Target Visa Offered @ Register?

[creditreformer]

Went to target for holiday shopping- used my red card and nearly maxed it out (easy to do w/its whopping 200 cl lol).  The cashier said 'do you want to app for a target visa?'  i said no b/c i didn't think it was 'preapproved' + b/c i didn't want to be embarassed @ the register if i was denied + b/c i wasn't sure if they could pull b/c my EX is frozen, but now i'm wondering if i made a mistake.  does target ask everyone the 'target visa' q or do you think they saw i had a red card, did a soft pull + i was 'preapproved?'  didn't get the 'preapproved' receipt like i did when i got the red card.

btw, i've had the target red since late 5/08.  mucked my chances for the auto cli @ 3mos. b/c in my haste to PIF (past credit problems make me ocd about PIF), I had a 0 bal when my 3rd stmt was supposed to cut + so i didn't get another stmt until 8/08 (couldn't shop @ target for that time).

just wondering if i mucked up my chances for a target visa upgrade or if it's still poss. i'll get 1 sometime (?)

[laz98]

i'd love to know this.  i wish they would offer me one!  i'm with you on the lame-o $200 CL.

[creditreformer]

Well I would’ve thought if it were an auto visa upgrade, they wouldn’t have said ‘do you want to apply?’. I thought I read on this board (maybe another) where someone who had the red card, was asked @ the register about the visa like I was, + did apply + then got rejected b/c it meant it was a new app/not a preapproval. My EX has not risen all that much since getting the target red + I can’t spare any inqs on there, so I didn’t want to risk it. in the past, I’ve used my red card, but have never been asked ‘do you want to apply for a visa?’ so that’s why I’m wondering if it’s target’s way of trying to say ‘yes, you’d get a visa if you’d apply’ lol target drives me batty lusting the visa upgrade. I know when my mom had store cards (macys + nordstroms I believe), 1 day @ the register, they told her she was auto upgraded to the visa + a new cc would be in the mail. However, her ficos are way better than mine, this was years ago, + it wasn’t target (who seems kind of quirky about upgrades).

i hate to do it for utilization purposes, but i think i'll let some of the 180/200 bal carry onto my next target stmt (my last 1 just cut w/a 0 bal. days before i went to target)

[Mark_in_Pasadena]

I get offered this everytime I shop at Target.  I always pay with my AMEX Blue Cash, have had all three credit reports frozen for the past 3 years, and Opted Out of all credit pre-approvals, so I doubt it means your pre-approved from a credit report point of view at least. 

I'm sure they keep track that I shop there frequently based on me using the same AMEX Blue Cash card and thus they offer me the Target Visa, or maybe they just offer it to anyone who rings up over $100 that day.  Funny thing is I always see the "Ask customer if they would like to save 10% off their purchase by applying for a Target Visa" message appear on the cashier's terminal at the end of the transaction, but half of the cashiers never bother to ask...I guess they just get tired of it. 

This is unlike Macy's where they give the cashier a $2 bonus for every completed Macy's card application.  A Macy's cashier confirmed this when I asked her why this is the only store where I get asked the same annoying set of questions every single time. 

The annoying cashier script at Macy's goes like this:

1. Cashier:  "Hello sir, would you  like to charge this on you Macy's card?"

2.  Me: No (whirling my eyes at having to answer the same nonsense for the 100th time).

3.  Cashier: Do you have a Macy's card?

4.  Me: No (whirling my eyes at having to answer the same nonsense for the 100th time).

5.  Cashier: You can save 10% off your purchases today and tomorrow if you apply.

6.  Me: No, thanks, here's my AMEX.

Can Macy's please turn off this cashier script before I go nuts everytime I want to simply pay and go home and rest.  I hate shopping, and having to deal with the same repetitive sales pitch doesn't make it any better!

[creditreformer]

thanks for solving the macy's mystery mark.  i wondered why they asked me that every time i shop there.  as for target, i've spent more than 100 there before several times + never got asked the visa q, so maybe the cashiers were just lazy before.  hopefully target will upgrade me to the visa @ the 1 yr mark- if not, oh well, it's an ok card (sucky cl) @ a store i do shop @, so it's giving me diversity for fico purposes.

