General Motors MasterCard (Household Bank)

Pros: FOR GOLD: Regular APR is very low; 5% Rebate Is Very High
Cons: That Rebate Can Only Be Used for New GM Car Purchases or Leases

The year was 1993. We sat sipping wine coolers, sharing a barbeque with friends, and discussing the financial ins-and-outs of sending our recent high school graduates off to college.

We had just gotten the GM Gold Mastercard, and so had...

Pros: Good rewards, good website, good customer service
Cons: High APR

(Note: This review is of the new GM Card, available to all current gold and blue GM Card holders. The new GM Card is grey in colour – it is the only card available to new account holders.)

When I made the easy choice to cancel my...

Pros: Sounds like a great deal
Cons: It's NOT!

You must realize that GM recently changed the rules for their credit card program provided through Household Bank (details below).

If you're like me when you saw this card you imagined yourself driving around in a free car after several...

Pros: Unlimited rebates.
Cons: You'd have to buy lots of cars to use a large rebate.

The ‘NEW” GM card

If you have the old-style GM blue card (mine is black though they now call it blue), GM (or rather, its bank) wants you to switch to its new card. Do you think they want you to switch because it’s better for you or better...

Pros: High rebate
Cons: Rebate only good for GM car purchase

When my parents discovered that they could tow their trailer with a GM minivan, they were sold. And when they discovered The GM MasterCard, they couldn't wait to get their hands on it. That enthusiasm passed to me. When I first got out of college, I ...

Pros: A simple way to earn cash towards your new car purchase
Cons: High Interest rate, Length of time it takes to earn money

I found out about the GM card when I met my husband. He had signed up for it to earn cash back towards the purchase of a new General Motors vehicle. I think the idea behind this card is really good, and there is the potential to earn a nice sized down...

Pros: Seems like a good idea at the time- but don't they all
Cons: Extremely fickle and unforgiving

I thought we had a good relationship. Sure, it was give-and-take, but isn't any good pairing based on compromise? We started out well together- you were new in town, and I thought I would be one of the first to show you around. We went everywhere ...

Pros: Generous 5% rebate. Good account access via web.
Cons: Can only be used toward new GM vehicle. Redemption allowances now more complex, restrictive.

A mere shadow of it’s former self

When I first received my GM Card Gold Mastercard over ten years ago, the benefits were very generous. As I recall, the annual earnings cap was $1000, for a maximum of seven years. Earnings could be...

Pros: accrue earnings- up to $3500 to buy/lease a car, no annual fee
Cons: high interest rate, earnings take a while to amount to much

Right now, we have about $2100 earned in our account towards....A new car!!! This card can work to your benefit if you have the patience to wait and accumulate some bucks! Here's how the card works.

Yes folks, it's like every other credit...

Pros: Dollars earned towards car purchases
Cons: rotten customer service, they try selling you things you don't need before you even have your problems with them fixed

My husband and I had an account through GM, which we have had for years.

We've never sent them our payments late, had any returned checks, or given them any problems whatsoever.

Recently, we get a letter from them stating that...

Pros: A great reward program.
Cons: Have to love GM cars for it to be effective

My family has been driving GM cars since I was a kid. Naturally, I wanted and purchases a GM car myself as my first car. And not long after that (since I got that car right out of college), I got the GM card. The GM card promised a 5% rebate on all...

Pros: Potential to buy GM car
Cons: constant phone calls, short bill payment time

I am proud owner of a GM card. In fact, it was my second credit card because it was a no annual fee card. But, I have outgrown that stage... Now, I want a card that offers more than no annual fee, I expect a credit card that gives me money or benefits in...

Pros: Competitive rates, no annual fee, low balance transfers, earn vehicle rebates
Cons: High volume of telemarketing

The GM Card has three things going for it,

1. Earn Rebates towards the purchase or lease of a new vehicle.
2. Decent interest rates.
3. Transfer balances at low rates for life of transfer.

I have used my GM...

Pros: Rebates, ease of payment
Cons: Limit on how much you can use on a purchase

I signed on for The GM Card several years ago, before I even met my wife. I, like many, had dreams of walking into a Chevrolet dealership, picking out a new Corvette and driving home...sending the bill to Household Bank. Well, that won't ever...

Pros: Five percent rebate towards a new GM vehicle
Cons: hefty interest rate

Let's face it, you're going to use your credit card anyway, you might as well get something for it.

There are a lot of credit cards out there that offer you free airmiles, free gasoline, cash back, you name it. And some of the offers are...