So, my wife came across an article on Yahoo the other day highlighting the worst credit card available.
They choose the First Premier Bank Mastercard. Here are some of the [low]lights about this card:
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Up to a $95 processing charge (varies)
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$75 annual fee
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APR of 23.9 – 59.9%
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$11 charge for paying your bill over the phone
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Credit limit increase fee (something I never heard of) equal to 50% of the increase. So, get a $500 limit increase and you owe them $250!!!
Thankfully, because of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, during the first year after a card is issued, the issuer cannot charge fees that total more than 25% of the credit limit on that card. Meaning that they will have to give you a $680 limit in order to charge the full $170.
But that’s still $170 that you owe for doing NOTHING!!! That’s on top of the nearly 60% interest rate! And somebody please tell me what a “credit limit increase fee” is? They really plan on increasing your credit limit, and then charging you 50% of that amount?
Everybody, please burn any advertisements you get from this company (unless they are emails – wouldn’t want to have to charge a replacement monitor at 60%)! This is the reason why everyone must get out of credit card debt now!!!
They picked the Platinum Zero Secured Visa card as their runner-up. This gem from Applied Bank includes:
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A $9.95 MONTHLY ($119.40/year) maintenance fee
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$35 late fee (I personally have no problem with late fees, since you should be paying your bill on time anyway!)
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No grace period, so interest accrues immediately
I’ve never heard of a credit card that doesn’t offer a grace period on purchases! Well, if the $119.40 maintenance fee wasn’t enough reason for you to stay away, that sure is!
Ever had a card this bad?
I remember a long time ago I had a card like this! I was desperate to build up my credit, and since I kept getting turned down, I figured it was my only option. I think I had a $300 limit and had to pay $179 in fees. So, by the time the card arrived in the mail, I only had $121 left to spend! Needless to say I got rid of that card rather quickly!
What about you?
Have you ever had a card this bad?
If not, what was your worst one?
If you had/have bad credit, would you pay an annual or monthly fee in order to get a credit card to improve it?
photo by Andres Rueda
I have NEVER had a credit card remotely in the realm of these. However, I will state that I love my Starwood American Express for travel rewards. Starwood has nice hotels all over the world and points can be used to transfer to any airline. It’s great fro my family.
They can be tempting, especially to those who are trying to (re)build credit! At least you have a card that you can take advantage of!
I had this one too, that is one after paying full on this card I never uses it again instead I just kept it in a safe place so I will not tempt to use it and planning to surrender it by next month.
I have never had a credit card that bad but I had a bad one in college. There was an application fee, annual fee, and a registration fee. The interest rate was in the 20’s and it billed me for everything. First Premier and Next Millenimum are the worst credit card companies out there.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who signed up for one of those cards in my younger days!
LOL. There are a lot of us out there.
This is sort of related. I will never never ever have a credit card from American Express. Why you ask? I used to do tech support for businesses which also included helping work from home employees of said business. An employee of American Express flipped out on me and screamed and yelled at me for 30 minutes like a 5 year old having a melt down because his mommy wouldn’t give him an ice cream. All because he had to go buy his own 15 foot ethernet cable. So in this case, my refusal to ever get an Amex card had nothing to do with interest rates or balance transfer but everything to do with the fact that an employee representing the company treated me like with such disrespect and hostility that they lost my business forever.
I actually think this is very relevant. The type of service you get from a company has an impact on your level of satisfaction with them!
Even if the rates/fees were to your liking, they lost your business all the same!
“Credit limit increase fee”? You’ve got to be kidding. Most credit card companies are falling over themselves to increase credit so they can collect more interest. Although at first blush this looks like a vicious attack on the consumer (which it is), it’s in fact a self-inflicted lobotomy, placing a huge barrier to increased credit limit and the resulting profits they could make from it.
Yeah, I was really shocked when I read that one! I guess they are assuming that the type of people who apply for these cards, wouldn’t be too discriminating when it came to the credit limit increases and paying that fee.
The worst one for me is the Visa Golf Card – the reason I hate it is because they shut my sweet program down!! I used it for business, so used it quite often and they had a very low amount needed to get a free round of golf and a half dozen Nike golf balls! After my 6th free round of golf, they decided to shut down the program. I’m sure others were loving this card too, so they had to turn off the faucet!
You might be the only person who’s worst card was a great one that was terminated! Ha!
I know, right? Well, we don’t carry balances – so our cards are used for rewards; and man, I had a great thing going for about a year or so! 😉
great info. I , personally am not an advocate of credit cards.
There are alternative ways to buying a house besides using a credit card to establish consistency. How can NOT owing anyone be bad credit and owing someone be good credit. ridiculous. It is the biggest capitolistic trick played on Americans. I do not own a credit card, didnt have one when I bought my first house OR cars.
And credit card companies and banks ar the biggest gangstas and thieves out there.
No thanx. If I cant cash and carry, or use alternative means to buy a house, then I dont need to. Current housing market and economy is a PRIME example.
PPl dont stop paying their bills because they dont want to, most stop because they cant. And the banks backed the American ppl into a corner and then tried to make it appear as if they just dont want to pay..whose the gangsta here? whose the thief?
America, youve been bamboozled.
Deatha! When I saw your name, I wondered if this was the songbird I knew from NJ!
When I went to buy a car, they told me that I needed a cosigner because I didn’t have a lot of credit! I said the same thing, “you won’t loan me money because I don’t owe anyone else?”. But I soon came to realize that it’s really about establishing a track record. I would definitely want to know that you’ve borrowed and successfully paid back money in the past before I loan you some today.
I know it’s backwards thinking – but so is the idea of borrowing money that you don’t have, to buy something that you don’t need! We really have to fix our priorities…and it seems like you’ve already done that!
It sounds like you have a great perspective on credit and borrowing.
Thanks for commenting!
All of them! 🙂
I think the highest APR I every had was 11.9%. If they went any higher I’d close them.
That takes a lot of discipline to set a number and stick to it! I’m also impressed that you were in a position to close the accounts once they crossed the line that you set! Most people would owe too much money to be able to pay it off, and they’d be at the mercy of the banks!
The worst c/c I ever had was my first one. The interest was 15%, the limit the bank gave me was increased to 5K within 6 months eventhough I was making almost nothing back then. And of course my spending habits were out of control. I think I just don’t like c/c… any of them!
I think that’s a sure sign that they are looking to take advantage of you…they raise your credit limit without good reason!
Oh my gosh, those cards are awful! I thought the ones I got in college with the 49 dollar annual fee were bad.
I am aghast. If I was desperate to build up credit, I probably would be tempted though. However, if I was that desperate, I probably couldn’t afford the annual fee though!
I wonder how many people who apply for these cards even realize how terrible they are.
The bad thing is, you don’t even have to “afford” the annual fee – they just tack it on to the card. So, just keep enough room, and stay in debt forever!
The worst card was probably the first one for me … and then the 2nd and the 3rd and so on. If I’d never received that first card I wouldn’t have ever got into the habit of spending what I didn’t have! At the same time I could say that this behavior has taught me “character” as dealing with it is something I will never forget. I’m a debit man now! 🙂
absolutely..If I cant buy it with my debit, then I dont need it that bad.
I teach my children the same. Creit cards are the wprst thing that could have happened to the American ppl. Wonder who came up with it?
Good point! I’m sure many people feel the same way. I definitely know people who regret ever getting a credit card.