Great for increasing that rebate money, but the same as other mediocre credit card companies
Written: Mar 15 '01 (Updated Mar 18 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
|
Pros: 5% rebate from several large e-tailers
Cons: Everything else
The Bottom Line: If you shop at Amazon.com, Outpost.com, FTD.com, CDNow.com, wine.com and a few other places, the 5$ rebates helps. Otherwise, steer clear!
|
|
|
| yusakugo's Full Review: WingSpan Bank Platinum VISA |
I first heard of Wingspan Bank Platinum Visa card through a deal with Gomez.com. I received $75 to apply and use the Wingspan card. I thought at the time, what a good deal. So I logged in through Gomez.com and applied for a Platinum card.
For those of you who don't know yet, Wingspan Bank is the internet only version of First USA Banks. So at least you know that Wingspan has some decent backing behind its banking strength.
Advantages of the WingSpan Bank Platinum
The single most powerful advantage that this credit card gives you is a 5% rebate on purchases. However, this rebate is good only if you buy from a selected list of merchants listed on Wingspanbank.com. The good part is that merchants like Amazon.com, wine.com, Outpost.com, FTD.com, CDNow.com, and a few more. The rebates are given to you on your next bill like clockwork. The 5% is on top of any other coupons, gift certificates, and other rebate programs (like www.ebates.com) you are using.
Your introductory APR is 1.9% for the first 5 months. However, if you are late with a payment, this jumps to 14.40%. If you're late twice, the APR jumps to a huge 22.49%.
24 hour customer service 7 days a week although this is a given with any major credit card company these days. Online service, bill checking, and bill payment is available. The interface is pretty clean overall.
You also get Travel Accident insurance and Car Rental collision insurance. However, since the information on these features were not included in my membership package I don't know what the exact terms are. The website only mentions it in passing. I am assuming that I am getting the same benefits as any standard Platinum card Visa holder. Even so, I still pay for my travel arrangements through my American Express Blue card.
A run of the mill platinum card
Otherwise this is basically more or less your standard Platinum level card. You get a high credit limit if your credit standing is good, which is up to $100,000. You have 24 hour customer service. You don't have to pay an annual fee. Like most credit card companies, you get full protection against all unauthorized charges, whether made online or offline. Opening an account will give you a 1.9% APR for the first 5 months then as low as a 14.40% APR afterwards (so its not the best deal around).
Wingspan Bank really doesn't tell you the terms of some of their other services. You aren't told the terms of the travel insurance plans, the car rental collision insurance, etc... The information does not come in the membership package that comes with the credit card. The information is not on the web site (mentioned only in passing with no details). Many other credit card companies will place the information in the fine print. A few companies (like American Express) put the information on their web site for everyone to see!
On top of this, Wingspan's customer service is very hit or miss. At times, you get your information quickly and the representatives on the phone knew exactly what they were doing... However, more often than not, the customer service representatives seem confused and cause you more problems over the phone than help.
My experience and gut feelings
Overall, I'll stick with my American Express Blue Card and AT&T Platinum Card. I have much better results with their customer service and get different benefits that I personally use more often. It is not that the Wingspan Bank Platinum is a bad card... it just doesn't offer anything significant to me that makes it stand out from the competition. The reason why my main credit cards are with American Express and AT&T Universal (managed by Citibank) is that their customer service has treated me better and faster than anyone else I dealt with. With American Express, I've rarely had to wait more than a few hours to have things done on my credit account. MBNA is another credit card issuer that offers excellent customer service (I just didn't like how fast their increased my credit limits without telling me first or even later... so bye-bye MBNA). I still use the Wingspan Bank Platinum but only when I purchase from any of the 5% rebate merchants for the card.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
yusakugo
|
 - Top 10 |
|
Member: Rich Go
Location: Somewhere in the NorthEast
Reviews written: 399
Trusted by: 497 members
About Me:
Losing Sleep and Lacking Time... sigh...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.