About three weeks ago Providian upgraded my mastercard to gold and gave me a $1,000 CL increase. They told me I would get the card in two weeks, so I've been a little concerned this week that the new card hadn't arrived. When I called them today and the system read my balance and credit information I was surprised they gave me another $200 increase out of the blue. When I spoke to the rep on the phone, she told me that the gold cards take 30 to 45 days, and my new card hadn't been mailed yet. I was glad to know it wasn't just lost in the mail.
If you don't get the new card in a timely manner, you may want to ask if they changed the "agent bank" from the classic card to the gold card. I had that happen when I got an upgrade from a classic to gold. It took 6 weeks for me to get my card, and nearly that long for me to find a representative who actually knew why.
Hi Dave, Providian has a policy of sending cards out in 30 - 45 days unless you pay a fee for express delivery. The rep you originally spoke to was supposed to tell you this and sell you the express delivery. With Providian - anything for a buck! As to the $200, I don't have a clue.
I can't even see paying those express fees even for a new account. I certainly wouldn't pay one to get a different piece of plastic for the same account.
Dave, Providian has different "banks" that issue the different cards. So, one "agent bank" issues some of the classic cards, and another "agent bank" will issue some of the gold cards. I don't know if this is true in your case, but it was in mine. Before I had the change, I'd demand the gold card and I keep getting a classic one. After my 3rd calssic card, I finally got to a supervisor who said that I needed to have my agent bank changed in order to get the gold card. He said it had even been noted on my account during a previous call, but that person never followed through with the change. Anyway, he did it and I got my gold card 2 weeks later.
Gee I love Providian. I called them back to ask Marci's "agent bank" question. Of course the person on the phone had no idea what I was talking about. At the end of the call they always say that their goal is customer service and yadda yadda yadda and did they answer all my questions. I got bold and said no, they didn't and I had meant for some time to call and ask about increasing the credit limit on my visa gold. The woman typed something on her computer and gave me a $1,000 CL increase. So, now I have: Providian Gold Visa - 36 months - $8,898 limit, 15.9% APR no grace Providian Gold Mastercard (well I don't actually have the new card yet) - 12 months - $2,830 limit, 19.8% APR, 25 day grace I just love these guys!
rotflol! Dang, I should have said "no"! I'm surprised re the agent bank thing. Few people knew when I brought it up to them.
Dave, ROFLAO is right! I called these guys twice in the last week to "warm them up" for my upcoming battle to lower my apr. and increase my limit. The 2nd rep in retention told me that a credit limit increase is in the works for me. I care so little about my Providian card, because I don't really need it, that I never get real aggresssive witht the reps. The next time - when asked if they answered all my questions - the answer will be NOOOO!!! Thanks
Dave, ROFLAO is right! I called these guys twice in the last week to "warm them up" for my upcoming battle to lower my apr. and increase my limit. The 2nd rep in retention told me that a credit limit increase is in the works for me. I care so little about my Providian card, because I don't really need it, that I never get real aggresssive witht the reps. The next time - when asked if they answered all my questions - the answer will be NOOOO!!! Thanks
Dave, Who did you call at Providian to get your APR lowered? I read your post earlier and decided to call and see if I could get my APR lowered. The rep told me that wasn't a feature of the card and couldn't be done. Your help would be appreciated. Manny
Call back and speak to another rep. Thats a load of hoo "not a feature of the card". What is? the APR or lowering it? Do you have a secured card? That would make sense if it were secured. Or pre-paid/check card maybe. -Dave
DaveLV, Congrats on the progress. This has really got me thinking about something. My wife has a Providian Card. She has had it for about 2 years and every couple of months they just give her credit line increases. She always pays her balance off every month. I have cards from my banking institution that I have had for two years. They never raise my lines of credit unless I apply for it. Why is this? I am just wondering because I am in good standing also. Do regular banks that we keep are checking accounts have a policy against them?
Anything for you, my friend. Their retention number is 800-215-7318. Providian, Household/Orchard and Capital One all told me that lowering the rate was not a "feature" of the cards I have. Providian and Household retention lowered rates for me (Providian has done so TWICE just since March) and I got my Capital One rate lowered through planetfeedback.
Hey Dave & Nave, My Providian is an unsecured Gold Visa. I opened the account in Sept 200 with a $1000 c/l. Since then, I have had the annual fee waived and the c/l has increased to $3000. However, at this point I'm not really interested in more credit but a lower APR. Thanks for your help. I'll call retention first thing Saturday morning. Dave, have you heard from Mr. Brown yet? Good luck!!! Manny
Be careful - often the terms on a CC from your banking institution include the fact that they can take all the money in your account if you default for some reason - scenario: you have direct deposit - you're traveling out of town - in a serious accident, and hospitalized in another state - you miss a payment. They freeze your account. All your money is in there, and you cannot stop it from going in there. Bad scene!! breeze
Manny -- not officially, but check this thread: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&pgnum=3&postid=61304#post61304
Ok, Eureka, I'm now a Providian Retention Department success story. I called the number posted in this thread. The customer service guy sounded friendly enough, so I started my spiel: "Hi, I've had this card a few months, and you can see I've kept it in perfect shape. My problem is that my wife just got another card with a much more favorable APR, so I was thinking of canceling this one since it's so high. I guess that's why they forwarded me to you. Making matters even worse, we have friends who have a Providian Gold card who have I think a 17% APR, and..." At that point he cut off my rambling and said, "Oh, I can get you that, sir. The 16.99% rate is the best our company offers, and I'm willing to do that if you'll stay with us. Also, you'll be up for a credit line increase review next month, but I can go ahead and get you the lower APR right now." I thought and thought and thought about his offer for about 1 second. After that lengthy deliberation, I answered, "Sure, thanks, I guess I'll stay with Providian then. I thought I'd called to say goodbye, but I guess I'm saying hello." Him: "No problem, sir, we appreciate your business, and I'm here for customer satisfaction." Me: "Well, you succeeded there, Bruce, I really appreciate that." Him: "No problem, sir. Have I answered everything you needed this morning?" Me (remembering the advice to say no, but thinking I'll go for the credit line increase next month, per Bruce): "Yes you have, thanks again." Him: "Well, thank you for calling Providian, and have a nice day." That's the way it went for me. Your mileage may vary, but I'll bet if you try my opening paragraph word for word, you'll probably succeed. The script wasn't provided by Lexington, Schroll, Junum, or Bauer, alas, but it seemed to work anyway. Doc
