Not Worth It
Written: Oct 24 '08 (Updated Oct 24 '08)
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Pros: No annual fee, easy application/approval
Cons: Exorbitant interest rate, mediocre perks
The Bottom Line: Not worth it unless you shop at Sears constantly and/or can't get anything else.
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| booster182's Full Review: Sears Gold MasterCard |
I first got a Sears Gold Mastercard right before I graduated college (approx. 4 years ago), as I was preparing to move to another state - the application & approval process was very quick and easy, done while I was giving my car an oil change at the local Sears.
Interest Rate
At the time, I was a newbie to the world of credit, and didn't really take note of the interest rate as I should have, as all I was worried about was having a buffer during my move. In the years to come, however, I have seen that the interest rate on this card is much higher than many others available - currently it is 21.65%, and has been as high as 24.65% in the past. In contrast, I recently got a second card from my credit union with a rate of 7.99%.
Perks
In exchange for the sky-high interest rates, very little is given in return, unless you make frequent large purchases at Sears - discounts on their store brand appliances, financing deals on those appliances, returns without a receipt, and such.
Customer Service
Phone: While I have not had occasion to call Sears' customer service many times, I have to say that in general my experience has been good - Except for one instance, I have always gotten representatives that speak clearly and understandably, and that were able to either solve my problem or at least do as much as their company policy allows.
Web: I have been much less impressed in the service online - it is hit or miss as to whether or not the actual question I asked is answered, and the replies have such a "form letter" feel that they easily could have been written by a computer doing automated scanning for keywords.
Payment System
Sears' payment system is servicable, if a bit clunky. One recent issue in particular, though, is what prompted me to write this review:
I made (or thought I was making) a payment through their "AccountOnline" system on 10/10/08 for $10 (I recently did a balance transfer to my new card and had a very low balance left). Either by a mistake on my part (which I do admit is possible) or a glitch in their computer system, an attempt was made to withdraw that $10 from a bank account that I closed a few months ago.
This resulted in their system immediately reversing the payment and assessing a returned check fee.....But not sending me any notification of that fact, leading to a late fee also showing up by the time I realized what had happened.
I called and spoke with someone as soon as I saw this, and to their credit, they did refund the late fee (but not the returned check fee), but could not explain exactly what happened. I was not able to verify anything either, as their system complelety purged my enrollment in their online payment system upon the payment being returned - again, without any notification whatsoever to me, despite having had my email on file for years and the fact that I receive a near-infinite stream of balance transfer offers and such just fine.
Also, as a final inconvinience, I logged on this morning (after making a payment for full amount due via my bank 2 days ago) to find that my account is essentially in a lockdown mode thanks to their system suddenly deciding to add almost a month onto the time I was past due. I called and asked about this, and was told that the actual time period was still showing as much less on their side.....But again could not explain exactly how or why it was doing this, only that hopefully it would clear itself up when my payment posted.
Overall
In the end, I would say this card is only a good choice if you are a heavy shopper at Sears/KMart, looking to get your first card without much established credit history, or both - and even then, I would look long and hard for another card first due to the huge interest rate.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
booster182
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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