay with this card, but APR is a deal breaker. Has anyone been able to negotiate with First Premier about lowering the APR?

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

FicoTron — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:43:43 GMT

I would suggest getting a secured card through Cap1, the annual fee is like $19 and the apr is less than half of the one you are looking at. I also think I have heard about people getting turned away from places like AMEX just becuase they have an account with a place like First Premier. Heck, you may even get approved for an unsecured card with Cap1...what is your credit score?

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:53:37 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
I received a First Premier card in the mail the other day and today I finally sat down and looked at the terms. Here it goes: 49.9% APR!!! $75 annual fee the first year then $45 after. Then, no monthly servicing fee the first year, $6.50/mo after. They want me to pay the $75 up front and will have $300 limit ($225 available). I would be okay with this card, but APR is a deal breaker. Has anyone been able to negotiate with First Premier about lowering the APR?

Seriously, the APR is a deal breaker. After all those fees, and we know there are others you aren't even mentioning. LOL.

I hope this is an offer and you haven't accepted. Secured card with Capital One, Orchard (just about anybody) are much better less expensive deals.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Sheridan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:19:07 GMT

I already have a Capital One card and a HSBC card. I am happy with both of these cards and thought I would try to get a third card. My scores are not very good at all so that offer was a real eye opener for me. The papers say I can reject this offer but it doesn't say how to reject it. There's no phone number to call. I have no intention of accepting anything like this, ever. It seems like they are trying to set me up for failure with rebuilding my credit.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Guava — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:29:26 GMT

If I were you, I would not get that card. The fees and APR are just horrifyingly wicked. You already have 2 cards, getting the FP wouldnt help that much IMO, and it leeches money from you.

I would garden the 2 cards for a while and look at other options, but that's just me.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

LS2982 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:44:02 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
I received a First Premier card in the mail the other day and today I finally sat down and looked at the terms. Here it goes: 49.9% APR!!! $75 annual fee the first year then $45 after. Then, no monthly servicing fee the first year, $6.50/mo after. They want me to pay the $75 up front and will have $300 limit ($225 available). I would be okay with this card, but APR is a deal breaker. Has anyone been able to negotiate with First Premier about lowering the APR?

My advice: PIF. EVERY MONTH!

I have had the same card now with the same terms for 6 months and not paid a dime in interest to them. No, they will not lower the APR. When your year anniversary comes up you can use that as a crutch to keep the acct going or cancel it.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Sheridan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:58:30 GMT

I PIF my cards every month and it wouldn't be a problem to do the same with this card. I just can't get over the APR. I'm not that desperate for this card, I think I'll pass. I just hope they don't make it difficult for me and still put something on my credit reports. I appreciate all of your advice. I looove this site!!!

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

n777ua — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:04:44 GMT

FYI . . some lenders will deny an app if they see a First Premier tradeline, Amex is one. Do not accept this card offer, and if you have get rid of it, then try and get the tradeline off your CR.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

LS2982 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:18:04 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
I PIF my cards every month and it wouldn't be a problem to do the same with this card. I just can't get over the APR. I'm not that desperate for this card, I think I'll pass. I just hope they don't make it difficult for me and still put something on my credit reports. I appreciate all of your advice. I looove this site!!!

If you PIF every month it is just like any other VISA/MC w/o rewards. I would use it for 1 year and cancel it. You'll have the the positive TL for 10 years.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

LS2982 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:19:48 GMT

@n777ua wrote:
FYI . . some lenders will deny an app if they see a First Premier tradeline, Amex is one. Do not accept this card offer, and if you have get rid of it, then try and get the tradeline off your CR.

AMEX will not not deny you for having an FP card. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you have a good history with all of your accounts and everything is up to par on your CR FP will not hold someone back from an AMEX.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

shane82388 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:58:03 GMT

yeah, while i sort of get where that sort of myth would come from, i dont see that being too legal really...even before the credit card reform stuff too. Its almost like a form of discrimination...and we all know there would be a lot of whiners coming out of the woodwork with lawsuits etc if that were true they really wont accept someone who had a first premier card in their past.

but i could be wrong i guess...

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

clocktick — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:05:14 GMT

You wrote you received the card so I guess you applied and were approved. It's up to you whether you close it, or keep it open, but it's probably already on your CRs. Paying in full will avoid interest charges, however, all of those fees would be a deal-breaker for me! Don't they charge to pay online or something? Did you happen to read the terms before you applied? FP is notorious for outrageous fees and super high APR% rates. However, some people have dealt with them and it helped rebuild their credit. There are definitely other cards out there though that you just may be approved for!

