First Premier Secured Visa? Yes or NO??

[Yemaya7]

I saw some posts on here from some of you that have this card and were recommending it. I decided to do some research and came across this site.... What do you guys think?

http://cc.edumacation.com/finserv/firstpremier.html

First Premier Bank Credit Card: Avoid This Deal

First Premier Bank has been sending its offers that prey on consumers who may not always read all the fine print who are known to have bad credit records. These deceptive offers are also being sent to college students with a limited credit history.

Here are some aspects of one offer (product code 5044-01) that came into the Cagey Consumer's hands that had been sent to one such student:

deceptive return address

The return address specifies that the mailing piece is from the Office of the Chief Bank Officer, suggesting that the recipient has received the personal attention of an important official of some (unspecified) bank.

false "Reply Required" marking

The outside of the envelope is marked in red with the legend "Reply Required, MasterCard Issuance Pending", falsely indicating that the recipient has a legal obligation to reply.

misleading "documents registered" legend

The outside of the envelope is marked "DOCUMENTS REGISTERED: The person identified in window has been assigned the enclosed Bank Documents". This completely meaningless statement is intended to give the recipient the impression that the person is legally responsible for reviewing the contents.

Inadequate disclosure of mandatory fees

In addition to an annual fee of $50, there is a monthly fee that equates to $72 per year, a one-time acceptance fee of $119, and a one-time processing fee of $19. The only one of these mentioned on the front of the letter is the $19 processing fee.

No toll-free number for additional information

The "information line" provided is not a toll-free number, thus discouraging the recipient from asking questions.

Here are comments from others about First Premier Bank's credit card offers:

Credit Card Scams (from aos.com)

Don't fall for the credit card scam being sent out by some of the credit card companies promising a credit card to help you rebuild your credit record. The offer states that you can receive a MasterCard or Visa Card with a maximum $2500 limit and all you have to do is sent a check in the amount of $29.00.

Now what you actually receive is a credit card with a $250.00 limit that has been pre-charged with an "Acceptance Fee" of $119.00, a "Participation Fee" of $6.00 and an "Annual Charge" of $50.00. The card you receive already has $175.00 charged to the card before you receive it, leaving you a $75.00 balance of available credit. In reality it is costing you $204.00 to get a credit card with a $75.00 credit limit.

The card also promises a credit increase "if you make all of your payments on time for six months and pay substantially more than the minimum amount due each month", however a "Credit Limit Increase Review Fee" of up to $50.00 is assessed if you are granted an increase. You are much better off to deal with a company like Providian Bank who also helps people to establish or reestablish credit without misleading claims and exorbitant charges.

Letters (multiplex.com [Wayback archive])

(Similar info is at www.avana.net/~jshankar/alerts1.htm [Wayback archive])

A recent (just one of many) direct mailings from First Premier offers in at least 14 pt type on the front of the mailing piece:

Guranteed unsecured $250 minimum VISA card

However, on the reverse and in 4 pt type buried in the middle of legal mumbo jumbo is:

Processing Fee: $35.00

Acceptance Fee: $119.00

Monthly Participation Fee: $6.00 ($72.00 annualized)

In fact, their "fees" total $276.00 for $250 of unsecured credit.

Now, maybe this is legal, but I doubt anyone would not make the same offer of anyone else. This company obviously preys upon poor people and those who have suffered financial difficulties.

Bad Credit Card Deals Targeting Those with Bad Credit (Bank Rate Monitor)

Take the Future Card, an unsecured credit card being marketed on the Internet, offered by First Premier Bank, Sixou Falls, S.D. It carries a 19.9 annual percentage rate; a $98 one-time program fee; a $70 set-up fee; and a $5 monthly participation fee. Customers end up paying $228 in fees alone for a credit limit that could be as low as $250.

[blueranger]

exactly this credit card is for people

with bad credit... along with that goes

high fees and big late charges...

everyone here has it becasue this is

where you have to start....the one thing

you can say about these guys is that they

report to all 3 credit bureas and even household

does not do that...

they report quickly and they always report

ok even if your a few days late...

but I think any secured card would work for you

probably but they all will rape you so I think when your

comparing apples to apples its pretty good.

[Yemaya7]

Blueranger - Good points. I just wanted to be sure. So let me ask you the trick w/ this question is to use it and pay it off in full every month? Should you get as close to the limit as possible? And there is a $79/yearly fee? That is the one thing I'm worreid about. I'mgoing to law school next year and I know I wont be able to afford that. Do they charge it per month or one lump sum?

[cabledude]

I guess it depends on your situation and your score. If this is the only card you can qualify for due to poor credit I would suspect this deal is right for you. Basically Blue is right and unfortunately you have to PAY to rebuild very poor credit. Over time with good credit habits you can trade in the FP card for a better one. However, I only suggest this card for really poor credit.

My scores have personally not been below 600, that I know of, and I did not need this kind of card. Does anyone have a good cutoff score that one should definetly consider FP. My gut tells me 580 and below. My wife qualified for this card with scores around 500-525.

[Yemaya7]

Yeah I'm under the 550 mark. I have a Capital One card w/ a $200 limit - got that card in April 2004. Use it and pay it off every month. Shoudl I just stick to this one card or consider also getting the FP?

[cabledude]

How many lines do you have open? If your only good TL is Cap One then I would definetly consider the FP card for a second one. I would go for the unsecured card first as my wife at 525 got her $300 CL unsecured at this score with a handful of chargeoffs.

[blueranger]

i have had both cap 1 and first premier

and to me I had more problems with cap 1..

the trick is to have as much avail cred as you can

and limit your usage to less than 30% of avail credit.

I don't think you can do anything till your in the low

600's (630-640) it took this to get household...

as you begin this credit journey your scores will

go up and down...get 2 secured cards now

and in 6 months get household and target and chevron..

[pjwife27]

I got the card when scores were low 500's. I haven't had any problems with them. They have charged me the annual fee in a lump sum on the anniversary of the date you opened the card. They charge you 7 dollars for online payments, so try and mail your payments in early.

They report accurately to all three and customer service has always been friendly. yeah it sucks paying all those fees, but First Premier has been the stepping stone for me being able to get two household cards. Always pay in full each month or don't go beyond the 30 percent usage. After six months they gave me an increase.

Mine wasn't a secured card, though. Have you just tried applying online? You might be able to just get a card thats not secured.

Also try orchard bank. My brother had a score of 501 and got a orchard bank card. Their even better.

[Yemaya7]

The only good things I have on my credit report is my car loan with HH since DEC 03

the Cap 1 card since April 04

and my student loans.

I had the unsecured First Premier card and that charged off in 2000. I reapplied for it earlier this year and they denied it. HH also denied me this year. And Target I had too but is charged off - trying to pay for deletion w/ them.

Right now I have some pay for deletion and disputes pending so maybe I should just focus on that for the next few months then see if I can get the Orchard.

Or should I go ahead and just get the Secured 1st Premier. I dont want to do anything that will leave me where I'm at or lower my score even more!

I appreciate all the feedback.

[blueranger]

all of us that hit bottom started

with the first premier secured

and then moved up so it the secured

and dispute your heart out.

[cabledude]

I just saw where you had a charge off with FP in 2000. They may give you a hard time with even a secured card unless you settle that one. Who knows until you try?

[cabledude]

I just saw where you had a charge off with FP in 2000. They may give you a hard time with even a secured card unless you settle that one. Who knows until you try?

[Yemaya7]

I paid off the charge off last year. I'm going to just wait for now. I think I can clean up a whole lot w/ some of my disputes. I dont want anymore inquiries. I just want to refinance my car!