Should I close my First Premier credit card account?

[Anonymous]

Hi, I just recently opened a new credit card account with First Premier Bank on August 1st, They have excessive fees and have been given bad reviews by customers. I only have two credit cards now, the other is with Bank of America. I just turned 19 in July and have only 10 months of credit history. If I pay off my First Premier account balance and closed it, I would open up a secured credit card with Wells Fargo. So should I close the First Premier card which I have only had for less then a week (my first statement is not until August 31st) and go to a more safer, bigger, and popular bank like Wells Fargo, or should I keep it and pay these huge fees and deal with the bad customer service and useless online account? I know it will hurt my credit score in the short term but I am fine with that.

My FICO Scores: Equifax - 671 (08/01/09), TransUnion - 683 (07/31/09)

Experian FAKO Score - 702 (08/09/09)

Message Edited by malcolm900 on 08-10-2009 08:38 AM

[MrShush]

Close it. I doubt the 'benefits' of score reporting will be a comfort when you pay exhorbitant fees for everything from CLI's to web payments. That card isn't really worth it, in my opinion. You would probably be better off getting a secured card from a reputable bank rather than taking the subprime way out. Your scores look decent and will only get better with time. 

[Scamp]

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malcolm900 wrote:

Hi, I just recently opened a new credit card account with First Premier Bank on August 1st, They have excessive fees and have been given bad reviews by customers. I only have two credit cards now, the other is with Bank of America. I just turned 19 in July and have only 10 months of credit history. If I pay off my First Premier account balance and closed it, I would open up a secured credit card with Wells Fargo. So should I close the First Premier card which I have only had for less then a week (my first statement is not until August 31st) and go to a more safer, bigger, and popular bank like Wells Fargo, or should I keep it and pay these huge fees and deal with the bad customer service and useless online account? I know it will hurt my credit score in the short term but I am fine with that.

My FICO Scores: Equifax - 671, TransUnion - 683

Experian FAKO Score - 701

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Welcome to the forums!

In your shoes, I'd open the WF secured account first, THEN pay off and close the First Premier account.

You'll get a little bit of a score ding from the new account inq for the WF card, but as long as you pay the FP in full and close it in good standing, your score shouldn't be too adversely affected by this switch even in the short term, and in the long haul, as you noted, a card with a major bank is more likely to be a keeper that will grow with you.

The only other caution I'd offer is to make sure all fees have posted to the FP account as well, before you pay it in full and close it, and then to keep an eye on any correspondence you get from them to ensure no fees or other charges hit after closure.

Hope this helps, and welcome again.

Message Edited by Scamp on 08-10-2009 06:16 AM

[creditwherecreditisdue]

There must have been a reason you opened a FP account to begin with. What was it?

You are young and have a thin credit file. I would open the secured card with WF, but keep the FP open for at least six months. Try to get something else (like a store or gas card) before you close it and be sure to follow Scamps advice regarding the closure procedure. Always continue to check this account for fees for several months after closure. Many horror stories have come about due to unexpected/ignored fees.

[cobra19]

Close FP ASAP.

Join a CU - look around there are a lot of good ones. I got my first cc when I was 18 - with Chemical Bank - now JP Morgan Chase. Shortly thereafter, AMEX sent me a pre-approval thing for the green card.  Of course, that was about 863 years ago, and things change.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a CU.

[Anonymous]

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@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

There must have been a reason you opened a FP account to begin with. What was it?

You are young and have a thin credit file. I would open the secured card with WF, but keep the FP open for at least six months. Try to get something else (like a store or gas card) before you close it and be sure to follow Scamps advice regarding the closure procedure. Always continue to check this account for fees for several months after closure. Many horror stories have come about due to unexpected/ignored fees.

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I opened it up because I read on here that having at least 3 credit cards is good and improves your FICO score.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

There must have been a reason you opened a FP account to begin with. What was it?

You are young and have a thin credit file. I would open the secured card with WF, but keep the FP open for at least six months. Try to get something else (like a store or gas card) before you close it and be sure to follow Scamps advice regarding the closure procedure. Always continue to check this account for fees for several months after closure. Many horror stories have come about due to unexpected/ignored fees.

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I opened it up because I read on here that having at least 3 credit cards is good and improves your FICO score.

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And so it is. Which is why I would like to see you add two before you close FP.