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Best buy rewards

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laryn41
Frequent Contributor

Best buy rewards

anyone have it?  I got preselected.  I don't want the inq so I don' t want to apply just to get denied.
Message 1 of 15
14 REPLIES 14
indyhotmama
Regular Contributor

Re: Best buy rewards

My husband just got a pre-selected letter in the mail today. So I just submitted it and he got approved for $300. I also have a card, started with $300 got a $100 increase after 3 months. It's a start. I am very sure you will get approved for the card. My husband just filed Chap 13 in June and I just order his FICO's this weekend and I am embarrassed to tell you what they are. LOL! But if he got approved, anyone can.
Message 2 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards

I'm assuming you're talking about the Best Buy branded Mastercard?  For that one (because it's the only one I have experience with of the two), if you are in the credit rebuilding phase, and aren't able to get much else because of low scores, it's not a bad starter card to have.  The terms are just about the same as they are with any other subprime or near-subprime card, plus you do get rewards.
 
A couple of cautions, though:
 
- The MC is done through Household Bank, also known as HSBC.  They are not *bad*, but not really all that *good* either.  They do have online account access, you can schedule future payments, and everything seems to update quickly.  However, they don't waive annual fees (at least, I haven't been able to get them to do it), they don't do CLI's on demand very easily, and when they do it's only for a very small amount.
 
- (This is not really a concern for me, but it is for some people, so I'm going to mention it.)  Household Bank seems to outsource all of it's CC services overseas, at least in my experience.  If this is a concern for you, you might want to think twice... though all of the people I talked to were friendly, they just couldn't really help because their hands were tied.
 
- When I was approved for the Best Buy MC, I had an existing MC with Household Bank that I had been paying on for over a year and had a couple of automatic CLI's, and I had been getting approvals for CC's in the 2K and 3K range with no annual fees and interest rates in the low teens.  With all that said, my new Best Buy MC came with a $59 annual fee, 21% APR, and a $300 limit.  I told them to cancel the account on the spot, and their counter offer was the first year's annual fee cut in half and a $450 limit (not limit increase, but credit limit).  Needless to say, I didn't take the offer.
 
Now, other people may have gotten better terms when they applied with higher scores (mine were EX-652, EQ-647, TU-633, a couple of very old baddies and some recent inquiries), but in my experience, it's just not that great a rewards card.
Message 3 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards



laryn41 wrote:
anyone have it?  I got preselected.  I don't want the inq so I don' t want to apply just to get denied.


Yes, my husband was approved for one when his scores were in the low 600's/high 500's . They started him with a $400 cl. He's really made the card work for him in rebuilding. Uses it to by ink and pays perfectly (or, buys a big ticket item and pif). Since working the system, he's received other cards with high cl's and received cli's from them. He loves the card... you get double reward points if you buy anything wth the card. It's a HSBC/Orchard.
Message 4 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards

By the way, it's 0% interest and no AF
Message 5 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards

I also just got this offer in the mail today!  My preapproval shows a $79 annual fee and 18.99% annual % rate with a 25 day grace. 
 
Message 6 of 15
laryn41
Frequent Contributor

Re: Best buy rewards

Mine was a pre select not a pre approval
 
Message 7 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards

so what is the difference  preselected vs preapproved?
 
Message 8 of 15
laryn41
Frequent Contributor

Re: Best buy rewards

I don't think it's the same thing.
Message 9 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Best buy rewards



lorileet wrote:
so what is the difference  preselected vs preapproved?
 


Preselected normally means that they found your name on a mailing list somewhere and decided to send you a pretty envelope to see if you'll apply.  It doesn't mean anything because they don't even know anything about you but your name and address (possibly a bit more depending upon where they got the mailing list from).  They're hoping you apply and see what happens.  Capital One is famous for that, but all banks do it to varying degrees.
 
Preapproved on the other hand normally means that they did a soft pull of your credit, liked what they saw, and decided to offer you an account.  When you respond, so long as your credit file is the same, or at least still meets the requirements for whatever they offered you, then you'll get what's on the paper.
 
Banks are wonderful animals, because you'll notice that even on the preapproval letters, they give themselves an out by saying that the offer is "pending credit approval" (or some variation that means the same thing). 
 
Smiley Happy
Message 10 of 15
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