Has anyone had success with retention in getting a grace period for the regular Visa card? I called Providian customer service and they said they couldn't give me a grace period because I didn't use the card for over a year. I told them I didn't use their card because I had a bunch of better cards with grace periods. So, the problem is that I don't want to use this card unless they give me a grace period and they don't want to give me one until I use the card.
I've gotten the same runaround even from the executive offices. I've now got 5 other cards, all with better terms and graces. so, I just paid off my providian cards and I'm keeping baby credit balances on them and charging a Pepsi a month. that one charge a month will let me continue to get line increases every 4 months. and that will help me keep my ratios in line. My prov. visa is my oldest recent tradeline so I can't cancel it. but I can discontinue giving interest
Providian is also my oldest tradeline so I really don't want to cancel the card. I'll wait for one more year and if they still don't give me a grace period I'll cancel since my Blue and Discover should hit the 3 year mark by then (max FICO points!!!). Even then I would still feel bad cancelling because Providian was the only bank that gave me a card when no one else would.
So, let's see... Providian told me to not use my card for 4 months so that I won't accrue interest with my no-grace-period benefit (rentention rep said this). But if I don't use the card for four months, my account won't be eligible for any account benefits due to non use. So, I can either not use the card and still get no grace period or I can use the card, accrue interest in the mean time and hope they give me a grace period at the end of 4 months. That sounds like highway robbery to me. (We'll think about giving you your wallet back if you give us another $20 first...) Forget it. I'm closing the account as soon as I get a matching credit line from another issuer. Marci
