Suntrust Credit Card

[gheedorah]

Hello, forum community who I read constantly but have only finally just now joined!

So, I am working on fixing my credit, and am actually rolling along pretty smoothly, save for one burr in the sock.

I'm going to be opening one more line of credit. Now that Cap 1 owns Orchard Bank, I have 3 Cap 1 cards (the first two were opened within months of each other, after the ultimately incorrect advice from a customer service agent that they'd combine the limits) with low balances, and in spite of flawless payment history and good debt utilization, the limits aren't moving. They're basically useless cards, but they're good credit history, so I try to use them for dinners/happy hours/splurges. Anyway, the bank I use (Suntrust) keeps spamming me when I log on that I am "approved" or "eligible" or whatever- I forget the terminology- for one of their credit cards (the middle-tier rewards card). They have a good balance transfer option, and no interest for a year, and a recent promotion has put me in position to pay down all of my remaining debt over the next couple of paychecks. So, I will be paying down all but my Chase card, waiting another week or two for everything to update with the bureaus, and then applying for the Suntrust card (late April).

So, does anyone around here have a credit card from Suntrust? It seems like a decent card. I'm wondering which credit agency they pull from (my scores are within a few points of each other on Equifax and Transunion, and 25 points lower [see aforementioned burr-in-the-sock] on Experian). If they pull from Experian, I'd just assume bypass that offer, and just finish paying off the Chase card directly, interest included, while waiting for an opportunity for a higher CL later. 

Thanks for any responses!

[flashevo]

welcome to the forums.

i dont believe i have seen suntrust cards discussed much on here.

[danielodonoll]

Welcome to the forum

I dont think they are that big of a lender.I would personally wouldnt apply with a uknown lender like that

I just dont know much about them

[gheedorah]

Thanks all for the welcomes!

Yes, they're a pretty gigantic bank, but it seems somewhat of an unknown in the credit card arena (I imagine they're trying to grow that aspect of the business to keep up with bank/creditor mergers like ING-Capital One, etc).

With reference to avoiding them as an unknown quantity, do you say this as in you've never heard of Suntrust Bank, or do you mean that a big bank like that might be a terrible credit card option?

[distantarray]

Suntrust is a regional bank not a national bank, and their customer service is ranked worst in the entire country. I would stay away, unless you like Delta skymiles then you should just get the Suntrust skymiles debit card. Besides that I say get the hell away lol they're the worst in mortgages too I'm on contract with a Suntrust owned property and it's been 7 months and they're still dragging their feet.

Nothing in the market beats Amex, Chase, PenFED cards, nothing else comes even close for rewards. and NFCU and USAA for limits and low APR's. What makes you like anything in the Suntrust's line up?

[danielodonoll]

Wow Distant...That bad hmm

Now i heard something about them

[webhopper]

So far, the card terms and rewards seem good, but I'm not seeing good reviews here on MyFico or on the web for this card because the points are not a 1 point per dollar of reward conversion..  They are worth less.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Pissed-off-at-Suntrust-Bank/td-p/902712

http://creditcardforum.com/blog/suntrust-credit-card-application-a-bad-idea/

What are your current FICO scores?  If you are interested in a credit card, there are tons of good options out there, and we may be able to help with a bit more information.

What is your current spending pattern?

Do you like the ability to pay over time, or would you be comfortable paying the balance in full for each statement?

What type of rewards do you value most?  Travel Rewards, Cash Back, Redeem for Merchandise or Amazon Pay with Points?

What banks do you have cards with presently, what banks do you use for other financial products such as savings, checking, mortgage, car loans, etc??

[gheedorah]

Oh man. I had a couple of CDs at Suntrust that when they matured, I just dumped into a money market account and attached checking account, and have loved them so much, I closed my other (Wells Fargo/ING) accounts and consolidated everything to Suntrust. Their customer service has been awesome for me! Not surprised to hear that they're ranked worst though- they're so overkill-helpful with everything, that "making up for a bad reputation" would go a long way in explaining their eagerness to please.

Anyway, I think I'll still at least consider the prospect, so if anyone does happen along and know what credit agency they pull from, I'd be appreciative.

[webhopper]

Based on Whogavemecredit.com,  they pull Equifax.   but there are only two examples, both declined with low scores, so who really knows.

[danielodonoll]

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@webhopper wrote:

So far, the card terms and rewards seem good, but I'm not seeing good reviews here on MyFico or on the web for this card because the points are not a 1 point per dollar of reward conversion..  They are worth less.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Pissed-off-at-Suntrust-Bank/td-p/902712

http://creditcardforum.com/blog/suntrust-credit-card-application-a-bad-idea/

What are your current FICO scores?  If you are interested in a credit card, there are tons of good options out there, and we may be able to help with a bit more information.

What is your current spending pattern?

Do you like the ability to pay over time, or would you be comfortable paying the balance in full for each statement?

What type of rewards do you value most?  Travel Rewards, Cash Back, Redeem for Merchandise or Amazon Pay with Points?

What banks do you have cards with presently, what banks do you use for other financial products such as savings, checking, mortgage, car loans, etc??

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 +1   Webhopper as always wise on this forum