I apologize if I seemed a little edgy or impatient in earlier posts. It's because I'm a little in disbelief at getting a prime card. I still won't believe it until I see it. My attitude is evidence that I've been so intimidated in the past by collection agencies and cras, errors on my reports, denials for credit, my own shear ignorance about credit, etc., that after working to correct, clean-up, whatever it took to bring scores up, I still feel shaky about getting credit. Anyway, I've become well informed by reading all of your posts. I hope I have contributed or can contribute as well. Thanks.
what the hell is a prime card? I see this all the time and sub-prime as well..Where is the changing point?
Prime: MBNA Quantum, American Experess Blue, Citibank, etc. All with low APR's, no fees, no b.s. Sub-Prime: First Premier, Orchard Bank, Providian, FCNB, Net 1st, etc. All w/ high raping aprs, high annual fees, monthly account fees, processing fees, application fees, just plain FEES! I'm sure others will elaborate more.
Oh Ok here is what me and wife got 4 cards. 1.)2 Discover Cards $6,000 16.99% F $4,000 14.99%F 2.)Providian $5,400 16.90% 3.) National City Gold $4,000 13.49% Variable 4.)Next Card $6,000 15.99% Variable 5.)Citi-Bank Platinum Select $2,500 8.40% Variable Just got approved for 2 more cards citi-Aadvantage Gold $5,000 16.?? Variable Siliver $6,500 16.?? Variable But going to combine the 2 and have them added to my platinum select card at 8.40% or atleast praying..No annual fee's except for the 2 new citi's and Providian which was waived this year and just got a $3,000 increase coming... What ones to pay off and get rid off when i get the extra 11k on my citi platinum? My score 673 Her score 633
How is Providian/GetSmart a subprime card? My interest rate is a Fixed 7.99%--Has been that way over two years. My BOA Plat is 9.9 and my MBNA LOC is 13.9. I think Providian is prime. H
That was the other part that I was hoping someone else could touch on. Yes Providian may have prime cards and rates, but they are a sub-prime bank....meaning they cater to those who have had major credit problems in the past. Same goes for Capital One...all of their cards for the most part aren't all that great with the exception of their Platinum card. You have to fight them just to get respectable rates on their other cards. Now on the other hand, there are prime banks out here that have sub-prime rates (in reference to BofA and MBNA that you mentioned). It's all crazy. You can be with a prime bank and have sub-prime rates and you can be with a sub-prime bank and have prime rates. It all boils down to the definition of Prime. Prime (prim) adj. 1. First in quality, importance, rank, or time. <Providian doesn't fit this in my opinion> -OR- Prime Rate: The Prime Rate is the interest rate charged by banks to their most creditworthy customers (usually the most prominent and stable business customers). The rate is almost always the same amongst major banks. Adjustments to the prime rate are made by banks at the same time; although, the prime rate does not adjust on any regular basis. The rates reported below are based upon the prime rates on the first day of each respective month. The last reported rate is: 6.00% <your rate w/ Providian is pretty darn close to this> Effective September 18, 2001
Bill B, Definitely get rid of one of the Discover cards. Then either Providian or NextCard. Keep the lowest rates, and focus on banks that will negotiate with you, like Citibank. Providian has both prime and subprime cards, but there's no connection. That is, you can never turn your subprime Providian card into a prime Providian card. That's just another reason that Providian is a subprime bank, even if they do issue platinum cards.
O yes those are my credit limits i listed i owe nextcard $0 and providians account has been open for 38 months i may pay them off and keep it open for the length of account open
Be careful to take into consideration which card is your oldest tradeline. You may not want to close that one as it could negatively impact your scores. Rather, just "ice" it and don't use it.
