Happy New Year everyone,
Just noticed that the apr on my ring went up from 8.25 to 8.5. Did they do this to anyone else or this just me? I also thought the apr of 8.25 on the ring was permanently, I guess not.
@pt91978 wrote:Happy New Year everyone,
Just noticed that the apr on my ring went up from 8.25 to 8.5. Did they do this to anyone else or this just me? I also thought the apr of 8.25 on the ring was permanently, I guess not.
No, their T&C page states that it's a variable rate based on the prime rate.
(
My Chase cards went up 
@kdm31091 wrote:It's not permanent and it will fluctuate with the Prime rate. Before late 2015, the Ring was a flat 8%, then went up to 8.25%, and now has gone up again with the Prime rate increase.
Many people are expecting that within the next year, our APRs will continue to go up, so that Ring is probably going to end up around 9-10% before too long.
^^ The highlighted portion above is why my own Ring card is on the proverbial chopping block for cards to be closed -- there are better cards with lower and/or fixed APRs out there, some with rewards as well. At this point, for me the Ring is unnecessary duplication. The only features I still like from it are the fee-free BTs and the $3 flat fee for cash advances, but again I now have other cards with the same terms or better. For example, the Unify Fixed-Rate card has no fees for both BTs and cash advances, with a comparable fixed-rate APR on top of that (i.e., assuming that one can qualify for their best rates). In mho and to be more competitive, Ring should offer a fixed-rate version of the card and there have been numerous requests for just that from the Ring community, but the people who run the Ring card program determined that idea to be unprofitable, and so it was a no-go.
@pt91978 wrote:Happy New Year everyone,
Just noticed that the apr on my ring went up from 8.25 to 8.5. Did they do this to anyone else or this just me? I also thought the apr of 8.25 on the ring was permanently, I guess not.
I'm pretty sure it's for all of us. Nothing personal.
It's a variable rate.
@Anonymous wrote:
You have nice APR cards on your signature. Do these cards have high requirements? I hope to apply for 2 very low APR card in a year. Which ones would you recommend. I prefer card I can just apply for online and not have to go into any credit union to apply in person.
Thank you for the very kind compliments! 
In response to your question about the requirements and availability of the cards, please see the responses listed below:
(1) Unify FCU Variable-Rate VISA, as low as 5.24% V: as long as your EX FICO Score 2 values (as Unify doesn't use the more typical EX Score 8 to determine eligiblity) are within the range of 740-750 or higher, you can qualify for the card, with no minimum starting limit needed in order to get the best APR. The same HP can be used for both CU membership and the card app.
(2) PACU MC as low as 7.5% F: the requirements for this card, IIRC from my discussion with the CU rep when I apped for it, are that as long as your EX Score 8 FICO is 730 or higher, you can qualify for the lowest APR of 7.5% F. However, since this CU is more conservative, it is possible that your starting limits upon approval may be smaller than other CUs. The same HP can be used for both CU membership and the card app.
(3) Unify FCU Fixed-Rate VISA, as low as 8.99% F: the underwriting requirements for this one are a little tougher than for the Variable-Rate version mentioned above. To qualify for the best APR of 8.99% F, in addition to needing a 740-750 Score 2 FICO, a minimum starting limit of $15k is also needed (for the Platinum card offering). If your SL is between $5000 - $14,999, the next level is the Gold card, as low as 9.99% F. If your SL is less than $5k, the next tier is the Classic card, of which the lowest rate IIRC, is 12.99% F. The same HP can be used for both CU membership and the card app. [ETA: fwiw, I myself started out at the Classic level when I first got this card, and was able to upgrade the card over the past year first to Gold and then to Platinum, as my credit scores improved, so a person can potentially start out at a lower tier and then get upgraded over time, as their credit scores increase.]
As far as some of the others, very sorry but the 2 FNBO cards were time-limited offerings that were originally eligible to apply for in 2015, and so FNBO is no longer open to new apps for them. The others in my signature, such as the BoA Cash Rewards WMC, DC, Cap1 NHM, and Discover IT were originally pre-CARD Act cards that are still open and may have grandfathered, pre-CARD Act terms. The 3 cards listed above -- the 2 Unify VISAs and the PACU MC -- are all still currently open to new apps, and of the 3, the PACU MC and the Unify Variable-Rate VISA are probably the ones with the easiest underwriting requirements.
ETA: sorry, I forgot to mention above that both Unify and PACU are CUs that are open to anyone in the US to apply for. You can either app online or by phone, but IME, I personally apped for all 3 of the cards I have with them by phone. In theory, you can also app online, but there seemed to be a technical glitch in the PACU online application, since to gain membership if you don't live in CA, you have to join the Alliance for the Arts organization, which didn't seem to do possible to do online while apping, but PACU was able to handle it automatically, over the phone app.