Generations: win some, lose some...

Hi all,

I applied this weekend for the Generations Bank credit card for three reasons:

1. Some CreditNet folk stated they got this card with 620 credit scores, and decent balance transfers, to boot!

2. They seemed to pull CRAs that were region specific. My region is Equifax and I wanted them to pull Equifax.

3. They don't seem to report their tradeline to the CRAs, which is a nice way to help a utilization issue on a credit score.

I had hoped to get a single digit BT rate (5.9% to 6.9%), and balance transfer my $7000 car loan there (it is now at 17.25%, and with negative equity in it, I cannot get a bank refinance without cash down). If I BT'd my car loan to Generations, I could have paid off the installment loan, gotten my car title in my hands, lowered my interest rate, and hidden the credit line from the CRAs. Good plan, right? Well, the reality is:

1. I was approved with a score (from their files on me) of 687. That's right, from the guy's mouth, 687. I called to negotiate better terms and was told that "all they could do for a credit file with my score" was a $1000 limit card with a balance transfer offer to take it to $8000, if I chose to BT $7000. The balance transfer apr? 15.9%!!! The credit analyst kept reiterating that that was the best he could do with "my score". I thought 680 was prime?

So, I told him that my highest current apr was 9.9 and lowest was 3.9 and that it woudn't make sense for me to BT to a card with 15.9%. No dice. He said the closest I'd get to even 9.9% apr was in two years (!), afer a yearly review and after a one year drop to some apr somewhere in between. He said that my credit score, pulled from Trans Union, was low because of excessive inquiries (this is true, with 7 in last 6 months and 17 in the last year). But, this brings me to point number...

2. They weren't supposed to pull from TU!!! Every state in the southeast on John Shimmer's site had Equifax as the preferred CRA for Generations, not TU! Arrrggghhhh! I'm officially on the wagon now.


3. The hidden credit line is tempting but to move a car from 17.2 to 15.9 isn't quite what I had hoped for. I'm tempted to turn down the card since by the time my two year 9.9% rate arrives, I'll have paid the car off. But, on the other hand, I could BT $8000 to them to get the credit line, and then BT it right back to Citibank and have a nice large hidden credit line for other emergencies, or a new Generations Bank credit anaylst, whichever comes first.


What would you guys do? Keep the card or can it?


For Generations card holders, have any of you had any luck in negotiating better terms? This guy would not budge and he seemed to be the only credit analyst there. Does anyone know how large this bank is?

 

Sorry, Sam. I should have asked the Georgia expert first.

I'm glad that you agree that the rates are awful for that score. I just kept saying "huh?!?" everytime he mentioned "with a score like yours".

Oh well. I will accept the offer and BT myself a nice credit line. To bad Generations isn't on PlanetFeedback yet.


Btw, he did say that I had to have employment verification and income proof faxed to him for the final go ahead.

 

Thanks, Maurice. There's a $7500 minimum and I'm at $6800 now. For the longest time, they didn't do my state, but now I see they do. I still may call to see if they'll take my loan.