I agree, that card has a double whammy on it: it suggests that the holder shops primarily at Kmart and it also has the stigma of being Capital One. This one should definitely be only as either a mail/phone order card or a beginning/repairing credit acct. I imagine the same thing goes for the Walmart card even though I don;t know who offers it. There are some places that everybody does shop, but it is not somewhere you want to brag about. Just my (admittedly) snobbish opinion.
WAL*MART M/C is issued by CHASE... It is WEIRD to see a CAPITAL ONE/K-MART card being use for stuff at WAL*MART...
It's funny how tastes change over time, I'm sure that design was intended to impart prestige. The cards that I use on a daily basis are the Gold AMEX and a Gold Mastercard from a credit union (for those times when they just don't take American Express). I think the Gold look is very eighties and passe, so they both seem ugly to me, or just plain silly. From a financial services point of view, however, they work quite well, so I just keep using them.
I agree w/ you regarding the KMart card. Now I'll admit that I didn't get approved for it but maybe I should be relieved. I know it's snobby but I wouldn't want to look like one of KMart's best customers.
I think the most uncool card I have is my Credit Unions Classic Visa card. It's bright flourescent orange! I opened the envelope that it came in and was blinded! I activated the card, put it BACK in the envelope (it's just too bright) and put it in the sock drawer. Luckily I don't have to use this card. I only have it for overdraft protection.
I have to say the FNBM gold card is my most "uncool" card. I agree that if the dollar store had a gold card---that is definately what it would look like!
See how people have different opinions. I love the color orange and try to include it on as many things as I can. But as a guy, there aren't too many places where bright orange can be considered good taste. I even have orange walls in my kitchen and a real bright orange sink in bathroom. I know they aren;t in good taste and look somewhat passe, but I just enjoy the color --it cheers me up and makes me happy lol.
The FCNB Mastercard is not so cool, plus it is thinner than others so it feels cheap. Surprisingly, I just got a Providian Gold and it looks pretty cool (if only the word Providian was smaller.)
on the walmart card note... i have a walmart retail card... the front of it has a bunch of happily smiling walmart associates with those stupid blue aprons on with the big yellow smiley buttons. makes me want to abuse the card everytime i go there and they're out of something they should NEVER run out of...like WHITE BREAD or PLUNGERS briana
my most "uncool" card... definitely, the Capital One/Carnival MC... it has a big color picture of a Carnival Ship on the background. People look at me like I am insane whenever I use it. It makes me laugh when they ask me for my ID-- I think they are suspicious that someone my age would be a "cruiser."
Hehehe, Kit, that's funny. Ok, my most embarrassing card is the GOLD KMART MASTERCARD. It strikes me that pairing "Gold" with "Kmart" imparts a miserably failed attempt to impress somebody, hehe. It's like, "WHOA, DUDE, YOU HAVE A G-O-L-D KMART MASTERCARD, WOO WOO." Everything about it seems third-rate to me: a) GOLD... "This guy can't get a Platinum card, so he's stuck in the 80s." b) Kmart... "This guy isn't hip enough to shop at Target or smart enough to shop at Wal-Mart." c) MasterCard... "This guy could never qualify for American Express. This card is good for one thing, though... joking around. I've used it quite a few times, and as I've pulled out the card and presented it to the cashier, I've said something like, "I just wanted to impress you with my Gold Kmart card today." This has never failed to elicit a few laughs (at my expense, ahem). Doc
I am right with you psychDoc...hahahahaha!! I have had to turn the card OVER when I use it because Im so embarrased, but for awhile it was my highest credit line, so if I wanted to buy anything over *ahem* $200.00, I had to use that one, hahaha, I felt so trashy. The cashiers just KNOW my credit sucked if I was forced to use my Kmart or Kmart Gold, (yes, I had both, and solicited for Platinum, but Kmart and Platinum status is redundant.) Jamee
oh, one more disgustlingy ugly card is Orchard with the freakin' green leaves, I had to put that one in the trash. It screams subprime.
Do you think that the average person, not a creditnetter or someone especially interested in credit would know the lack of status or subprime status of some of these cards that we make fun of?
hahaha, probably not !!! They probably dont even give a care less, they just want you out of their line to move on to the next person. hahaha
I think that is the problem sometimes. That people outside of particularly vocation or hobby don't know the status or lack of status that those in the know sort of take for granted. They make confuse an amex plat or quantum with a kmart mc, just like some people confuse Univ of PA (penn) with PA State Univ (Penn State)--and since the quality, exclusivity, and cost of these things differ greatly it is sometimes very upsetting when people don;t know the differences.
I think the average credit card holder just wants a larger limit and lower payments. They want to max their card and never have to pay it back...
Maybe I don't count b/c I have always been interested in ccs but when I was a cashier I DID notice people's cards. Not the run of the mill BofA or Discover, etc. but I did notice Cap1 and Provididan(didn't think highly of these cards) and I was extremely jealous of the Fidelity Advantage cardholders. The card made the person look like he/she was wealthy enough to have substantial investments. I don't even know if the card is around anymore or if it was a debit card. I also noticed cards that I hadn't seen before like when Nordstom issued their Visa. Kind of made the customers nervous though if they noticed I was too interested in their cc. I guess that makes sense though w/ all the fraud that happens.
Well here's the bottom line from what I noticed: Before I started my credit repair, ect. all I knew where a few things. 1. Anything with Platinum on it was considered to be TOP NOTCH, particularly the AMEX Platinum card. When I worked at Macy's we would RUN CIRCLES around anyone who possed either that card or Presidents Macy's card when shopping! The theory behind that was anyone shopping with these cards was going to spend lots of money and it held true every time. 3. Anyone who did heavy advertising late night on odd ball channels w/ shady actors was considered to be pathetic and that people with messed up credit were the ones posessing these cards (Providian, Cross Country, etc.). Now lets all face it, no one wants an ugly card. That's just a fact. What I've noticed is that if card companies want to increase their business, they have to come out with a snazzy card. Take Providian for example. Their business was doing well but then they came out with the smart card. Everyone wanted one! Providian was still Providian but it didn't matter. Same for AMEX Blue. Now the lastest is probably Discover. They are for the most part not a very good credit card company to do business with BUT, now that they have that new 2go card, I be you people are trying to get it left and right. Hell...I was even considering trying to get that card, and I hate Discover! LOL...
