Ok, I was weak. I got an email and responded. "Congrats, you've been approved for a Gold Get Smart Visa with a 2k limit..." Ok, that sucks. I had a $3k limit at 16.9 when I closed my Providian Visa last June. I've got a Chase Plat. MC that just went off of it's intro rate (from 5.9 to 14.9) and I wanted to do a bal xfr. to save a few %. Has anyone been able to get upgraded to a Plat. card at application time (Aria or this new Get Smart)? I guess I'll call Tuesday to see what they can do - but not worth keeping at 20% for such a piddly rate. Any shared experience would be appreciated- mj
Additional rate information: The APR for balance transfers is 0% for the Introductory Period (THREE MONTHS). After that, the APR for balance transfers may vary and is currently 14.99%. It is determined by adding 6.99% to the Prime Rate published in The Wall Street Journal on the first business day of the previous calendar month. 9.99% VARIABLE IF YOU PAY OFF IN FULL AT 3 MONTHS...
Yeah, but what I'd like to know is what all kinds of info does that chip carry in it? I've heard a few things such as if somebody skims your card, when they go to an ATM and try to get cash, it keeps their card because it don't have a chip embedded in it. Most people smart enough to use a skimmer and make a new card in the first place would know about that. They would just use the card at stores or on line and not get stupid enough to go fiddling with ATM machines. So that sounds phoney to me to start with. If it's a smart card, then does it have the pin embedded in it so the machine wouldn't ask them for their pin. If so, that's dumb too. So what info is on it and what good is that going to do you or me? For all I know, they go out and check your school records from kindygarten and see how many times you were late and all your grades and then if you were ever tardy in school, they report it to the credit bureaus or use the info to increase your interest rate or hit you with another late fee. Yes, the above examples are dumb ones, but the point is I want to know exactly what's in those so called smart cards. I don't want to carry a card in my pocket that's smarter than me.
George - good point- 14.9 (how did I miss that??) --BUT-- that's only for the Plat. card - not the gold one. Guess I'll say "no thanks" and suffer the inquiry. -mj
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE SEEN A BALANCE TRANSFER "GO TO" RATE HIGHER THAN EVERY DAY PURCHASE RATE... SNEAKY!!!!!!!!!!
