# Wow, what a great credit card offer (very mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236 "2003-06-25T05:38:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/21 "2003-06-26T05:19:02Z")
I got a great car refinance offer just the other day. It was 8.something %. I almost jumped at it until I remembered, my car is financed at 0%. If they want me to refinance, they better offer a negative %. ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/22 "2003-06-26T07:03:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mama Tiger \* > \*\*I got a credit card offer today from a bank that _I already have a credit card with_! You’d think they’d _notice_! (I know, I’m a hopeless optimist.) \*\* i get two offers a month from a card i already had. so i called them to see if i could transfer my balance _from_ their card _to_ their card. but i got a better offer elsewhere 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/23 "2003-06-26T07:56:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*Some time ago, I don’t remember when it was, I got a good offer in the mail, so I applied. For some reason, I forget what, I got turned down. A few weeks later, I got the same offer from the very same bank. A week or two after that, I got the same offer again. Talk about persistent :rolleyes: \*\* [I’ve had that problem, too](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185698). Still going on, in fact. Latest seduction attempt: “Up to” $7,500 credit line, 0% on purchases _and_ transferred balances until December 2003, 9.9% rate thereafter, no annual fee. I’ve debated whether to just start sending in every one of these, even though I know from past experience they aren’t going to give me a card. Maybe they’ll get as tired of mail from me as I am of it from them. Anybody know what getting turned down for forty credit cards from the same bank does to your credit rating? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/24 "2003-06-27T03:36:30Z")
No, I don’t. But give it a try and see what happens 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/25 "2003-06-27T14:44:39Z")
It’s funny–Capitol One seems to have taken a page from their own advertisements and are laying siege to my mailbox. I’ll bet I get one mailing from them a week. I also got a fabulous offer for a personal loan in the mail. Check was already made out to me for $5000, all I had to do was endorse it! Plus if I acted by a certain date, they would give me the “bonus” of “letting” me borrow another $1000. The APR? 24.9%. Good lord, I didn’t think that was LEGAL. Pay it back in 5 years and it costs you over $8000, something they were happy to point out to you in the fine print. I mean, a credit card might charge you that, but that’s usually their special “fuck-up” rate for people who have missed payments. This loan was offering you this usurious rate at the get-go, and had the balls to write the offer like you were fortunate. I wonder how they managed to come up with this campaign, given how hard they must have been laughing and the disruption those hysterics surely must have caused. It made me feel damned mad, because the sort of person that is going to go for that “loan” is probably the sort of person who can least afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/26 "2003-06-27T14:49:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Anybody know what getting turned down for forty credit cards from the same bank does to your credit rating? Yeah, bad stuff. I actually once was turned down for something because I’d had too many INQUIRIES in the previous year about whether I was credit-worthy, not even rejections. EVERYTHING goes into your “score.” If you want to get even with 'em, just stuff the envelopes full of junk and keep sending them back. But it’s probably not the smartest thing in the world to mess up your own credit just to get a junk mailer off your back. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/27 "2003-06-27T19:14:44Z")
> [@](#): > > It made me feel damned mad, because the sort of person that is going to go for that “loan” is probably the sort of person who can least afford it. Bingo. I feel the sameway. But, they have nobody to blame but themselves if they fall for it. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/28 "2003-06-27T21:19:08Z")
I just got an “offer” like that in the mail as well. This one from the **First National Bank of Marin** I was pre-approved for this card with, up to, $800 credit limit. Wow, $800 bucks. How could I resist? Then the fine print said I might have to work my way up to the $800 from $260. It was also a secured credit card. I would need to send them $200 or they would put $200 on my card and put $200 in a secured savings account (of which I figured I’d be paying the cash advance interest on). Here’s the plan. 19.8% interest $89 enrollment fee (I send them $39 and they add the rest to my card) $90 annual membership (billed $7.50 a month) If they decided to “approve” someone at $260 this person would already have $200 on the account from the security deposit and a $50 charge from the enrollment fee. This leaves them a credit balance of $10. In the mean time they pay 19.8% on the $250. Basicaly, if someone sends in this paperwork they are instantly in dept. I can’t believe a scam like this is legal. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/29 "2003-06-28T04:39:41Z")
Here’s a new offer I got, $29 per year annual fee, which, for a card with an annual fee is actually a pretty low one, A fixed interoductory APR of 3.9% until December 31, 2003, and after that, a variable customary APR of… **18.9%** will apply and **will never be less than 18.9%** Well, I’d better logg off and apply now, I may not see another rate this low for some time to come. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/30 "2003-06-28T05:07:37Z")
OMG should I, would I, dare admit that I work for one of the above mentioned companies? Yeah they suck, but the population in need of second chance financing is ever growing as the bankruptcy laws continue to be so lenient on professional debtors. Many of our cardholders go on to improve their credit rating and close their accounts with us when they no longer need us. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/31 "2003-06-28T05:10:55Z")
Explain this logic to me, for those with bad credit, bankruptsy, etc… They can’t afford low intrest rates and low fees, but they can afford high interest rates and high fees? ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236/32 "2003-06-28T05:45:39Z")
It’s all a matter of risk. How much is a company willing to risk that you will pay your debt on time? Now, I personally do not know how long it takes your credit score to go up, but when you’ve screwed up financially, you pay for another chance. Your credit score dictates how much, how often and when credit will be extended to you. Who else will give you a chance to create a credit history? Target? Nope, department stores are the strictest in terms of credit. Millions of dollars are spent each year creating software for credit lenders to determine the best way to “score” a potential customer. The scoring measures your credit habits, current trades on your report and the probabilty that you will file for bankruptcy. So it’s ironic that the less credit worthy pay more in terms of interest rates and fees, but the people who really pay are the companies who give them a chance to mend their ways. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-what-a-great-credit-card-offer-very-mild/184236.md?page=1)