First Credit Card

[Anonymous]

Capital one or Orchard bank I guess---my first one was Capital One--and didnt have any fees Good Luck!!

[Anonymous]

I would say just let him stick with the one card for a few months, especially since he's had recent overdraft problems. You definitely don't want him to have too many CC's all a once, since he's just starting out first. I think he should take care of the one card and forget about trying to play the FICO game and learn how to manage that one first, and then gaduate to 2 or 3 (maybe). I say teach him how to crawl before you teach him to walk.

[Dawn]

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denbar2003 wrote:

Citi (Plat Select MC) gave him the 30 day notice.

And CapOne  (the only one who has been sending pre-approval offers)  actually gave him a firm approval on-line (card to arrive in approximately 7 days.)  This was my last possible choice, but I didn't want to keep trying for another and have a bunch of inquiries piling up on his report.

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OK ... Citi came through for him with a $500 CL and clearly defined disclosures regarding rates that are detailed on the "Card Carrier."  9.24% isn't bad. 

Tricky creatures ... these CCCs are.  I started looking for the "other fees" that aren't outlined on that Card Carrier and found them in the Card Agreement ... but not in the "easy to read" table format that they are usually displayed in when receiving pre-screened offers. 

I really hate how they have some of the information in the "Card Agreement" yet refer you back to the "Card Carrier" for the finer details particular to this specific card.  Someone without the patience to sift through multiple pages of documents (knowing what they were looking for) could be in for some unexpected surprises if they aren't careful. 

Now ... CapOne ... makes me nervous.  The letter printed on the "Card Carrier" reveals the CL of $300.  But ... there is no other summary regarding additional disclosures (APR, other fees, absence or presence of an annual fee.)  Nor is this information in the "Customer Agreement."  This agreement refers back to  information "previously disclosed to you as a part of the TILA Account Disclosures or as we will disclose to you if required by applicable law."

Wow!  How do we KNOW that they set this card up according to the terms of the particular pre-screened offer he applied for?  Fortunately, I trashed the pile of pre-screened CapOne offers (except for this particular one) when he applied, but I still feel uneasy about not getting those disclosures in the envelope with the card.  Is this the normal way CCCs do things when they send a card based upon a pre-screened offer?  The initial disclosures are not repeated when the actual card arrives?  Coaching him to ask enough questions to make sure he gets the "No annual fee" and the 0% introductory purchase APR through June 2008 will be a challenge.