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:05:37 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
I already have a Capital One card and a HSBC card. I am happy with both of these cards and thought I would try to get a third card. My scores are not very good at all so that offer was a real eye opener for me. The papers say I can reject this offer but it doesn't say how to reject it. There's no phone number to call. I have no intention of accepting anything like this, ever. It seems like they are trying to set me up for failure with rebuilding my credit.

There is no point in getting a third card that is this bad. Wait until you can get something better than what you have, not worse.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:46:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Sheridan wrote:
I already have a Capital One card and a HSBC card. I am happy with both of these cards and thought I would try to get a third card. My scores are not very good at all so that offer was a real eye opener for me. The papers say I can reject this offer but it doesn't say how to reject it. There's no phone number to call. I have no intention of accepting anything like this, ever. It seems like they are trying to set me up for failure with rebuilding my credit.
There is no point in getting a third card that is this bad. Wait until you can get something better than what you have, not worse.

Stop apping. Two open CC's are all you need to build new, clean history. Keep using them and paying them off while addressing problems on your credit reports.

Further apping now will just ratchet up a lot of inqs that go nowhere, and maybe a garbage account. Wait until you're more attractive to lenders. You'll get much better deals.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Sheridan — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:47:49 GMT

Yeah, when I applied though it did not quote that high of an APR. I'm pretty sure it was 20 something percent. Otherwise I would have cancelled, turned off the computer, and left the house just for good measure! Lol. I was really hoping they wouldn't put anything on my reports until after I officially pay the upfront fees. So how would it report? I'm curious about that.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:50:14 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
Yeah, when I applied though it did not quote that high of an APR. I'm pretty sure it was 20 something percent. Otherwise I would have cancelled, turned off the computer, and left the house just for good measure! Lol. I was really hoping they wouldn't put anything on my reports until after I officially pay the upfront fees. So how would it report? I'm curious about that.

Nope, once you applied and were approved, it's on your reports. You asked for credit, they extended it, so there you are.

That being said, some have been able to get them not to report if they refuse the account, although the inq will remain.

The Credit Card ACT originally had a provision that consumers could review the terms of an offer and reject it, and then it wouldn't report, but that one fell on the cutting room floor.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:50:45 GMT

I would reject the card and dispute the tradeline away...... and make sure they don't try sneaking in one of those fees.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

clocktick — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:19:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would reject the card and dispute the tradeline away...... and make sure they don't try sneaking in one of those fees.

Dispute on what grounds? OP applied, was approved and received the card. Contacting FP directly would be the way to go but I don't know if they would do anything but cancel the card.

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:45:51 GMT

@clocktick wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I would reject the card and dispute the tradeline away...... and make sure they don't try sneaking in one of those fees.

Dispute on what grounds? OP applied, was approved and received the card. Contacting FP directly would be the way to go but I don't know if they would do anything but cancel the card.

"Not my account" if OP rejects the offer. It shouldn't be on the report.

FP is known to be one of the predatory CC companies. It is what it is and there's a market for their service. That being said, someone who already has 2 active tradelines can probably get by without the fees and patiently repair their credit.

I believe a lot of us get caught up in the instant gratification of being approved, seeing a "baddie" fall off, or positive score change and we forget that real change takes time. In a lot of cases it was instant gratification and seeking approval that led to needing repair in the first place.

Credit repair is an odd, frustrating journey. Lacking control over how people see us (credit-wise) and judge our mistakes can be be a strange, humbling experience. In everyday life we can usually just apologize and move on. No one likes begging for electronic forgiveness, LOL!

Re: First Premier.... HELP!!!!

Booner72 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:11:41 GMT

@Sheridan wrote:
I received a First Premier card in the mail the other day and today I finally sat down and looked at the terms. Here it goes: 49.9% APR!!! $75 annual fee the first year then $45 after. Then, no monthly servicing fee the first year, $6.50/mo after. They want me to pay the $75 up front and will have $300 limit ($225 available). I would be okay with this card, but APR is a deal breaker. Has anyone been able to negotiate with First Premier about lowering the APR?

I've had FP since 2007 and they refuse to give me a CLI or reduce APR or stop annual and monthly fees. If you PIF each month you shouldn't pay any interest at all. I hate this company so much. I am working with my CU to get a real Visa Card w/ no crazy fees. Even if they only give me a 200 dollar CL it's worth getting rid of First Premier. I have until the end of October and then I'm closing it regardless bc I don't want to pay the annual fee.