First Premier - making the ebst out of it

this is one of the worst cards you can get. one of my co-workers at work was in tears everyday because she couldn't make one payment and she was always on time and they didn't want to work with her for a payment arrangement. They called her all day at work with threats, they called her at home at all hours of the night. anyway, I think it's better to pay the whole thing at once so you can use it to get gas or whatever and then pay it in full every month. Another thing I did to rebuild credit was the bank gave me a 500 overdraft account against my checking, meaning if i forget to transfer money between savings and checking to cover a check, i have 500 dollars that they can take it from so the check won't bounce and this account actually gets reported on the credit report as having an installment loan with the bank. When you start getting more credit card offers try to get the card that has no annual fee on it because even if you don't use the card you still get charged this fee every month. what happened with me was that i had a card that was for emergencies only and i forgot about the card and pretty soon i had this huge bill and it was just the annual fee getting charged and because i forgot that this card charged an annual fee, they added all these late charges and overlimit fees.

i actually had one of these cards about 7 years ago..i paid on it ahile and eventually charged off. i will say the account balance after co never ballooned above what i actually owed..so that was good..but it wasn't a bad card-i was just a bad card payer--anyway with that said, if you can afford to pay the fees off initially do so..remember you want your card to have a low balance preferably 30% or less is best for utilization..pay it and keep it low over time it will help your score..but if can not afford to do that, definately pay as much as you can above the min $25.00 payment as possible..you'll do fine as long as you pay it monthly..

welkl I have three options now, i think:
1. call then and cancel the card. i am not sure I can even do that. They already reported to Experian. should I cancel it? I just got it. how can I do this?
2. start paying it and keep it active
3.pay off all the fees and just keep the card. If I do that will they still report meaningfully to my credit report.
please advise:)
thanks!

anyone? thx:)

You can keep the card and pay the fees if you want. But be very careful with this one. If you default, they up your interest rate. If something comes up and you can't make your payments they will charge off this account in a heartbeat. I had one and that happened to me because they would not work with me to pay it off. I also had a 250 limit. But a couple years after charge off my credit report said I owed them over $600 and the CA (Arrow) also stated the same amount on the CR.

As soon as you can, you need to get a different card because their fees are outragous!! And make sure you make your payment no later than 2 weeks before it is due, because they will try and get you with late fees.

I get offers in the mail from them now and I just send stuff back to them in the pre-paid envelope. I will NEVER have a first premier card again!!!! If I don't have the cash to pay for it, then I don't need it.

i just got it, can i return it and say I did not want it or something?

If it has been less than 30 days and you have not charged anything, I believe you can cancel it. I would cut up the card and send it back with a letter saying that you are canceling the account. Send it CMMRRR so you have proof.

Then I would go to my local credit union and open up a secured credit card...fees are less and interest is reasonable. The CU usually reports to the CB's. Build your credit thru the CU NOT thru First Premier...btw...First Premier is owned by HSBC...another ripoff bank...

i just received the statement today and have not used the card. but they already reported on my credit history.i am worried if I send back the card I will end up with 179$ in fees. please help guys, need good advice! I cant open an account with credit union locally - I tried but bc of unusual employment...long story...i am not eligible.what to do?

anyone else?

have you tried to call them and ask what your options are? Maybe if you talk to them, they might just cancel the card. I don't know. It's worth a shot.

Best advice...call them and insist that you want to cancel the card...see what they have to say...

With regards to a CU - per above statement...if you tried to open a checking account, they can deny you if they want...USUALLY with a SAVINGS account, they don't care about your history (work or otherwise)...it is just a deposit account, unlike a checking account...I would either do the secured credit card or bite the bullet and do the First Premier CC if you are in desperate need of building your credit.

My advice, dont' be afraid to ask questions...call 1st Premier and call several credit unions. Can't hurt!

Good Luck!

You may also want to beware of the annual fee as well, check to see what they charge for that. It may not even be worth it. I also had a co-worker who had this card and she fell behind on the payments and they wouldn't even accept a proposal from her consolidation company. They actually just kept emailing her over and over because she got her number changed and never updated it with them. She also never gave them her work number.