topic Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers? in General Credit Topics

Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:45:19 GMT

I've always had great credit. My EFX credit score is currently 770. However, every offer I get in the mail is for what seems a very high APR, somewhere in the 14-17% range. Even the cards I currently have are at least 12%. Doesn't this seem high and has anyone had similar experience? Thanks.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

GregB — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:35:55 GMT

Do you know what your actual FICO scores are? I assume any score you have from EX is one of their FAKO scores. That is, unless you applied for a mortgage lately and actually got your EX FICO, I know my EX Plus score is 772, which they list as excellent. My actual EQ FICO is 701, which is about 50th percentile.

I'm receiving offers about the same as yours but I have older cards that are still at 7.9 and 8.24 that have not been raised.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:53:04 GMT

Or else OP is using the standard non-forums abbreviation of EFX for Equifax.

Welcom to the forums, OP! It's not unusual to be seeing these higher APR's on offers. The days of super-low rates are pretty much gone for everyone. The banks love any interest income they can get, so they don't seem interested in reducing APR's.

You'll find that most people here who have been able to do so no longer carry CC debt, so APR's are kind of irrelevant. For those who are still struggling to pay off their cards, the current rates are brutal.

I think I have one card at 9.9%, maybe (I'd have to go check), but all the rest are in the teens and even low 20's. The latter are store cards, which typically have astronomical rates.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

GregB — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:25:37 GMT

Oops, time to go refill my coffee. I read that incorrectly.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

marty56 — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:39:07 GMT

If you need to revolve balances, I would look into a local CU. If you are interested in making a major store purchase, you can still find 0% deals on store cards.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:48:03 GMT

Hi volt,

I would vote CU's for low interest rates as well. DH has Alliant at 10.9% - they pull Equifax btw. And our Visa with a local CU is at 8.25%.

And I'm not sure if pre-approvals are the best group to spend a heck of a lot of time with, anyway. generally. just sayin'..... and local CU's don't typically send out pre-approvals - at least not at our house.

May be time to go hunting!

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

fused — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:02:20 GMT

I'm in the 800 club and my APRs aren't low.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

MarineVietVet — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:38:36 GMT

@fused wrote:
I'm in the 800 club and my APRs aren't low.

+ 1

My highest is 24.99%. At least I think that's what it is. I was rate jacked several years ago by just about everyone but I don't worry about APR's any more.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:05:52 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:

+ 1

My highest is 24.99%. At least I think that's what it is. I was rate jacked several years ago by just about everyone but I don't worry about APR's any more.

Oh, you're one of those PIF'ers. PIF'ers actual interest rate is 0%, so they just live their lives as though that 24.99% meant absolutely nothing.

Which it does. mean. absolutely nothing.

Me and DH are PIF'ers too, which means that our local CU 8.25% is, for all intents and purposes in real life, the same as my Macy's 24.99%. They both get $0 in interest from us.

Maybe we should start a new club - the 0% interest rate club - created and maintained by all those who PIF.

And whatever other rewards you're getting on that card - you get the ultimate reward - Peace of Mind. Oh, yeah - plus - you get to keep your money.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

UpNUp — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 02:30:31 GMT

All 7 of my cards are 0% APR although they would happily charge me 10.24% to 29.24% to carry a balance.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

haulingthescoreup — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:17:47 GMT

@UpNUp wrote:
All 7 of my cards are 0% APR although they would happily charge me 10.24% to 29.24% to carry a balance.

Post of the day!

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

marty56 — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:15:52 GMT

LOL I like high APRs. It is always good to have someone else pay the cost for your say 0% BT or 0% store card. To paraphrase a David Crosby song, I paid enough CC interest for more than one life.

Re: Excellent credit.. Why such high APR offers?

MattH — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:28:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've always had great credit. My EFX credit score is currently 770. However, every offer I get in the mail is for what seems a very high APR, somewhere in the 14-17% range. Even the cards I currently have are at least 12%. Doesn't this seem high and has anyone had similar experience? Thanks.

Credit card companies have raised their rates on everybody in recent years due to the financial crisis. My wife and I both have long had excellent credit, and since the crash the rates on all our cards have gone up dramatically. For us this has no practical impact because we pay the full balance every month, but we're still annoyed at being treated this way, especially since the interest they pay us on our savings is extremely low.