Does anyone remember Providian?

[Aim_High]

---

@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

Providian is like the Limp Bizkit of banks, I'd rather forget about them, but they left their mark haha.

---

Sounds like that tatoo someone got on Spring Break

[Creditaddict]

There is a documentary of Providian and how it turned into a fraud thing with owner.

i worked at providian out of high school.

i called people that received a mailer and applied...

I had to verify, ask to add authorized user (fee) add some shopping thing or insurance (fee)

then click complete.

it showed me $500, $1000 or $5000 but I wasn't allowed to tell the customer... never made sense to me!

but I think this was the later part of providian because it was sub market and I know they had much higher end cards originally....

I know providian was the first online credit system I remember that you could get pre-approved and shown a deposit and limit... I believe that was when they went fraud'ish but it was revolutionary at the time to get that info when applying I feel like.

heck, most banks still don't show that info when applying in 2024!!

[UncleB]

Ah, Providian... I also have lots of memories of them.  My memories are also more of the era than the card, although at the time the card they offered me wasn't terrible by any means.  Sadly I ended up having a financial meltdown a few years after obtaining their card and it didn't end well.

Ironically, the account went to WaMu and then Chase during my meltdown period.  I remember getting a Chase Freedom Visa card with the same number, but it never worked (the account was in the process of being closed by this time).  This is why years later once all my baddies started aging off I was in no hurry to apply for anything with Chase, since they're known to have a long memory.

For those keeping score, Chase *did* remember, but apparently weren't/aren't too worried about it since I eventually ended up approved for several Chase cards.  After my first Chase approval when I established an online login I found my old phone number from years ago in my new profile, so there's no doubt they "remembered," LOL.

I also had a card with "The Associates" back in the 90s... mine had a $300 credit line, and an atrocious APR (even for that time) - and I had good credit then!  That was one of the few cards that I closed back in the 90s - it was that terrible, which says a lot since I would take a card with (almost) anybody who would have me back then.

Another "oldie but goodie" was Juniper Bank.  That one also ended badly (see above) and is why I can't get a card with Barclays today.  (I'll always regret what happened, but I admit I'm not too torn-up over missing out on Barclays.)

Last but not least was Orchard Bank, which was a subsidiary of HSBC.  After the 'meltdown' mentioned above I opened this account just to have a card that wasn't debit, and it was the best of the terrible options I had.  It started with a $300 credit line and a $79AF, although it did have 2% rewards (with the options I had rewards were truly a bonus).  After several years, HSBC sold the portfolio to Capital One, and that card is now my 17 year-old Savor WEMC grandfathered with no AF, and with a $6500 credit line (a redemption story for a stinker of a card if there ever was one).  Fun fact, the card number is the same now as it was back when the account was with Orchard Bank with the $300 credit line, haha.

[Creditaddict]

---

@UncleB wrote:

Ah, Providian... I also have lots of memories of them.  My memories are also more of the era than the card, although at the time the card they offered me wasn't terrible by any means.  Sadly I ended up having a financial meltdown a few years after obtaining their card and it didn't end well.

Ironically, the account went to WaMu and then Chase during my meltdown period.  I remember getting a Chase Freedom Visa card with the same number, but it never worked (the account was in the process of being closed by this time).  This is why years later once all my baddies started aging off I was in no hurry to apply for anything with Chase, since they're known to have a long memory.

For those keeping score, Chase *did* remember, but apparently weren't/aren't too worried about it since I eventually ended up approved for several Chase cards.  After my first Chase approval when I established an online login I found my old phone number from years ago in my new profile, so there's no doubt they "remembered," LOL.

I also had a card with "The Associates" back in the 90s... mine had a $300 credit line, and an atrocious APR (even for that time) - and I had good credit then!  That was one of the few cards that I closed back in the 90s - it was that terrible, which says a lot since I would take a card with (almost) anybody who would have me back then.

Another "oldie but goodie" was Juniper Bank.  That one also ended badly (see above) and is why I can't get a card with Barclays today.  (I'll always regret what happened, but I admit I'm not too torn-up over missing out on Barclays.)

Last but not least was Orchard Bank, which was a subsidiary of HSBC.  After the 'meltdown' mentioned above I opened this account just to have a card that wasn't debit, and it was the best of the terrible options I had.  It started with a $300 credit line and a $79AF, although it did have 2% rewards (with the options I had rewards were truly a bonus).  After several years, HSBC sold the portfolio to Capital One, and that card is now my 17 year-old Savor WEMC grandfathered with no AF, and with a $6500 credit line (a redemption story for a stinker of a card if there ever was one).  Fun fact, the card number is the same now as it was back when the account was with Orchard Bank with the $300 credit line, haha.

---

Better memory than me but now that you mention them... I had them all!

there was one for with a G I think... same time as associates... they seemed to be the biggest college pushing cards🤔

[Slabenstein]

---

@UncleB wrote:

Fun fact, the card number is the same now as it was back when the account was with Orchard Bank with the $300 credit line, haha.

---

In these days of rampant BIN attacks and skimmers, that's an accomplishment.

[Dilbert934]

---

@Aim_High wrote:

I don't remember them, but all the fond memories seem rather odd to me.  They apparently targeted the subprime market space with lower income consumers, charging them higher-than-normal interest rates.  The founder of the company seemed to know he was taking advantage of his customers.

 I remember that as well.  IIRC, I got a pre-approval in the mail with the 7.99% interest and no fee, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I didn't know about them reaching out to the subprime market until a few months later after doing some research on them.  I did some Google-fu and found an old website that listed the Providian Aria as 7.99% fixed.  That must have been the one I had.  I do see they also had an Aria Portrait at a 20.24% Variable APR, which appears to be high based on other cards the website lists.

Here is the site if you want a trip down memory lane.

2000 Credit Card Survey 

[Zoostation1]

I never had a cardwith them, but I remember the mailers around the time I got my first card in college (started with a $300 Capital One MC).

[Meanmchine]

I had a Providian card that was  120 days late when Wamu bought them out, then Chase.  Instantly, I was put on Chase's BL til 2020. I still have the physical card lieing around somewhere

[woodyman100]

Had one in the 90's. Had no clue about what a predatory lender was back then.

I used it and a few others and it helped my credit immensely.

im wiser about it now though and know to choose a cheaper route

[kerplunk]

When I was 16 years old, I created a website and fully funded it using my mother's Providian credit card. I maxed out the card's $20K limit, with around 32.99% APR. (No idea why she trusted me throughout all this -- we were not rich.) It was insane, but the website took off and I paid it down quickly. I'm not sure if she kept the card after that, but when I turned 19, I got my own Providian card. WaMu bought them, then Chase bought WaMu. I still have that account open today. Thanks for bringing back the memories!