Credit Card questions...

[gabemcg]

So... Here's the story.

When I was first in College in 01/02 I filled out a credit card application to get a free Bob Marley T-shirt. At the time, I had no credit to speak of, and had no expectations of getting approved for a CC.



I took the t-shirt, never realizing that I actually got accepted for the card...


here it is a few years later, and while trying to figure the best way to fix my now ruined credit (furniture, ect...) I stumbled upon this American Express Card on my Credit report... "That's funny"", I thought, "I don't have any Credit Cards, who would give me a credit card?!?!?!" It diddn't take long to notice how long the card had been on my credit report with NO activity, and make the connection.

I figured, hey, if it's already on there, I might as well use it! So I called up AE and asked them about the card, and they said I'm in good standing, as the card has never been used...

I told them I lost it a long time ago, and forgot I had it, and would they send me a new one?

Sure! they sent me a new one right away, My first real Credit Card!

Here's the specs:

American Express Student Blue

--no annual fee
--Transfer Balances Fee-Free
--Express Cash
--Buyer's Assurance Plan
--Purchase Protection Plan
--Fraud Protection Guarantee
--Return Protection
--American Express Online Travel
--Travel Accident Insurance
--Emergency Card Replacement
--Global Assist® Hotline
--Assured Reservations
--Travelers Cheques: Travel with Peace of Mind

I think I've got basically everything except the Rewards plan... They tried to switch me to the rewards plan over the phone, but I think that there was an annual fee, but now when I look at it on the site, it says there is no annual fee... I'm a bit confused

Can someone with Rewards verify if it costs anything or makes it so your card has an anual fee??

I'm not sure exactly what the intrest rate is, I think it's pretty high, like in the 14-18% range. That doesn't matter for me really, I've paid it off completely every billing cycle, in the 3-4 months that I've had the card...

Also...


My Credit limit is $500 I've had the card for 5 or 6 years (I've only been using it for a few months) I've never had a late payment, or even carried a balance...

Should I ask for a credit increase??

 

[DaWhim]

from what I heard, if you have the student blue, they won't bump up your credit line.

ask them to change it to amex blue and request a higher credit line.

 

[sniperruff]

the rewards thing is free. i think you get one point per dollar or something. so far i have 4000 points on it. you can cash it out once you have 20000 pts or something, or 1000 points will get you a $10 GC from gap and various stores.

i used the card for a year before they increased my credit to $1000. go to card managment and go to credit management or something. you can try and see if they pre-approve a credit increase.

btw my credit line went from $500 to $1000, then $1500, then $4000. i rarely use the card anymore. it was my first card too.

 

[rodent]

American Express sucks dude, why get a card when you can't use it evrwhere? Verify your interest rate, that's where they get ya. They'll raise your credit as you keep spending and paying off your balance. Although they like it when you carry it for a bit.

 

[imthebadguy]

AMEX gold fanboy here, had blue students for a little more than a year and just got the gold

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: rodent
American Express sucks dude, why get a card when you can't use it evrwhere? Verify your interest rate, that's where they get ya. They'll raise your credit as you keep spending and paying off your balance. Although they like it when you carry it for a bit.

I've been using my Amex Blue Cash for little less than a year and it's rare for me to find a place that doesn't accept Amex. Even if there are one or two stores that don't take it, it doesn't make sense to not keep the card because of that.