CARDHOLDER REVIEWS

Recent Credit Card Reviews by Consumers Like You

Following is a sampling of the latest consumer reviews that can be found by clicking the "Cardholder Reviews" link above. We take pride in the quantity (our site offers approximately 17,250 reviews of 928 different credit cards) and quality of the consumer reviews that can be find on our site. New reviews are added on a daily basis. The cards are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest recommended. Credit Card: Household Bank Gold MasterCard® Provided by: Household Bank Total Posts: 41 Average Rating: 1.90 Category: Regular Date posted: 5/17/2006 Review: I have been reading reviews on how this is a good starter card and how it's rebuilding credit for some, but after you keep a balance on this card for a couple of years, they will screw you over. First of all, I have had this card for 3 years and never once have they increased my credit limit, lowered my interest rate, or offered me any promotion on balance transfers. I just got a letter saying that my interest rate will be incresing to 29.99% beginning after July. I have fair credit, never missed a payment on this, and have always payed over the minimum payment. They have always turned me down for a credit increase, even after I tell them I want to transfer a balance, and every time I request a decrease in the interest rate, they give me the same answer: there is "currently not a lower rate available." I have already transferred half of my balance and they have lost a customer. I have already destroyed the card and will never use it again. They also try to tell you that they raise the interest rate from a current review of your credit report. I already had a copy from this particlular credit agency and there was nothing negative. What's funny is when I got this card my credit was worse than it is now. Best Feature: None Worst Feature: High Interest Rates, Bad Customer Service Overall Rating: 1 Benefit Rating: 1 Service Rating: 1 Recommend: No Credit Card: American Express® Platinum Cash Rebate Card (Costco) Provided by: American Express Total Posts: 20 Average Rating: 3.85 Category: Reward - Cash Date posted: 5/17/2006 Review: I love Costco, and the AMEX seemed like the next best thing. The rebate program is great; although I don't really know how it is calculated. It normally pays for the membership fee and I like their online features. Best Feature: Its rebate! Worst Feature: I'm not really sure how they calculate the rebate. Overall Rating: 4.5 Benefit Rating: 5 Service Rating: 4 Recommend: Yes Chase Platinum Visa® Provided by: Chase Total Posts: 9 Average Rating: 1.33 Category: Regular Date posted: 5/16/2006 Review: I have had this card for 3 years. It was originally a Bank One card before the Chase buy out. The tactics used by Chase are deplorable, as is their customer service regarding your concerns. I have excellent credit and have never been late or missed a payment. What does chase do to show you how much they appreciate your prompt payments: well, they take your fixed 7.9% interest rate and raise it to 11.74% (and still climbing with each statement). When I called customer service to inquire about this sudden increase, my call was shunted to a call center half-way around the world, and I was told that there was nothing I could do about it. When I told them I was thinking of closing the account, the man on the other end of the phone line asked "would you like to close it right now?" This is hands down the worst credit card experience I have ever had and the most offensive customer service anywhere. I do intend to pay this card off and close the account. I hope that by sharing my story, that all of you will be able to spare yourselves this miserable experience. Best Feature: none Worst Feature: horrible customer service, raised "fixed rate" for no reason Overall Rating: 1 Benefit Rating: 1 Service Rating: 1 Recommend: No Credit Card: HSBC Mastercard with Cash Back Rewards Provided by: HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A Total Posts: 1 Average Rating: 5 Category: Reward - Cash Date posted: 5/15/2006 Review: I have had nothing but great experiences with using the HSBC Credit Card. The best thing about the card is the cash back rewards. This card offers up to 5% cash back bonus: full 1% on first $3500 in purchases, between $3501 and $7000 in purchases receives 2% cash back, and over $7000 receives a full 5% cash back. The only problem is the cash back is limited to $300/year (first $11000 earns cash back rewards.) Best Feature: Cash Back Bonus, no annual fee Worst Feature: None Overall Rating: 5 Benefit Rating: 5 Service Rating: 5 Recommend: Yes Credit Card: Chadwicks of Boston Credit Card Provided by: World Financial Network National Bank Total Posts: 8 Average Rating: 1.88 Category: Retail Date posted: 5/4/2006 Review: I've had my Chadwicks card for about 3 years now and have never had a problem with it. In fact, it's my favorite department store-type credit card. I've found the deferred billing option to be very helpful and I've never been charged before the three months were over. In fact, I usually pay the balance during the 90 day deferred billing period so that when it does hit my account, it