Come for the rebate, stay for the rewards ... AND THEN GET SCREWED
Written: Sep 26 '05 (Updated Feb 23 '06)
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Pros: Great promo for as long as it lasts
Cons: Predatory lending practices, horrid customer service
The Bottom Line: The intro promo is excellent, but this product and company are problematic at best, criminal at worst.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Amazon.com Rewards Card |
UPDATE: Below, you can see what I used to think of this card. However, recent changes in the way that Chase/FirstUSA do business have soured me completely on this product. In December, I paid off my balance completely on this card in anticipation of using it for the Xmas holiday. However, I ran into problem after problem with Chase - 1) holding the payment, 2) shutting the card down for 'fraud checks' while they did, 3) after having the fraud hold removed, having it go right back on a few hours later (the first one was acceptable since I made a few big purchases - but the later ones weren't).
So, late in January, I made another large payment to pay off the Xmas balance, leaving me with almost nothing on this card. Then, yesterday, I get a BIG surprise. My rate, which had been 13.99% started going up - and then jumped to a ridiculous 29.99%. I was astounded - this represented a 225% increase in my APR!! So, I made the call to the company to find out what had happened, and was told it was because of my credit report. That's strange, since my credit report shows that my credit rating is over 750 as reported by all companies.
The customer service rep told me that she couldn't really look into what triggered this since her system was down. She offered to call me back - and never did. I called back and got the same answer, but no ability to reduce the rate back after what was an obvious mistake. Perhaps actually paying off this card made me a less desirable customer? Worse, going through my paperwork, I saw that ANOTHER rate increase was coming my way - this time to PRIME plus 30.99%.
This was quite a way to treat a customer who had spent quite a bit of money with this card over the last year. When I asked for the president's name and address, the rep said she didn't know either of them, but could give me a fax number (strange, I could get that off of the statement).
So, it's obvious that the new Chase is back to the same predatory and underhanded practices that sank FirstUSA's reputation in the past. Obviously, I will be not be using this card in the future, but I will be doing my best to make sure that Chase knows my displeasure.
I would say avoid this card - and company - entirely, but if you want to take advantage of the 0% rate and 6 months no interest, be my guest. And then cancel and burn this card as soon as it expires.
END RANT ... Continue if you want to see my previous opinion
A month or so before Christmas last year, I was starting my shopping on one of my favorite sites to shop, Amazon.com. I made my purchase when an interstitial screen came up offering me a $30 savings toward my purchase and 0% interest for 6 months if I applied and was approved for an Amazon.com Visa Card. I checked out the card and liked what I saw, so I applied - and got the card and discount instantly.
Now, a year later, I think I've gotten to know the card pretty well - and it's my favorite credit card to use (when I use credit cards - I prefer debit, myself). It comes in handy when buying things online and earns me points toward further purchases at Amazon.com. Basically, a win-win proposition.
[• get the CARD •]
The Amazon.com Visa is a fairly plain plastic with the logo and some blue highlights. It's attractive, but won't have people staring at the beautiful picture or anything. But what it lacks for in pizazz, it more than makes up for in functionality - in this case, rewards on Amazon.com. For every purchase you make at Amazon.com (except gift certificates, marketplace and certain third-party purchases), you earn 3 points per $1 spent; purchases elsewhere earn you 1 point per $1. Once you have amassed 2,500 points, they send you a $25.00 gift certificate for Amazon.com. It's one of the best returns on your money in the industry:
Amazon.com purchases only »
2,500 points = $833 in purchases = $25.00 gift certificate.
return = 3% (as opposed to a 1% on normal cards).
Only non-Amazon.com purchases »
2,500 points = $2,500 in purchases = $25.00 gift certificate.
return = 1% (still equal to the 1% offered by most cards).
If you mix it up, your rate of return will vary, but you're still getting to rewards much quicker than most 1% cards. For someone like me, that added up quickly - I was buying a lot of Xmas gifts at Amazon.com anyway, so now I earned a lot of points for buying what I would anyway.
