Don't click that blue button...
Written: Jul 07 '01
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Pros: Bad learning experience
Cons: Misleading/dishonest advertisement, hidden fees, useless customer service
The Bottom Line: Not a company to be trusted....
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| chrisfll's Full Review: AOL Platinum Visa (First USA) |
I am surprised that AOL would affiliate itself with First USA bank. I frankly find the advertising practices and fees associated with the AOL Platinum Visa card to be “bait and switch.”
If you check out the ad on at http://www.AOL.com and click on the “AOL Platinum Visa” ad you will find a bright banner stating the following:
• “0% intro APR on purchases for six months* • 1.9% intro APR on balance transfers for six months*” &&
At the bottom of the page you see what the “*” means:
“*The introductory 0% fixed APR on purchases and 1.9% fixed APR on balance transfers are effective for the first 6 billing cycles following the opening of your account. After the introductory period, your APR and/or fees may vary. You will first be considered to receive the Platinum Visa card with the best available APR. If you do not qualify for the lowest APR, you will be considered for alternate products that may have higher APRs and/or fees. See Terms and Conditions for full details.” &&
Sounds pretty good right? The terms look pretty straight forward. An attention grabbing, blinking, “Apply Now” button is presented first and at the top left of the advertisement. I opened it and then decided to take advantage of the 1.9% APR for 6 months. I thought I saw all of the disclaimers because I read what the “*” stands for at the bottom of the ad. And the application itself makes no additional references to fees, and the end of the application lists several paragraphs of contractual terms. So I signed it and sent it electronically.
Then I notice the “Terms and Conditions” below the “Apply Now” blinking button. Halfway through the middle of fine print, there is nice little statement listing a “Transaction Fee” for the balance transfer that I requested. It is an immediate 3% of the amount transferred! Where the heck is this statement in the opening ad? Better yet, where is this stated on the application? The 1.9% APR that is waived all over the ad is total garbage. It is not 1.9%, it is an immediate 3% + 1.9%APR. That is 150% higher than what I originally expected to pay!
Boy, it would have been nice if I didn’t get suckered by clicking on that bright blue button first.
I immediately called the customer service representative and tried to cancel the application. A manager finally answered and stated I am basically out of luck. Once an application is electronically submitted, (even though only three minutes had passed) they cannot stop it nor delete the balance transfer from being processed. So basically, I am stuck eating a 3% transaction fee even if I mistakenly entered an erroneous amount in those fields. Real nice.
I thought I was pretty smart. Even I knew better when I read my mail stating, “I could be the next ten million dollar winner….” Granted, I should have read the fine print, but I can’t help feel that I was taken because I trusted AOL and First USA to be up front with their terms. I now know not to do that again.
I have since filed a formal complaint with the consumer affairs division with the State of Florida concerning their ad. Hope this is helpful.
&& - quote from AOL Platinum Visa online advertisement
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
chrisfll
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Member: Chris C
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 5 members
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