@UncleB wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:Back in the 90's I had "Citibank Classic" Visa which I PC'd to Drivers Edge. Robinsons-May, Bullocks Wilshire, Mervyns, Montgomery Ward, and Gottschalk's. My mother had one of the first Discover cards, Great Western Bank Visa (She worked for GWB/Wamu for decades in the home loans/mortgages dept.), MBNA MC, an Amex Gold and Optima (Her member since date was 80, I soo wish I had gotten on one of those cards!) and a Chase Manhattan Visa which must have had some insane limit on it, because she used that card for EVERYTHING! She also had a handful of gas station cards and a Sears card which looked like it had been laundered in the wrong cycle. (It was like half the size of a normal card).
I remember that old Sears card from when I was a kid...
Yep, it was shaped like that, but the Sears logo was different. More like this one
@UncleB wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:Back in the 90's I had "Citibank Classic" Visa which I PC'd to Drivers Edge. Robinsons-May, Bullocks Wilshire, Mervyns, Montgomery Ward, and Gottschalk's. My mother had one of the first Discover cards, Great Western Bank Visa (She worked for GWB/Wamu for decades in the home loans/mortgages dept.), MBNA MC, an Amex Gold and Optima (Her member since date was 80, I soo wish I had gotten on one of those cards!) and a Chase Manhattan Visa which must have had some insane limit on it, because she used that card for EVERYTHING! She also had a handful of gas station cards and a Sears card which looked like it had been laundered in the wrong cycle. (It was like half the size of a normal card).
I remember that old Sears card from when I was a kid...
Heh....I wouldn't have pictured Marlon Brando shopping at Sears! I guess it really was America's favourite department store!
I'll add mine since this thread appears to be still current:
I got my first card in 1998 (thank you Captial One) when I was 18-so even though that was 20 years ago, it is too current for me to really have too many shocker cards but I will admit that I am getting older lol.
My only stories I guess would be:
Mervyn's charge card
My 1998 Citi Diamond Preferred was a Silver Classic Visa and had the original Citibank logo with the star logo all the way until 2004.
My 1999 Citi Thankyou Preferred started life out as an AT&T Universal Card-I was listed as a Charter Member
My family:
I distinctly remember my grandmother pulling out a stack of (mostly) store cards from her purse-they were held together by a rubber band
My parents were some of the original Discover Card cardholders-I still have my dad's unused, mint condition 1986 Discover Card
My parents had what was called The Rocky Mountain Bankcard System (Visa) which is today US Bank
My mom had a Choice card. The Choice card was supposed to be Citibank's new credit card to rival Visa and MasterCard. It flopped and Citibank rebranded them as Choice Visa and Choice MasterCard. My mom had the Choice Visa.
I think people older than me (and maybe even people my age) will remember that the 1980s (and earlier) were a time when people had more store cards than anything else. Back in the 1980s, each state more or less had their own department stores instead of today's national stores-my parents and grandparents had every charge card to all the main stores at the mall. Moreover, before interstate banking, our parents or those of you older than me, had Visa's and MasterCards issued by local banks rather than national banks. That is one of the reasons I hold a Visa from my local bank. Its one of the last local banks in Denver of considerable size (that is both older than me and survived interstate banking and the mergers and acquisitions that came with it) and is a throwback to a different era.
Also, I do not know about you all, but I have kept every one of my credit cards (and most debit cards) once they expire. I have a three-ringed binder filled with all those cards, cataloged by bank and in chronological order, in business card holders. Its really wild to go in there from time to time to look at how those cards have changed and evolved over the past almost 21 years. Yeah, I'm a major nerd but I am willing to bet a lot of you wish you had done the same 
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Wow! off topic on this but in my head I just started to smell the scent of mimeograph ink heheh
Ah yes, the old spirit duplicators... I'll never forget those.
Who are you fooling??? You are just a "young pup" ... or is that a "wolf in sheeps clothing"? 
Bon Marche' (Seattle-based department store chain later rebranded as Macy's)
Citibank Classic Visa
Bank of New York Mastercard
First Interstate Bank Mastercard
Seafirst Bank Mastercard (Seattle-based bank acquired by BankAmerica Corp. Also, the first bank that I'd ever heard of to put cardholder photo on front of card!)
FirstUSA Platinum Visa
Also, back in the day, I used to target Mastercards because I used to think the logo was cooler looking than Visa! 
@UncleB wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:Back in the 90's I had "Citibank Classic" Visa which I PC'd to Drivers Edge. Robinsons-May, Bullocks Wilshire, Mervyns, Montgomery Ward, and Gottschalk's. My mother had one of the first Discover cards, Great Western Bank Visa (She worked for GWB/Wamu for decades in the home loans/mortgages dept.), MBNA MC, an Amex Gold and Optima (Her member since date was 80, I soo wish I had gotten on one of those cards!) and a Chase Manhattan Visa which must have had some insane limit on it, because she used that card for EVERYTHING! She also had a handful of gas station cards and a Sears card which looked like it had been laundered in the wrong cycle. (It was like half the size of a normal card).
I remember that old Sears card from when I was a kid...
Hmm ... when was that? You must be older than dirt ... 
As an aside, had the Sears Card you pictured in the post!
My past card from the 1970s. Got this when I was a part time employee back in HS.
My past cards from the 1980s
My dad frequented Standard Oil (later AMOCO spin off), Montgomery Ward and Sears. He only purchased gas at Standard Oil stations. My mom was a regular shopper at Dayton's and Donaldsons buying clothes for seven kids. Here are some images of cards they used in the 1960s and 1970s.
1960s
1970s
...
The 1970's original Master CHARGE - 'The Interbank Card.' In no way, shape or form is this telling of my age. LOL
