Gap Store Card

[Anonymous]

I opened the Gap Store Card about 2 months ago with a paltry $150 credit line.  I opened it mostly for the rewards points and because my fiance is a manager at the store, and it just made it easier for him to use it to buy us and my son clothing with his discount.

I pay this card off in full every month since I've had it (as I do with all of my store-branded cc....the APR is yikes!!)  We moved to NYC this month from Los Angeles, so of course I max the card out to buy us some winter gear.  I paid it off last Saturday, the payment posted to my bank account on Tuesday, so I think we're all good.  We try using it twice since then, and get DENIED both times.  So, not only do we not get the points for our purchases, we get the embarrassment of being denied in the store.

I called their customer service to see what was up, and she told me that it wouldn't update my available credit until NEXT TUESDAY!!!  Does this happen with anyone else's GEMB store cards?  I know it doesn't with my Amazon, so I wanted to see if it was just the Gap Card policy.  Not only this, but she said this would happen EVERY MONTH for 6 months to a year because "the system is defaulted to catch this because it looks weird to pay it off in full."  Ok, what planet is she from??!  Who actually lets their $150 bill ride for months?!

HERE'S THE KICKER:

I ask when I can receive a credit limit increase to avoid this problem in the future.  She tells me "Well, it sounds like you are pretty young, and you probably don't have much credit so I wouldn't expect it for at least a year."  I just about fell over!!!!!   I am pretty offended.  Yes, I am 25, but in no way do I not have enough credit.  I am a college graduate with student loans, have a great full time job (which is why we moved),a car and other credit cards.  

So, this post was mainly a vent---and to see if anyone else has had problems with them such as this.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I opened the Gap Store Card about 2 months ago with a paltry $150 credit line.  I opened it mostly for the rewards points and because my fiance is a manager at the store, and it just made it easier for him to use it to buy us and my son clothing with his discount.

I pay this card off in full every month since I've had it (as I do with all of my store-branded cc....the APR is yikes!!)  We moved to NYC this month from Los Angeles, so of course I max the card out to buy us some winter gear.  I paid it off last Saturday, the payment posted to my bank account on Tuesday, so I think we're all good.  We try using it twice since then, and get DENIED both times.  So, not only do we not get the points for our purchases, we get the embarrassment of being denied in the store.

I called their customer service to see what was up, and she told me that it wouldn't update my available credit until NEXT TUESDAY!!!  Does this happen with anyone else's GEMB store cards?  I know it doesn't with my Amazon, so I wanted to see if it was just the Gap Card policy.  Not only this, but she said this would happen EVERY MONTH for 6 months to a year because "the system is defaulted to catch this because it looks weird to pay it off in full."  Ok, what planet is she from??!  Who actually lets their $150 bill ride for months?!

HERE'S THE KICKER:

I ask when I can receive a credit limit increase to avoid this problem in the future.  She tells me "Well, it sounds like you are pretty young, and you probably don't have much credit so I wouldn't expect it for at least a year."  I just about fell over!!!!!   I am pretty offended.  Yes, I am 25, but in no way do I not have enough credit.  I am a college graduate with student loans, have a great full time job (which is why we moved),a car and other credit cards.  

So, this post was mainly a vent---and to see if anyone else has had problems with them such as this.

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From the CL given to her response on the phone I find the entire ordeal ridiculous on many levels. I had a GAP card approximately 5 years ago and opened it for the same reasons (discount). At the time I had CC with $20K CLs and they offered me a $500 CL. At that time I thought to myself a $500 CL is almost useless and I imagined that if there were any issues (like the one you described above) it could be trouble. I closed the account after a few months  and so I don't remember I ever had this problem. That seems like an awfully long time to credit an account.

A $150 CL to me spells trouble and if that's all they're willing to extend they probably shouldn't have offered any credit in the first place. Even if you intend on PIF every month with a low CL like that even with $0 charged your **bleep** close to your credit limit and I guess you have to ask yourself is it really worth the discount for this product? I always wonder if CC companies give these ultra-low CLs expecting the customer to have issues so they can charge fees. An ultra-low CL plus an absurdly long time to credit an account seems shady to me!

 My new kick in my own life is to stop using products from companies with terrible customer service and/or shady policies. You're going to be unable to use it for half the month even when you PIF while you wait for them to credit your account and I think the amount of time it took to write on this forum probably outweighs the discounts. 

 The only "say" you have is to not use this credit product. 

Message Edited by idmd on 12-03-2009 10:50 AM

[haulingthescoreup]

allclam, did they promptly credit your previous PIF payments? If so, then the CSR was talking through her hat.

Also, are you paying on their site (which I know can be a PITA, or at least it was in the past), or are you paying through your online bank account and "pushing" the payment through? Don't know that that would make a difference, but sometimes lenders handle these two payment methods differently.

Really, though, that's incredibly rude and condescending customer service. And does she have any idea of the typical age group that shops at Gap? We're not talking about the Lawrence Welk crowd here.

[ChesterPDexter]

G E Money bank is THE WORST about updating EVERYTHING.  Whenever I pay my bill, it takes at least two days for it to even show on the system that I paid.

They do, however, state that if you pay before X:00, the payment will be credited as paid that day.   But I have found that if the due date is the next day or two after that, they will cut a statement with a LATE FEE on it.  It's easy to get it reversed once you talk to someone and explain that you did pay on time (they will not argue with you.)  But again, that also takes a few days to show up.

They are slow, and their site does not work half the time.  I have an Old Navy, a Sam's Club, my husband has Wal Mart, and we both have Chevron/Texaco and I get so tired of their slowness.

