Folks, I broke my golden rule (not to apply for any cards) and applied for the Amex Starwood card. Not only are they offering 9.99+prime (Capital One is 8.9 fixed across the board - a better deal), a $30 annual fee (Fleet and Cap One have NO ANNUAL FEE), but they insulted me with a $2,500 credit line. Guess what I did? I told them not to send the card. KEEP IT! I also disputed the inquiry. Now I know why their stock's suffering...and it's not because of the phoney commercials. I also learned that my boss (who earns upper 6 figures) doesn't settle for prestige when it comes to plastic. He carries a Bank One card. Very interesting. CardKid
At one time I only use my UNITED AIRLINES VISA CARD...(before FIRST USA)...I wasted $60/year, but I got almost free flights. I asked them to credit the $60.00 annual fee (I charged as much as $60,000/year & paid in full monthly) ...THEY SAID NO!!! SO I DUMPED THEM!!!
How is that a better deal? You're comparing apples and oranges. Of course the APR for a rewards card would be typically higher than for a non-rewards card. I had 2 free nights in Sheraton NYC and another free one in Vegas, all thanks to Amex Starwood card. Let's see if Capital One can offer you that. Again, apples and oranges. (Not to mention Fleet, which is an exceptionally inferior lender, employing every possible deceptive business practice). Bad move. So, they pissed you off. You could have converted it to a non-rewards Amex card (for example, the Optima Platinum), get an APR of a fixed 9.9% or variable P+4%, no annual fee, and the service only Amex can offer. You could have also asked the New Accounts rep to put in a request for a credit line re-evaluation, and get your credit line possibly doubled with no additional inquiry. Saar
Saar, I have to disagree with you. You said: How is that a better deal? You're comparing apples and oranges. Of course the APR for a rewards card would be typically higher than for a non-rewards card. I had 2 free nights in Sheraton NYC and another free one in Vegas, all thanks to Amex Starwood card. Let's see if Capital One can offer you that. My Reply: I guess that justifies a whole 5.49% rate difference. Also, to take advantage of free hotel stays (ie. Westin Hotel) you have to earn enough points. Did I mention that you have to get there? Sirens are going off. You said: Again, apples and oranges. (Not to mention Fleet, which is an exceptionally inferior lender, employing every possible deceptive business practice). My Reply: Hmmm. Exceptionally inferior. That's new. Moving on, I've NEVER had a problem with my Fleet Fusion card. In fact, they not only increased my limit, but they lowered my APR to compete with another lender. The web site works fine, I pay my bill online with no problems, and it's ACCEPTED EVERYWHERE. I cannot find anything deceptive or inferior about that. You said: You could have converted it to a non-rewards Amex card (for example, the Optima Platinum), get an APR of a fixed 9.9% or variable P+4%, no annual fee, and the service only Amex can offer. You could have also asked the New Accounts rep to put in a request for a credit line re-evaluation, and get your credit line possibly doubled with no additional inquiry. My Reply: I'm not interested in "could have." AMEX should have...in my opinion. With Fleet and Capital One, I didn't have to do anything. By the way, what's the service that only Amex can offer? Their reservation services? No deals there. Or, is it the FEDEX delivery of your card if it's lost or stolen? Don't loose it over the weekend. I'll pass on the $2,500 and stick with my oranges. CardKid
I am not taking any sides. But I personally like the american express gold card. I only carry 2 cards in my wallet, thats the amex gold and the amex small business gold. Yes I know both have annuals fees etc. But at least this way I won't pile on more debt, because I have to pay off every month. Also, in terms of service, amex really has a lot to offer that other cards can't even touch. A couple of features I always use are: 1)Pay the lowest price available With Best Value Guarantee,2 if you purchase an eligible item entirely with your Gold Card and see it advertised for less in print within 60 days, American Express credits you with the difference. For more information, call 1-800-557-8317. 2)Extend the warranty on U.S. purchases Extend your warranty of five years or less at no additional charge on covered items purchased entirely with the Card I buy a lot of computer stuff, and they go down in price really fast. Within a 60 day period prices sometimes drop more that 40%. And there are other ways to profit, if you frequent sites like fatwallet, techbargains, anandtech etc. you will know what I mean. But anyway, for these 2 cards I problably pay $140 in annual fees, but I normally get more than $1000 dollars back a year from american express because of the price matches. But this is just me.