[• thank you for CALLING •]
Customer service was never one of the strong points of First USA/Bank One, but so far I've had pretty good service the few times I've called to ask questions. There seems to be a decent focus and possibly a dedicated team for the Amazon card, because they seem to be able to answer most of the questions pretty easily. Other companies which will May Be Not Announced also set higher standards for certain clients, and I think this might be the case with this card. I haven't had to call for any real issues at this point, so fortunately I can't highlight how well they do dispute resolution.
[• the credit STUFF •]
I didn't get this card because of the great rate - at least not the 'go to' rate¹ - but the 0% and $30 credit sold me. The go to, or standard, rate is 13.99% fixed - about average for the industry. They also offered me a 0% 12 month balance transfer option if I completed it in the first 6 months*. Decent promos are the seller, though.
The card is managed by JP Morgan Chase Bank (formerly, it was Bank One, but they were bought out). The way this card - like most - makes money is through fees, and they're fairly high on this card if you don't follow the rules. The late and overlimit fees are $15 - $39 (for balances about $250), and missing a payment can result in your card's APR being shot up by 10% or more. The current terms are even more aggressive, starting at 12.49%, although they are using a variable rate, meaning that after the initial term, your rate will increase (or decrease) with the Prime Rate. The penalty rates are scary - miss a payment or violate any of the terms, and you can expect your rate to rocket to an incredible 30.49%. In short, don't mess with this card, or you will pay through the nose; but if you stay up-to-date and use your card wisely, it's not a bad card.
[• payment TERMS •]
The card offers 'at least' a 20-day grace period for purchases (meaning you have 20 days from the time your statement is mailed to make a payment without finance charges, assuming you didn't have a balance). However, they use a 2-cycle average daily balance to calculate finance charges - thus you will be paying on the average balance of the last TWO months; ergo, even if you make a huge payment, you could still have a decent finance charge based on the average for the last 60 or so days.
I've not had any problems with my statements or any of the items on them.
[• online MANAGEMENT •]
As an online company, you would expect (and hope) that the credit card would have a hearty online service. In this case, they do (for the most part). The online account access for the Amazon.com card is based on the Chase overall model, so should match the general Bank One formula - and that model is a good one. It allows you to check your account balances, transactions (within 24 hours), point totals and get email alerts. The account review section is decent, although I miss the hyperlinks functionality of MBNA's Net Access, and seeing older statements is not as simple because they are in a PDF format. Alerts are great, as you can set payment reminders, purchase level alerts and payment made notices, among others - this keeps you on the ball about your account.
There is some room for improvement, however. Points are not real-time; you have to go to your previous statement (which isn't usually available until 4-5 days after the end of your cycle) to see your previous total and then add any current transactions manually. A real-time counter would be great. And online payments are a mixed bag - they're great once you're registered, allowing you to make same-day payments up to 5:30p.m. E.T. (after 5:30, they go the next business day). However, to sign up for online payments, you actually have to mail a voided check to register for the service, something I found odd for a card representing an online company. In their defense, however, if you change accounts, you don't have to send a second check.
[• final THOUGHTS •]
This is pretty much the only card that I use right now - I like getting the points for my everyday purchases, and earning my gift certificates for free stuff. Customer service has been good so far, and a robust website makes account management easy. It's not the best rate - in fact, if you aren't on the ball it can be downright brutal - but if you pay your balance, the initial terms and benefits are well worth it.
[• additional notes •]
* Keep in mind most of these Balance Transfer deals work the same way: your payments will go to the lowest balance first until that balance is paid off. So, if you have a purchase balance or buy anything while having that 0% balance transfer, that 'purchase balance' won't get touched until you pay off the money you had at 0%. You can't allocate payments, and can end up paying a bundle in finance charges trying to get your 0% down so you can eat away at those higher rate balances.
¹ Go To Rate - also known as the standard rate, is the rate that goes into effect when you promotional rate ends. These are usually significantly higher. This is different from the default rate, which is the rate that your account can/will go to if you miss a payment or go over the limit - sometimes even on competitor's cards. These rates can be harsh, upward of 31% APR.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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