Sir, did you read your agreement?
Written: Oct 20 '00 (Updated Oct 21 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good interest rate
Cons: Late fees, bad customer service
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| dtauer's Full Review: First USA |
First USA has the distinction of being the only credit card in my 20 years of using cards that has charged me a late fee. I admit that my payment, due to whatever reason, did arrive 1 day late, but it cost me a $29 fee.
My wife and I have held many credit cards over our lifetimes. If a better deal comes along I'll generally consider it. The deal at the time from First USA was a 9.9% fixed rate plus a free year of Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine which I enjoy. I applied for the card, received it, and used it once in awhile.
After a couple of months we had a balance of around $50 which we paid off as usual but the next month we had a surprise. Our balance for charges was gone but we had a new charge of $29 from First USA for a late fee. Looking at the statement I found that we were indeed late, our payment was posted the day after it was due. A $29 fee on a $50 balance for one day is pretty steep.
This made me mad because although I'll admit we were one day late, because of mail delays or whatever, this has happened with other cards. The difference is that First USA is the only company that ever charged us a late fee, especially irritating in that it was only one day and we had never been late with them before.
Because of this we quit using the card. As anyone with good credit knows, credit card offers are very common and we just switched to another card.
A couple of months passed and First USA called and asked if there was a reason we no longer used our First USA card and that it was such a good deal. I told the person the reason why and he had one reply. "Sir, did you read your agreement? In it it clearly states that late payments are subject to a $29 late fee." I didn't get a "sorry that happened" or "please give us another chance" like I expected. For someone you was calling to try to get me to start using their card again he didn't do a very good job.
Months passed and I decided to give them another chance. We were taking a vacation and I wanted to keep all of the vacation charges on one card to track costs. Since the First USA had no balance it was my choice. We drove to Florida and used the card for the hotels on the way. Once we got there we checked in and was told at the front desk that they were unable to accept my card. After having the hotel clerk acting as the go between with me and First USA I finally got the phone and asked what the problem was. I was told that because the card hadn't been used for awhile that the charges seemed suspicious because they were out of state. I verified that we were on vacation, I really am the card holder and that I would be using the card more again for a few days. At first I thought that's fine, I can't blame them for being cautious with charges out of my home state. At least it was fine until the next day.
At the ticket booth at DisneyWorld, again my FirstUSA card is rejected. I know it shouldn't bother me but with 50 people in line behind me it's kind of embarrassing when the DisneyWorld employee refuses your card. The employee offered to check on it for me but I said never mind, handed her a different card and haven't used the First USA card since. I did call First USA again that night to ask why I was denied again after explaining everything the previous day. They had no answer, they said everything looks fine with the card, just try it again the next day. Needless to say I didn't try it again the next day.
One other thing to remember about First USA. They issue many different cards under different programs. For example, I just got a Holiday Inn Visa that was issued and serviced by First USA. Also, the Wingspan internet charge card is issued by First USA.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
dtauer
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Location: Minnesota
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 3 members
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