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Stay away from fee-based credit cards
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A credit card is useful to have even when you’re trying to stick to a budget and get bills paid off. It can get you over a hump, so long as you pay your bill every month on time and don’t let the interest build.
But if you have poor credit, and have cut up all your cards, you know getting a new card is very difficult, if not near impossible. Some banks and credit card companies have come up with two possible ‘solutions’ for this. One is a SECURED card for which you deposit a given amount, say $500. Then you have that much credit to draw on.
Another is a card that charges you an up front fee. It is a real credit card that you can charge on. Typical of these is the First Premier Bank cards. Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, First Premier touts itself as “a different kind of bank,” with most services available completely online.
It offers two fee-based credit cards—a platinum and a gold. Both are basically the same, offering a 9.9 percent interest rate. Not bad today. You can go to the gold card site at www.firstpremierbankgold.com. The platinum site is at www.premierplatinumcards.com. If you do go to one of these, make sure your pop-up blocker is on and in top notch shape. You’re going to get hit with a bunch.
The blurb on the home page of the gold card touts a $300 credit limit to start, with regular increases if you make payments on time. The platinum offers the same. However, the fine print states there is a minimum credit limit of $250.
Ah, but there is a real kicker. There are up front fees totaling almost $179. That breaks down like this:
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