Money Tips: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer (cont’d.)

Posted On: April 1, 2006

Guest: stilltrying
Post subject: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:09 am

Here are some more suggestions:
http://www.indexcreditcards.com
http://www.consumer-action.org/press/articles/2005_credit_card_survey/
http://www.consumer-action.org/press/articles/2005_credit_card_survey/#Topic_06
http://www.consumer-action.org/press/articles/2005_credit_card_survey/#Topic_08
http://www.consumer-action.org/downloads/english/CC_Issue_2005.pdf
http://www.epinions.com/Credit_Cards
“Ten Good Cards”: http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=139513

Another suggestion would be Nordstrom:
http://about.nordstrom.com/aboutus/credit/visa/visa_tc.asp
http://about.nordstrom.com/aboutus/credit/SignatureVisa/signature_visa_tc.asp
For some people, their version of “making it” — of finally achieving a goal that represents credit success — is being approved for an American Express card. For me, “making it” is being approved for a USAA card and a Nordstrom credit card. I was approved earlier this year for USAA (my Equifax report is my best and cleanest report). But hopefully some day I’ll have a good enough Ex report to be approved for a Nordstrom’s card. I have consistently read that their service is nothing less than outstanding. I literally have never read a single bad thing about Nordstrom’s credit cards. There are some reviews here: http://premiumcreditcard.cardratings.com/partners/links/cardholders/details.asp?idmin=9839&tempid=124
You can find additional reviews for Nordstrom’s credit cards if you perform a search at this forum and at http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?s=&act=Search&f= (Under “Search Where”, click on “Credit Forum”. You’ll be able to get a lot of results just doing a search using only the word “Nordstrom”)

Last edited by stilltrying on Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:00 am; edited 6 times in total

Guest: stilltrying
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:14 am

I am very intrigued by Town North Bank:Quote:
http://www.tnnb.com/
http://www.tnnb.com/About%20Us/
http://www.tnnb.com/About%20Us/Career%20Opportunities/
http://www.tnnb.com/About%20Us/Letter%20from%20the%20President.asp
We are proud to be Texas-owned and independent since we first opened our doors in 1972

Town North Bank is one of the largest independent banks in North Dallas.

TNB Card Services specializes in meeting the needs of credit unions and their members and is one of the most respected credit and debit card providers for credit unions and other financial institutions in the United States. From our centrally located home base in Dallas, TNB Card Services has successfully expanded nationally by providing a comprehensive array of products and services for credit unions in 23 other states. For 2004, all-time high processing levels of $2.55 billion in retail sales and servicing of 1.06 million credit and debit accounts were recorded.

Quote:
http://www.cumemberscard.com/tnb/
http://www.cumemberscard.com/tnb/CreditCardProducts.asp
http://www.cumemberscard.com/tnb/custom/disclosure1.asp
http://www.cumemberscard.com/tnb/custom/disclosure2.asp

Last edited by stilltrying on Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:55 am; edited 1 time in total

Guest: stilltrying
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:22 am

Two more possibilities that (in my opinion) sound promising:
Rainier Pacific Bank
http://www.rainierpac.com/
http://www.rainierpac.com/uploads/documents/VISA_Comparison_Chart.pdf
Quote:
http://www.hoovers.com/rainier-pacific-financial/–ID__125259–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
Overview

Rainier Pacific Financial Group was formed in 2003 as the holding company for Rainier Pacific Bank, which serves Pierce County, Washington through about a dozen branches located south of Seattle. The community-oriented savings bank, which converted from a credit union in 2001, primarily writes commercial mortgages and multifamily residential loans, (about 30% and 25% of its loan portfolio, respectively), along with consumer loans. The company also offers various insurance and investment products, including an online brokerage service. Rainier Pacific Financial’s stock began trading on Nasdaq in October 2003.

From the “Ten Good Cards” list:
Commerce Bank
http://www.commerceonline.com
http://www.commerceonline.com/about_commerce/index.cfm
http://bank.commerceonline.com/personal_banking/index.cfm
http://bank.commerceonline.com/personal_banking/visaPlatinumCC.cfm

I wish I knew more about this bank, but this thread (below) is about all I can find that has customer feedback on this bank. But what is here sounds very positive:
“Fee Free Visa from Commerce Bank”
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=119677

Last edited by stilltrying on Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:57 am; edited 2 times in total

Guest: stilltrying
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:51 am

Then, as hesiden suggested, there is also the credit union route:
Quote:
How to join a credit union:
“Credit Union Access!”: http://creditunionaccess.com/

“CU Matchup”: http://www.howtojoinacu.org/

“National Credit Union Administration”: http://www.ncua.gov/ConsumerInformation/index.htm

“YOUR FAVORITE CREDIT UNIONS!”
http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14799

Guest: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:41 am

Dont forget our popular “Card Reports” section here:

http://www.cardratings.com/cardrepfr.html

Good luck and let us know how things turn out…
_________________
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
http://www.cardratings.com
(501) 663-0314

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Money Tips: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer (cont’d.)

Posted On:

Guest: fenster
Post subject: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:07 pm

Nathan wrote:
Anyone find any good issuers other than the basics; BofA, MBNA, Chase, AMEX, HSBC, Citi, National City, credit unions…and the notoriously bad Cap1 and Providian?