On the other hand, they give out CLI's regularly.  I think if you keep the card in good standing for 4 months, you have a good chance of getting a CLI when you ask (hit the button if they have one.)

[emartin82]

Gap Card will not update your payment for about four days. This is a default security system put in place for approximately a year to prevent "fraud." Capital One does this too if you pay your bill more than once in one month. It's annoying, but you'll need to get over it quick because it's not going away unfortunately. It's their way to ensure that your wire transfe, or check, goes through and is legit.

I don't know what the situation for you is like now that you've maxed out your card (and presumably went over your limit?), but you are normally entitled to credit limit increases every four months of payment history--meaning, you need to pay off a balance every month for four months; you can't just sockdrawer it.

I started off with a $200 credit line this year. It went up to $500 four months after opening my account, and in September it went to $800. In February 2010, I will be eligible for another credit line increase (probably another $300). The downside is that CSRs have consistently told me that I am not eligible for a visa upgrade. I'll have to re-apply for that, even though my credit score has gone up about 75 points since I got the card. 

[ChesterPDexter]

I don't mean to make you jealous (because my luck doesn't run this way - trust me, this seemed like a real fluke to me because I'm usually on the "H___ No!" track for co-branded Visas) but I applied for the Old Navy card in the store a few months ago, and it was approved (surprise #1) and when I logged on to activate my card, I was shocked that there was evidence of a Visa there too, and a note saying it was in the mail to me.  In other words, when I applied, they told me I was approved for the store card but apparently they approved me for a Visa too, but just didn't notify me right away (it arrived about a week later.)

My point in telling you all of this is that it's not necessarily a treat to have one of their Visas.  The rate is 21% !  I mean, I accepted it, and I can use the utilization, and I understand getting cards even when you don't love the rate, but don't lose any sleep on missing out on that nasty rate of 21%.  I feel confident those rates will never go down, either.

I used to want a Macy's Visa and a Texaco Visa, etc. but I have given up thinking about those.  My husband has a Target Visa but we are looking to get rid of it soon.  The rate is 22.5% or something!

[jefftca925]

I was in Gap today to buy a pair of jeans I saw online yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find the same pair had an additional 25% off in the store.  I like to shop at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic so the benefit of getting their card worked for me.  I applied in the store (which I STRONGLY encourage folks to do) and was approved for the Gap Visa.  The rate doesn't bother me since I PIF anyway. The temporary credit limit showed $1k.  When you finally get the card is the limit higher than on the temporary slip?  Also,  this card doesn't have two accounts like Macy's Visa, does it?

Thanks to the posters for giving a heads up about paying on this account.  It helps to get info from others that have the same card.

[ChesterPDexter]

My guess is that the amount they quoted you is the real amount.  As I stated above, my experience was different because they said my initial amount was for $400 for a store card only, and when it arrived it was for exactly that, and then I got a VISA as well for $1,000 which was a total suprise.

They are simply slow to show payments online but they credit them on time.  And I have a lot of trouble getting their online payment screen to work at all.  But when it works, it works.

They are also nice enough to work with (all the GE Money Bank cards.)  Example:   I made a checking account mistake and  for the first time ever in my life,(this was a new bank and my local bank just pays any overdrafts) my electronic payment to them was returned unpaid (it took them from crediting the payment on 12/31 till today to figure that out - see what I mean about slow?)

I straightened it out with the bank, then called Old Navy (GE Money Bank) and asked them to reverse the $29 returned-payment fee.  They did; no questions asked, no lecture or anything.  Of course, you have to be in good standing for that and can't do it often.

I can't wait to ask them for a CLI because I know that they do give them out every four months if you ask for them.  I'm looking at February for that.  Since I've run my VISA up to $950 and am about to pay it off entirely, (That is the best strategy for getting big credit lines that I know of - they like to see that you are a big wheeler and dealer) I am hoping for a big CLI.

Message Edited by ChesterPDexter on 01-08-2010 11:26 AM

[jefftca925]

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@ChesterPDexter wrote:

My guess is that the amount they quoted you is the real amount.  As I stated above, my experience was different because they said my initial amount was for $400 for a store card only, and when it arrived it was for exactly that, and then I got a VISA as well for $1,000 which was a total suprise.

They are simply slow to show payments online but they credit them on time.  And I have a lot of trouble getting their online payment screen to work at all.  But when it works, it works.

They are also nice enough to work with (all the GE Money Bank cards.)  Example:   I made a checking account mistake and  for the first time ever in my life,(this was a new bank and my local bank just pays any overdrafts) my electronic payment to them was returned unpaid (it took them from crediting the payment on 12/31 till today to figure that out - see what I mean about slow?)

I straightened it out with the bank, then called Old Navy (GE Money Bank) and asked them to reverse the $29 returned-payment fee.  They did; no questions asked, no lecture or anything.  Of course, you have to be in good standing for that and can't do it often.

I can't wait to ask them for a CLI because I know that they do give them out every four months if you ask for them.  I'm looking at February for that.  Since I've run my VISA up to $950 and am about to pay it off entirely, (That is the best strategy for getting big credit lines that I know of - they like to see that you are a big wheeler and dealer) I am hoping for a big CLI.

Message Edited by ChesterPDexter on 01-08-2010 11:26 AM

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Thanks for the response.  I haven't received my card yet but was curious about the limit as the slip said "temporary".  This is my first account with GEMB so I'm just being cautious about how to handle the account.  I love being able to manage my accounts online.. it is SOOO much easier.  I'll use this card for Gap (and their affiliates) store purchases as I have other bank cards and the Gap Visa APR is UP there.  One of the benefits of having a store card is they give cool discounts to cardholders and some other perks (like free shipping).  Plus the purchase tracking is easier if you need to return something.