high scores but high APRs

[Anonymous]

Hi would anyone have an idea as to why I would get approved for AMEX BCE for 10k at 22% and walmart discover for 2500 at 21% I have target 700cl, BofA rewards cl 3500 at 19.99%, khols 800cl, jcpenny 1200cl, amazon 1400cl, discover more 1000cl 21% with 773 TU FICO AMEX 723 EQ MYFICO 767 EX FAKO I thought from all that I have read and put to use I would be getting better APRs I'm currently at 8% UTL so what am I doing wrong? I'm learning more and more from the forums I read but I'm missing something or is this the norm? I never payed attention to how fico works until I found this forum after buying SW from myfico. Ive paid my bills on time no baddies. Thank you in advance for any insight.

this is my first post so please bare with me.

[saaws]

If your AMEX BCE is your very first Amex credit/charge card, they are still feeling you out and basically they are discouraging you to carry a balance by setting a high 22% APR.  Also keep in mind that in general rewards cards have a high APR. One way to circumvent this issue is to appy for a reward credit card that has only one APR - such as sapphire preferred with only 15.24% APR option.

[Anonymous]

It makes sense thanks

[saaws]

Oh, I believe on this forum someone with BCE or BCP called Amex and requested for APR Reduction and succeeded while still within 0% APR promotion. I think they were not carrying a balance at that time. In my experience, I hold BCP with 4K limit and 22% APR as well. My 0% promotion ends in Septemeber. The CSR said to me to call them when my promotion ends - I am not sure if it was a polite refusal or an actual advise but I am going to do that. you can try that now and maybe when your 0% APR promotion ends?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to appy for the chase card you mentioned with the lower APR and leave BCE in the SD for now but it sure nice to have lol.

[boomhower]

Store cards, particularly GE cards always have a high APR.  Rewards cards in general have a high APR to offset the rewards.  What you need is another card.  Get another car from a CU or the Barclay Ring card that offers a low APR and no rewards.  Use your rewards cards for daily things and use the low APR card for those times you need to carry a balance.  A LOC from your bank can also be an option. 

[Anonymous]

I thought it was something I was doing to get those APRs thank you boomhower for explaining how reward cards work as far as high APRs go.

[learnin113]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi would anyone have an idea as to why I would get approved for AMEX BCE for 10k at 22% and walmart discover for 2500 at 21% I have target 700cl, BofA rewards cl 3500 at 19.99%, khols 800cl, jcpenny 1200cl, amazon 1400cl, discover more 1000cl 21% with 773 TU FICO AMEX 723 EQ MYFICO 767 EX FAKO I thought from all that I have read and put to use I would be getting better APRs I'm currently at 8% UTL so what am I doing wrong? I'm learning more and more from the forums I read but I'm missing something or is this the norm? I never payed attention to how fico works until I found this forum after buying SW from myfico. Ive paid my bills on time no baddies. Thank you in advance for any insight.

this is my first post so please bare with me.

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Why dont you call some of these lenders and try to work on reducing your APRs.  They don't always just give it to you, sometimes you have to show some initiative.  You're not gonna get much leeway with the GE accounts...their APRs are high for a reason...they are easy to get.

[Revelate]

APR's are meaningless unless you're floating a non-trivial balance on them.

At 8% utillization you're almost certainly paying the vast majority of the charges during the grace period, don't sweat it.