I got Aria Portrait card in march and closed last month.I checked my credit file twice found they never reported to credit bureau.
RE: Aria Portrait T, I have to admit your the first person I have heard that has been granted the Aria Portrait (BTW, was this the card you applied for or the Aria Platinum?), that didn't first have to go through the bullshit of the horrible Persona. Didn't report?, thats strange, I was under the impression that Providian reported all their accounts to the CRA's (perhaps they screwed up). I don't know how much you will gain with a tradeline that lasted only 4 months, but if worst comes to worse and they refuse to report this info send copies of your statements to the CRA's and they'll insert it themselves. In any case, if your credit is good you needn't bother with this sub-prime card (thats what the Portrait is after all). Do yourself a favor and look for a 'classic' visa from Capital One or Citibank.
RE: Aria Portrait Besides high interest, what's wrong with the Persona card? I've had no problem... yet.
RE: Aria Portrait Let me count the ways Annual Fee $89 Processing Fee $49 $250 starting limit...yipeeee NO GRACE PERIOD and of course the 23.99% APR, which is only the beginning rate, Providian has demonstrated conclusively that they will use any means to jack it up to over 30% Its an outright piece o crap sub sub-prime card that pales in comparison to the sub prime offerings of Capital One/Orchard/FCNB. Its few positive attributes are that its relatively easy to obtain (but then all sub sub-prime's are) and limits are increased quickly.
RE: Aria Portrait My credit is good(three yrs and four monthes)So i don't care they did not report.By the way i checked all three CRA's.Steven and LP, thanks for your reply.On March I applied aria and Nextcard at the same time, Aria given me only 1000 limit (no grace perion ,19.99 APR '59 annual fee)and Nextcard given me 3000 limit and 13.5 Apr.
RE: Aria Portrait Sorry ,I should say no grace period for portrait.But I think Aria just changed the term for Portrait .Now there is no annual fee and has grace period,but APR is still 19.9%.
RE: Aria Portrait I am not discounting the experience of others (I've learned not to ignore the ways others have been burned the hard way), but Aria Persona has worked out well for me. The application fee was $49. The yearly fee is $49. I received an initial limit of $1000 in Nov., and have received 2 increases since then of $1000 each for a $49 fee. The interest rate remains the same - high - but it hasn't gone up. Maybe how bad one's credit is plays a role in this deal, but besides the interest rate, I've been pleased.
RE: Aria Portrait Pardon, but there has been no recent change on the Portrait's part, at least as far as the terms for the three you mentioned. I've checked the terms on their site any number of times this year. As I mentioned in an earlier post I believe Providian rarely grants this card because they receive no yearly fee, application fee and no extra interest from the lack of a grace period. The really shitty thing is Providian markets this card as a "prime" card when even just a cursory glance at its terms cries out SUB-PRIME. You did good by cancelling it. Now the Nextcard is an obvious prime card with many features, about the only negative aspect about it is the two-month billing cycle, whose purpose is to squeeze even higher finance charges unless you pay your bill in full each month.
RE: Aria Portrait I got the Aria persona VISA with 0% introductory rate for 6 months, $89 annual fee with a $500 limit. Yeah, it sucks, but I've had two charge-offs in the last two years, so I'll go for it. I was never told anything about a processing fee or $250 limit, so maybe I got lucky, who knows?
RE: Aria Portrait I know a few people who have the persona card, and while they complain about the interest, they otherwise sem to like the card. No problems with it. My sister just got the portrait card from them recently. I believe they are issued thru providian.
RE: Aria Portrait While it's true it may not be the best card around , people who can not get prime credit cards seem to have no complaints. Except the interest rates. I think they're good choices for those who can't qualify for the prime cards. Wise useage, and timely payments will be benefitual and enable them to qualify for better deals in the future. I think it's important to becareful with the higher interest cards, use them wisely and make sure to mail those payments early.