E*Trade Financial, a real class act of a bank. Back in 2003, it wasn’t necessary to have an account with them to apply for their platinum card. Today? You’ve to check.

With E Trade you can expect below 10% fixed APR (if your score remains fairly stable), no fee for BTs and a high limit.

Quote:
how does RBS view other debts? Do they get shaky in the knees with some overall exposure level? What about Wells? The reason I ask is I float anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 at any given time and AMEX, Citi, Chase, BofA are the ones that don’t seem to quiver.

Yes, they do “get shaky at the knees”, they’re a conservative bank who will regard your flash as a liability.
_________________
beware of everything

Guest: fenster
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:30 pm

By the way, with glutinous corporate cannibals like BofA and the anti Christ Chase, the days of big monopolist, manipulative trusts are makin’ a come back. Choice, the bedrock of our market economy system, is being eviscerated.

And who’s in the middle suckin’ on it? Decent American consumers. This credit card industry has plainly rum amuck, unless its greed is checked anytime soon, defaults may reach the trillion figure.

We need a consumer advocate, maverick congressman, not unlike Erin Brokovich to take on the bas…
_________________
beware of everything

Guest: stevejk
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:54 am

Back in the days of usury laws, there were low caps on unsecured loans. Credit cards are unsecured loans. Back in the day, credit cards were hard to come by and with low limits. If you can’t charge higher interest for higher risk loans, then why take the risk. This is why “junk bonds” have higher interest rates than “safe” Treasury bonds.

When the usury laws in South Dakota and New Jersey were lifted, it allowed banks to take more risk, balancing it with higher interest rates. Granted, the pendulum may have swung too far the other way, with good reliable customers being charged obscene interest rates and other fees.

But then again, credit cards are just unsecured loans, unlike secured loans like car loans and mortgages. With no capital backing up the loan, they are inherently more risky. Even a good reliable customer can suffer head trauma and go wild on their CC and cause trouble.

Credit cards, their fees and interest rates, are all optional, keep in mind. There is no requirement to carry a credit card or use it or go wild with it. It is a good idea to get a CC and use it responsibly so that it builds a good credit report which will help in other ways. The fees and intrest rates can all be avoided by responsible use. I have not paid an annual feed on a C in years. I have not paid a late fee or missed a payment in years. I have not paid interest charges in years. Okay, granted, mistakes happen (check lost in the mail, forgot to mail the check) but otherwise responsible.

If we do go back to the days of Usury laws limiting fees and interest rates, availability of credit will dry up and annual fees will return. I’ll keep my oldest card(s) for my credit history, but go back to cash, checks, or debit card for purchases.

Guest: Polonius
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:19 am

There’s not a change in the world we’re going to go back to the old usury-limited days. Our wonderful government is controlled by the corporations who fund/bribe the politicans. (Does that sound cynical–or realistic?) That’s not going to be reversed.

And what was so good about the old days? I remember them–credit card interest rates were 18% if you carried a balance. That was the usury limit, and the banks charged the maximum. Today, the average rate for those carrying debts is around 13%–much better.
_________________
Polonius
“Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend”

Guest: dropship
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 2:48 pm

There are many banks out there that offer different card programs for rewards, low apr, etc. For instance Bank of America can have one version of American Express, but Bank of Omaha can have a totally different one. They’re out there, you just have to do your research.
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Money Tips: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer (cont’d.)

Posted On:

Guest: Woolfman
Post subject: Searching for Best Credit Card Offer
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 3:23 pm

Nathan, as for your question about RBS
I have an account with them.
It is “Royal Bank of Scotland”
run locally by Citizens Bank or R.I.

It was a one year offer 0% interest
and they gave me a $10,000.00 limit.

I have not had any problems with them,
except they zapped me with a trans. fee on my
Initial transfer that I wasn’t expecting and
didn’t see in the fine print.
so be careful.

Guest: Nathan
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:47 am

Things are going well, thank you for asking Curtis.

guessindigo:
US Bank is far from sub-prime in my opinion. They’ve been pretty good to me. Large increases and very good terms.

Woolfman:
In your opinion, how does RBS view other debts? Do they get shaky in the knees with some overall exposure level? What about Wells? The reason I ask is I float anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 at any given time and AMEX, Citi, Chase, BofA are the ones that don’t seem to quiver.

There must be others.

Other than US Bank, FNBO and the others I’ve mentioned, there MUST be good alternative.

NONE OF US CAN AFFORD TO HAVE ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!

Who else is out there?
_________________
There are no stupid questions — only stupid answers.

Guest: InfoSponge3000
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:23 pm

Direct Merchant’s Bank has been decent for me. I use a “Direct Rewards” Mastercard for most of my purchases.

Guest: guessindigo
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 2:46 pm

InfoSponge3000 wrote:
Direct Merchant’s Bank has been decent for me. I use a “Direct Rewards” Mastercard for most of my purchases.

You cannot be serious? My goodness, DMB blows……..

Guest: sykai
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:03 pm

I’ve been pre-approved for the RBS Platinum MasterCard.
It says the current variable Annual Percentage Rate is 13.99%(as of 12/19/05)

Does anyone have anymore inside info on this Scotland company?

BTW, I am also 99% certain that I will be employed full-time very soon. I’m only part time right now, and earn less than $2000 a month. Should I lie about income?

Again, should I accept? Does anyone have any experience with them?