About 4 years ago I applied for a credit card called the Revelations Credit Card. The owner and operator of the card were Bankcard Services. This card then was taken over by Fidelity Bank, then sold to Household Bank and is now with Orchard Bank. In my filing cabinet at home my wife has labeled it “The weird card”. My statements still say “Bankcard Services” but my card is from Orchard Bank. After checking into this I found that “Bankcard Services” is only an agent. This review while mostly applies to Orchard Bank, must be taken in mind that Bankcard Services is the Agent. When you call to apply for a card (or if you currently have an Orchard Bank credit card), please check to see if “Bankcard Services” is the agent or not on your card. They run many of the TV and Radio spots, you just don’t know it.



Information You Should Know Before Applying

Orchard Bank charges a $19.00 fee for the privilege of applying for their card. Approval is fairly easy. The annual fee is a whopping $79.00, and if you miss two payments in a one year period it is raised to $98.00. The Interest rate on the card I have 23.30% for purchases and cash advances, it has been so since I first received it 3 years ago, so don’t expect it to down folks. They of course hit you with all of the fees any of these small card companies do. A $29.00 late payment fee (and they mean, 1 day late and bam!), A $29.00 over the limit fee, a $29.00 Returned check fee (see a pattern folks).

Billing Information

The bills that come from Bankcard Services are pretty simple to read and detailed. The two problems I have with their billing is that it always shows up much later then it should. The statement date is usually about 2 weeks after I receive it. I know it’s not the post office’s fault because this is regular thing, and I have moved once since having this card. Of course the problem with this is that it gives you less time to pay the bill. The second problem is that they do not offer any online services at this time to pay your bill with. While Orchard Bank does have a web site (which I find very slow) it does not accept Orchard Bank credit Cards issued by BankCard Services. They do have a pay by phone feature, and shocking enough, it is a free feature. I usually use that method to pay my bill.

Credit Information

This is where these guys can get ruthless. First of all, if you are one day late on a payment for ANY reason, the place it right on all three of your TRWs. Please keep in mind this card is marketed toward people trying to repair their credit. My personal opinion is they do this so you can’t. You combined the limited ways of paying your bill with the late arrivals of bills, and this fact; I have come to the conclusion that they don’t want you to repair your credit. If you do, you would leave them for a better card.

One more point, Credit limit increases are next to impossible, no matter what your payment history. I currently have several other cards with limits of over $5000. This card, still a $350 credit limit that I received 3 years ago.

Customer Service

I think customer services leaves a lot to be desired and one of my major hang-ups with this card company. While hold times are not extremely long (sometimes I feel like it’s because I’m the only idiot who has this card) the customer service reps are not knowledgeable at all and very uncooperative. Basically just call and pay your bill, and even that they seem to have trouble with at times. Two other disturbing factors are that they are only open from 8am-8pm PST and whenever I call between 5-7PM PST their computers seem to be down.

Cashback, Reward, or other features

None.


Summary

This card may seem attractive if you need credit, but don’t do it. It may only make your credit worse and cost you a lot of money. I don’t believe it will help you repair your credit or be of any value to you unless you really need a card, no one else will approve you, and a few hundred dollars is all you need in credit. The hassles aren’t worth it. You’d be better off going with Providian. Their card is fairly easy to get and less hassles.



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