balances out and I pay no interest charges! I also like that the card can be used at other Redcats stores - Lerner's, Big and Tall, BrylaneHome, La ReDoute, etc. I've never had a reason to contact customer service that I can remember so I can't comment on their customer service (that's why I didn't feel comfortable giving 5 stars). My mom also got a Chadwicks card last year. She still uses it and as far as I know has had no problems. I usually use online bill payment so this may be one reason why I've had less problems than others. I've never mailed in a payment or paid by phone. Best Feature: Deferred billing, use at other Worst Feature: none so far Overall Rating: 4 Benefit Rating: 5 Service Rating: 3 Recommend: Yes Credit Card: Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® MasterCard® for College Students Provided by: Citibank Total Posts: 2 Average Rating: 4.25 Category: Student Date posted: 5/4/2006 Review: The Citi Dividend Platinum Select for Students is one of the best student credit cards out there. The card has a decent APR for college students, as well as good customer service people. In addition, Citi offers online bill pay and reminders so you can be aware of when bills are due and if you are getting close to reaching your credit line. The card's rewards system is the best part. You get 5% cash back at grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. All other places, including online retailers, you get 1%. The worst part of the rewards system is that you have to wait until you accumulate $50 to get a check. In the past it was $25 and other card issuers will send you a chek at $20 or $25. Like all MasterCards, this is a widely accepted card. In addition, it comes with zero-liability for fraudulent charges, so you don't have to worry about a lost/stolen card. Best Feature: Cash back rewards and excellent credit lines. Worst Feature: None Overall Rating: 4.5 Benefit Rating: 4.5 Service Rating: 4.5 Recommend: Yes Credit Card: Delta SkyMiles® Gold Credit Card Provided by: American Express Total Posts: 23 Average Rating: 3.35 Category: Reward - Airline Date posted: 5/3/2006 Review: Every time I try to use my miles the flights are never available when I want to go. This time I called three months in advance and still no seats available. However, if I am willing to double my miles from 25,000 to 50,000 the seats are available. Not first class either; this is for a standard ticket not even a business class ticket... Delta is wanting you to use double the points to travel on their program verses the 25,000 they sale their program to you. Instead of a trip that should only take 100,000 miles for a family of four it takes you 200,000. If they are not going to honor the tickets for 25,000, Delta should change their program and stop misleading their customers. I am ready to take legal action and I am looking on the internet to see if a case already exists but I have not found it yet. Best Feature: It is taken by almost everyone Worst Feature: Amex is in bed with bait and switch partners (Delta) password. Overall Rating: 1 Benefit Rating: 1 Service Rating: 1 Recommend: No Credit Card: Disney Visa® Card Provided by: Bank One Total Posts: 11 Average Rating: 3.36 Category: Reward - Other Date posted: 4/29/2006 Review: I signed up for this card when it was introduced. I go to Disneyland every year and by the time I get there I usually have way over $100 to spend. Disney dollars are redeemable for food, gift shops, restaurants, etc. I love going into the gift shop at the end of my trip and getting $100 worth of merchandise for free. I have never been charged a fee to use my rewards. They're great. Best Feature: Disney Dollars Worst Feature: Takes a little while to accumulate dollars. Overall Rating: 4.5 Benefit Rating: 4.5 Service Rating: 5 Recommend: Yes Credit Card: Power Rewards™ Visa® Platinum Card Provided by: Bank of America Total Posts: 2 Average Rating: 5.00 Category: Reward - Other Date posted: 4/28/2006 Review: I have what I would describe as decent credit and I recently got accepted for this card. It has a better rewards program than my other rewards card and I also like the online account layout. Its APR is the lowest of all my cards and it has the highest CL of any of my cards. I've also heard that BofA is pretty good about regular increases so that's another plus. What else can I say? This card seems to have all of the positives that I, as a credit card holder, could ask for, so I will give it a high recommendation. Best Feature: Rewards, low APR, High CL Worst Feature: Unknown Overall Rating: 5 Benefit Rating: 5 Service Rating: 5 Recommend: Yes The Cardholder Review section is a unique feature of our site and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no other organization or company that offers more consumer reviews of credit cards. It's all about consumers helping other consumers. As your might expect, this section of our site has been one of the most popular sections of our site since it was introduced in the summer of 2000. New reviews are posted on a daily basis. We hope that you will find this section of our site useful and that you will visit it on a regular basis.

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