I just got off the phone with my VERY nice collection agent handling my old CC acct. We were just chatting about random credit stuff when I mentioned getting a SECURED Cap.One card. She said they stink because it doesnt do anything to build credit until you are offered the UNSECURED card later down the line...She told me to apply for an UNSECURED First Premier Bank Card. Well, I am confused--I told her that one of the stipulations mentioned on their website is that "In the past 6 months, I have not had any credit delinquencies that are 60 days or more past due " Mind you, she has my CR in front of her, knowing that this does not hold true for me, but insists I go ahead and apply...."dont worry they dont do an inquiry and they will approve you regardless" Yeah, okay! She swears she had the same problem I have when she was younger and had bad credit, but got this card and started with the minimum line of credit ($250) and now has $1500. Blah blah blah Anyway, with all the fees getting charged directly to the card, it comes to $178 -- Not bad, better than the $200 deposit for my Cap One card. But does this seem too good to be true? Should I be weary? Does anyone have this card or have any past experiences with it, or any warnings?!?!? What about Orchard Bank?!?!? Please help! I am confused, as usual =o[ Thanks!
From what I remember reading on this board about them they are just as bad as they come. Hubby just got an offer: 9.9% Cash Adv: 23.99 Account Set Up FEE: 29.00 Program Fee: 95.00 (one time) Annual Fee: 48.00 Participation Fee: 72.00 Annually. Additional Card: 20.00 These fees are way too outrageous IMO. That's 120.00 a YEAR just to have a $250 or so credit limit! We both have Orchard and I haven't had any problems. 59.00 annual fee and 18.99 interest rate. None of these other fees either. Ultimately you do what's best for you. Do a search and read up and you'll more than likely reconsider. I know I did. Newstdt
DO NOT GET THE FIRST PREMIER CARD. The Cap 1 card is better, at some point you get your $200 back. Instead you are paying 178 in fees you will never see again. Also, these people are difficult to work with and charge excessive fees. Cap 1 has the venerable Mr. Cooke at the Executive Office who has helped many here. First Premier has given nothing but heartache.
Well, after the "one-time" fees they only charge you $6 monthly for the card and the $48 annual....I only intend to hold the card to establish credit, not to make purchases, so the $250 limit isnt a concern....Plus, after every 6 months, they raise you $250 if your acct is in good standing.... Does Orchard Bank make an inquiry? If so, my report is still screwed up -- tomorrow is my last payment on a collection acct, and my school loans still show up as 120+ days past due, although they are not--I am in the process of settling this... Should I bother to apply? How strict are they? I dont want to apply and get an inquiry on my CR and then get rejected..... Anyone have any suggestions???? Thanks!
Think about it. Maybe you only have $178 in fees compared to depositing $200 to Cap One but if you close the account you get the $200 back from Cap One. If you pay your bill ontime for a while Cap One will credit your account the $200. If you are really good, Cap One actually has prime cards. In my opinion First Premier is awful. They charge you $5 per month just to report your payments to the CRA's, then you get the annual fee. They hate to give line increases. I would go with Cap One any day over 1st Premier. JMHO, Kim
What about Orchard Bank? I would ideally like an unsecured card, even if the payments/fees/charges are high...I DO NOT plan on using it ever! I have no desire to have a CC -- I just want to repair my credit.... What's my best plan of action?
Orchard puts soft inquiry on report Just tried, to see, I have lots of inquiries anyways, they check Experian in TN. Ness, I would recommend a Capital One card too, reason is, I have crappy credit, 4 derogs and for $99 dollars they gave me a $500 limit. Their Customer Service people treat you like someone they like and they don't keep the $99, you get it back after a year with interest. Why would you pay some putz $200 dollars to give you $200 in credit?!?! Sorry but thats plain not good business sense.
Soft inquiries really make no difference, right? What do you think I should do? Should I try both the secured Cap. One and the Unsecured Orchard? I am just scared I will not get approved for the unsecured and then I'll have that on my CR.
Ness, When I applied for my 1st credit card after destroying my credit, I did cap1. They offered me the same terms they offered you - $200 down, $200 line. Less than 6 months later, I had a $600 line without having to put down any add'l funds for security. A couple months ago I applied for a second cap1 card and was approved $500 line, $49 down. Keep in mind my reports are still a complete disaster (with the exception of TU, which in the past few weeks has shrunk 3 pages with all the deletions). Their customer service is great, Mr Cooke is an angel and if you handle the account well, they will reward you, like they did me. I would go with Cap1, put down the $200, earn the interest and eventually the account will be unsecured and you'll get the money back (plus interest). This is much better than getting screwed six ways from Sunday with First Premier.
Thanks Matt, I just called and re-applied for a card under the new terms for the $99 deposit with a minimum $300 LofC -- I will hear back from them in 7-10 days.... $99 is worth it to me, I would just like to start rebuilding my credit already! But has anyone had ANY luck with Orchard for the UNSECURED card?
I didn't get accepted for an unsecured from Orchard, their terms are expensive though. Cap One is alot more reasonable.
Kiyi-- Thanks for the warning, my EQ FICO score is a miserable 488 -- But there was recently a deletion, and a PAID collection acct to be noted (which ahsnt yet), and my student loans must be corrected (they are showing they're 120+ past due which they are NOT) -- So I am sure once I get the new report in a month or so (after they all had time to report the correct and updated info) my score should go up a little..... Maybe I'll wait till then before I apply for anything with all the current inaccuracies on my CR. Thanks for the advice!!!!!! I'll wait for my Cap One....
check out what people say about First Premiere Bank before you decide at Card Rating http://www.creditcardfreedom.com/re...d=First+Premier+Bank+Visa/MasterCard&offset=0
I got Orchard just a few months after my ch. 7 discharge so they do work with people with problems for sure. Whether they would approve you under your circumstances i don't know but they gave us a chance pretty darn quick. I couldn't try for Cap one as they were a creditor in my ch. 7, but would have if I could have. Orchard does report and quickly too, so they've been very useful for us to rebuild. I do carry a small balance so I show a regular payment history. Unfortunately with not so great credit, choices can be limited. But I still don't see how anyone would voluntarily pay those kind of fees for a credit card.
I had a First Premier card that started out with $250, but by the time I got the card, I only had about $28 to spend on it due to fees. Plus, their customer service is bad. I closed that account about 2 years ago. I'm still working on my credit reports, so I decided to apply for a Capital One credit card last December. They gave me a $500 limit with $49 deposit and they don't report secured. At that time, my equifax was around 538, experian was 577, and trans union was 550. Plus they only charged $29 fee. It's been a no hassle card to me and they have great customer service. Janet
Yeah, that's what they said that Id only have a $28 LofC! I'm going for CapOne for now, and maybe in a month or two, try for the Orchard Bank CC. My Equifax is 488, Experian is 555.... Hopefully after next month when some of the things I paid off this month are reported, those scores will go up! (Fingers crossed!!!!!) After about 6 months of good credit (since I have NONE) I hope to have a decent score (Im not expecting miracles) maybe in the 500's -- How pathetic is that!?!??!