Amex should have what? Apply for a non-rewards card on your behalf? I was merely pointing out that you can compare one rewards CC with another; or one non-rewards card with another. But it would make no sense to compare a sports car and a stealth bomber. Amex Starwood gives me free hotel nights as I use the card. They charged $30, but in return gave me rewards worth more than ten times that amount. Amex Blue, on the other hand, does not give me any significant rewards (though they have the MRO program), but they do offer $0 annual fee, fixed 9.9% APR, low BT offers, great customer service, best value guarantee, return protection and even a "Blue for music" and "Blue radio" web sites. It is evident that the two are among the best products in the market, each in its own category (rewards/regular). Saar
I think you should read before you apply, then you won't be insulted when they give you the card you applied for, LOL. Ummm, perhaps they did not realise they were dealing with a creditnetter - one with exceptional expectations.
I PFB'd AMEX last night. I'm certain they will call. My worst bureau is Equifax (704). They pulled Experian (742 on 3/4/02). During the conversation prior to the $2,500 approval, the representative mentioned that I recently closed several accounts. I told her that my $126k income (not including my wife's 3 nail salons), my $146k home on 6 acres that shows a $0 balance on the bureau, my excellent credit card payment history, 60% of a BMW loan paid in 3 months, a paid motorcycle loan, nearly $200k in my 401k, my $40k line of credit union credit and $15k from MBNA (not to mention a previous Optima account) at 30 years old wasn't worth more to them. I'm willing to bet that when they call, the offer will be for at least 10k. BTW: Thanks Breeze. CardKid
You know maybe it was your conceited attitude that put them off j/k of course you are a very successful person this just goes to show that "credit models" are never fair to the extremes
AMEX is a bit conservative in credit limits and granting credit increases, but I agree with Saar and others here about the benefits. I have some good cards from different banks and Amex is the only one that gives me a best value guarantee on almost anything I buy ( I have Blue and Optima Platinum). The Starwood card offers some benefits that very few cards have for $30/yr like points that can be converted at a rate of 1 point for 1 mile for various frequent flyer programs, not just on one airline like Delta or United. The only cards I know that do this are the Amex charge cards (Green, Gold, Platinum) and Diners Club, all of which cost more than $30/yr. Personally, I don't like paying annual fees so I went with the Hilton card instead, but that's just me. With regard to getting higher limits from Amex, you can always combine two Optima products and get a higher limit without wasting an inquiry.
Card Kid- Something about flies, honey, and vinegar ... I have a higher income, my house is worth 3x (and 'cause I'm in Boston, it's on 1/10th the land!), and I like my Audi more than a BMW. NONE OF IT MEANS BEANS IN THE FICO SCORING ALGORITHMS! To an underwriter, we're all a FICO score and set of ratios. Saar hit it dead-right ... rewards cards can't be compared to low-rate cards. You can't compare an 8.99% no-fee CapOne card to an airline card (Chase Continental, FUSA United, Citibank AAdvantage, Delta Skymiles) or hotel card (HHonors Visa, HHonors Amex, Starwood Amex, FUSA Marriott). They give you substantial rewards ... a low-rate card gives you just that- a low rate. There are a very few cards that break the rules -- Target Visa (9.9% with 10% rewards) and Amex Blue (9.9% + Membership Rewards) come to mind. I would lose the indignant tone and ask them directly, professionally "why the low limit ... " and see what the response is. If you have a lot of available credit you're not using ... close the accounts. A new accounts person once advised me that when they start seeing >$100k in available unused bankcard credit, they get nervous. A lot of "surprise" bankruptcies were filed in the last year - customers who were "perfect" suddenly max-ing out and going BK (can you say "margin call"). Amex is one of the few institutions (along with MBNA) that will personally, manually review your credit history and try to work with you. Lose an airline ticket while you're in Europe and see if Fleet will let you go over-limit to buy a replacement ticket while the lost ticket is being resolved... that's the kind of service Amex (and Diners) offer. Just my $0.02- mj
Follow-up: I talked with an executive office member this morning, and was approved for $14,500 ($500 shy of MBNA). The card will be in my hands by 11 AM Thursday. We discussed the benefits (ie. Buyers' Assurance). Most importantly, I discovered that American Express has an extensive small business services program. I was really impressed. With it, you can manage contacts, control inventory, and pay vendors from one site. You can take advantage of membership rewards and redeem the points to charities in 10,000 point increments to the Ronald McDonald House, March of Dimes, or other charities. Also, the reward points are not limited to just Starwood hotels and properties in their group. There are Disney rewards, cruise rewards, car rental rewards...it goes on and on. My wife and I will certainly enjoy the resources that American Express offer, particularly in the small business arena. Plus, we now have one point of contact should a problem arise. Maybe, I'll fund a Krispy Kreme' after-all (NYSE: KKD). See http://cbs.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/profile.asp?sid=173821&symb=kkd&siteid=mktw. By the way, I've never worn my emotions on my shoulders and I hope no one here would either. CardKid
CardKid, I'm so happy for your recent acquisition;it is a good thing when you get what you ask for. Sister Girl
