"Approved"
Direct Rewards Platinum® Review
Written by: dm on 2007-09-07
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dm's review: 
WOW! Approved for $1400. FICO 620-640. Submitted balance transfer to pay off evil high interest Aspire VISA. 0% on BT for 9 months. Purchase APR of 17.99%. Nervous that this is HSBC... Had an Orchard MC that they jumped the APR from 14.9% to 27.99 a few months back (I paid it off before the rate hike and closed).
WOW! Approved for $1400. FICO 620-640. Submitted balance transfer to pay off evil high interest Aspire VISA. 0% on BT for 9 months. Purchase APR of 17.99%. Nervous that this is HSBC... Had an Orchard MC that they jumped the APR from 14.9% to 27.99 a few months back (I paid it off before the rate hike and closed).
9 Comments
Comment 1 by meya
RE; DM 
on 2007-09-07
Smart move DM. Congrats on your approval, this card is a HUGE hike from Aspire. I did not know that Orcahrd had such a high apr rate. I guess we learn somethng new everyday.
on 2007-09-07 Smart move DM. Congrats on your approval, this card is a HUGE hike from Aspire. I did not know that Orcahrd had such a high apr rate. I guess we learn somethng new everyday. Comment 2 by anonymous
RE: Meya on 2007-09-07
Thanks. Great comments here. I was very happy with Orchard for 6 years; They gave me a card when no one else would. Strange thing that the interest rate consistently rose with my FICO. Fine. Since closing that account I've been able to obtain a B of A and Chase. Adios to Aspire now!
on 2007-09-07 Thanks. Great comments here. I was very happy with Orchard for 6 years; They gave me a card when no one else would. Strange thing that the interest rate consistently rose with my FICO. Fine. Since closing that account I've been able to obtain a B of A and Chase. Adios to Aspire now!Comment 3 by brammy
Re DM on 2007-09-09
The trick to HSBC is to keep your utilization down, pay more than the minimum payment and since they practice universal default keep your other accounts pristine as well. When I had anothe HSB?C card, they were very generous with limit increases but they rate jacked me for using more than 50% of my limit for 3 mos after a move.
I closed and have since opened another and will never put it above 50% of the limit
on 2007-09-09 The trick to HSBC is to keep your utilization down, pay more than the minimum payment and since they practice universal default keep your other accounts pristine as well. When I had anothe HSB?C card, they were very generous with limit increases but they rate jacked me for using more than 50% of my limit for 3 mos after a move.I closed and have since opened another and will never put it above 50% of the limit
Comment 4 by dm
Re: Brammy on 2007-09-10
Thanks Brammy. That makes sense. They jacked the rate up a few months after I bought a laptop and utilized the entire credit line. When I complained they sent a letter that even said that there was nothing derogatory on my credit report, but that they reserved the right to "reprice" my account at any time. The dreaded universal default. I plan on paying off my BT with this card during the 9 month 0% and not using except for occassional small purchases.
on 2007-09-10 Thanks Brammy. That makes sense. They jacked the rate up a few months after I bought a laptop and utilized the entire credit line. When I complained they sent a letter that even said that there was nothing derogatory on my credit report, but that they reserved the right to "reprice" my account at any time. The dreaded universal default. I plan on paying off my BT with this card during the 9 month 0% and not using except for occassional small purchases.Comment 5 by brammy
Re DM on 2007-09-11
Yes I was in the same situation and paid it off and closed it.
on 2007-09-11 Yes I was in the same situation and paid it off and closed it. Comment 6 by paula
Re: DM on 2007-09-12
Hey DM,
It was an EXCLUSIVE invitation that I received in the mail and I'm only guessing that maybe the reason why I received the invitation was because in the past three months I have applied for four different AMEX credit cards and was declined for all four. However, I was approved for both the Green and Gold Amex cards but as you know these cards are considered charge cards and require you to pay the balance in full every month and they both carry a hefty annual fee. ($95.00 for Green & $125 for Gold) I don't even what to use the cards for fear of not being able to pay off the balance.
on 2007-09-12 Hey DM, It was an EXCLUSIVE invitation that I received in the mail and I'm only guessing that maybe the reason why I received the invitation was because in the past three months I have applied for four different AMEX credit cards and was declined for all four. However, I was approved for both the Green and Gold Amex cards but as you know these cards are considered charge cards and require you to pay the balance in full every month and they both carry a hefty annual fee. ($95.00 for Green & $125 for Gold) I don't even what to use the cards for fear of not being able to pay off the balance.
Comment 7 by dm
RE: Paula on 2007-09-12
I understand that! An Amex Green was what got me into trouble in college. Its been ten years now and Amex continues to ask my to pay off my balance so that I can be a cardholder again. No thank you. The Amex blacklist is forever... Except for Amex branded cards offered through other banks. Thanks.
on 2007-09-12 I understand that! An Amex Green was what got me into trouble in college. Its been ten years now and Amex continues to ask my to pay off my balance so that I can be a cardholder again. No thank you. The Amex blacklist is forever... Except for Amex branded cards offered through other banks. Thanks.Comment 8 by bigblue
Direct Rewards on 2008-12-15
Approved $300 limit should I keep or not $29 fee have $1,750 line of credit with cap 1 now since I have learned how with all of your help on the forum especially Meya in her reviews and everything thanks.
on 2008-12-15 Approved $300 limit should I keep or not $29 fee have $1,750 line of credit with cap 1 now since I have learned how with all of your help on the forum especially Meya in her reviews and everything thanks.
Comment 9 by meya
Thanks Big Blue! But... on 2008-12-15
Well, since you took the hit, you do have two choices. Letting it go will not decrease your score no more than what it already did when you applied. If you do keep it, don't look for any surprises from it and do not get depressed from slow and low cli's. It is good to rebuild, not to look for it to grow with you. After one or two years with cap 1, you are going to start getting irritated by seeing this cards barely hitting the $1k mark, Cap1 is going to be well in the 2 or 3k by then.
It's hard to tell someone to not keep a card(s) while rebuilding, and there are a lot of others who could not even get approved for this card like myself. So I say, pick or choose, but which ever one you select re-read my 2nd and 3rd sentence. Good Luck!
on 2008-12-15 Well, since you took the hit, you do have two choices. Letting it go will not decrease your score no more than what it already did when you applied. If you do keep it, don't look for any surprises from it and do not get depressed from slow and low cli's. It is good to rebuild, not to look for it to grow with you. After one or two years with cap 1, you are going to start getting irritated by seeing this cards barely hitting the $1k mark, Cap1 is going to be well in the 2 or 3k by then. It's hard to tell someone to not keep a card(s) while rebuilding, and there are a lot of others who could not even get approved for this card like myself. So I say, pick or choose, but which ever one you select re-read my 2nd and 3rd sentence. Good Luck!
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided by Direct Merchants Bank. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Direct Merchants Bank. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