[Anonymous]

That happened to me a year ago and I was denied. Everytime they ask now I just say no.

[arjames01]

We ask because it also counts on our quarterly reviews, credit solicitations, I could careless about a measley few dollars, I'd like to keep my job . Trust us  when I say we don't want to ask every customer we come into contact, either.

eta. this is Macy's I am talking about. 

Message Edited by arjames01 on 12-27-2008 04:30 PM

[wmarat]

I enjoy using my Macy's Visa at Target.

[Anonymous]

They ask everybody. I only shop at Target for cat litter, and usually fill up a shopping cart with it so I don't have to make the trip again anytime soon. Just over a year ago I went in, having just crawled out of bed, tossed on sweats, no shower, hair a mess under a beat-up stocking cap with the Mexican flag on it, and the bored checker didn't even make eye contact with me. "Want to apply for a Target Visa today?"

Did a little mental math, then I said "Sure!" - and saw a look of sheer panic on her face as she realized that a crazy bag lady with a cart containing over 100 lbs of cat litter (and a wireless access point - a special purchase ) was going to apply. She waited nervously for the results, watched the printout, and then, "Holy $#!+!"

$10K. 

I only use the card for cat litter, which I only buy every 3 months or so. Used to PIF each time; now I'm paying 2x the minimum one month, then PIF the next, just to tweak util just a bit. I'm doing that with all my cards to see if it helps avoid CLDs, even though there's a little "tax" as a result. So far, so good... nothing's been touched. I'm not even sure why I keep the Target card, but I'm disinclined to mess with closing it.

It does sound like Target's having a rough time, though - I'm not sure I'd try that now. Not applying for anything right now 'til I have a better idea of what's in store in 2009.

(12/08 EQ 780 - no clue about the others. Probably should pull them someday.)

[Anonymous]

---

upperleft wrote:

They ask everybody. I only shop at Target for cat litter, and usually fill up a shopping cart with it so I don't have to make the trip again anytime soon. Just over a year ago I went in, having just crawled out of bed, tossed on sweats, no shower, hair a mess under a beat-up stocking cap with the Mexican flag on it, and the bored checker didn't even make eye contact with me. "Want to apply for a Target Visa today?"

Did a little mental math, then I said "Sure!" - and saw a look of sheer panic on her face as she realized that a crazy bag lady with a cart containing over 100 lbs of cat litter (and a wireless access point - a special purchase ) was going to apply. She waited nervously for the results, watched the printout, and then, "Holy $#!+!"

$10K. 

I only use the card for cat litter, which I only buy every 3 months or so. Used to PIF each time; now I'm paying 2x the minimum one month, then PIF the next, just to tweak util just a bit. I'm doing that with all my cards to see if it helps avoid CLDs, even though there's a little "tax" as a result. So far, so good... nothing's been touched. I'm not even sure why I keep the Target card, but I'm disinclined to mess with closing it.

It does sound like Target's having a rough time, though - I'm not sure I'd try that now. Not applying for anything right now 'til I have a better idea of what's in store in 2009.

(12/08 EQ 780 - no clue about the others. Probably should pull them someday.)

---

Glad to hear someone else is having a decent relationship with their Target Visa.  I never thought I'd be able to say that Target is my highest limit card @ 7k.  All of my CLIs have been auto -- 200 to 1k to 5k and finally to 7k.  I did some serious purchasing and PIF on this card when I purchased appliances (gotta love those 10% coupons).  I make sure that I go to a Super Target when I use the coupons so I save $$ on groceries, too.

I always have my Target Card in hand when the cashier starts ringing up my purchases -- I like being able to save him/her from asking if I'd like to apply.  (I remember my days working at Lazarus and LSAyres asking people to apply and hoping to get a buck or two for myself.)

I super puffy heart my Target Visa!