ted@teldata.UUCP (Ted Becker) (04/06/84)
********* All of the free credit card offers I have checked out require a minimum balance of $500.00 or more in a checking account. This becomes captive money you cannot use and are not drawing interest. If you were to put that $500 in a savings account you would receive $27.50 per year in interest out of which you could pay a $15.00 fee for the credit card and still have enough left over for pizza and beer. Debit cards defeat the advantage of free credit for 30 to 45 days on your purchases. When your monthly credit charges get up to $500.00+ this free credit can increase you net earnings in a money market fund by $4.00 to $6.00 per month over what it might have been if you had kept the cash and spent it right away.
rkp@drufl.UUCP (Pierce) (04/09/84)
I beg to differ that nothing comes free. I currently have a MasterCard from United Missouri Bank in Kansas City, MO, and do not pay anything for an annual fee, nor do I have to keep any money in any account anywhere. I didn't even actively search for such a deal. They sent me a half-page application in the mail, I had been turned down before, so I decided to try again. Voila--fish and chips! The only drawback I see to their card is that the interest rate is 22%, but that is only 1% over the norm (I can handle that). Russ Pierce AT&T Denver, CO drufl!rkp
leung@imsvax.UUCP (04/10/84)
I have a free credit card on Union Trust S & L, MD. Of course, they require me to open at least a checking account with no interest. But they have an option that if I also open a saving account with $300 minimum balance, there is no minimum balance on the checking account. As such, my $300 is still earning interest. I don't see why paying annual fee is a better choice. The S & L also guarantee that there will be no charge on the credit card for at least 3 years. ---- Aldrin Leung IMS, Inc. of MD ----
wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (04/10/84)
My credit union (Gateway Federal, St. Louis) offers free MasterCard (only requirement is having $100 in your share [savings] account) with an arrangement through some bank/organization in Florida, which is where I send the payment. No fee, and no interest charges if you pay in full each month, which is what I always have done, so the interest rate is totally unimportant. Check with your local credit unions; most people qualify for membership in several. A local savings & loan is advertising free Visa and 16% interest, no account requirements, but there is no free period if you pay in full; you get charged interest from day of posting. I had intended to get one of those as a backup, but detected that no-free-period by reading between the lines on the application. It won't cost anything if I never use it, so I still might get one for emergencies, but I doubt it... Keep your powder dry... Will
rpw3@fortune.UUCP (04/14/84)
#R:teldata:-29800:fortune:39400008:000:566 fortune!rpw3 Apr 13 20:02:00 1984 Yes, the Schwab-One account requires a $500 minimum for their VISA debit card, but you get money-market interest on that. What's the problem? (You are also protected the same way that an earlier posting about Merrill Lynch pointed out -- "Bank One" of Columbus, OH, reserves the "right to extend you additional credit". So it's a "credit" card, from the consumer protection point of view.) Rob Warnock UUCP: {ihnp4,ucbvax!amd70,hpda,harpo,sri-unix,allegra}!fortune!rpw3 DDD: (415)595-8444 USPS: Fortune Systems Corp, 101 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City, CA 94065
smk@axiom.UUCP (Steven M. Kramer) (04/18/84)
C'mon people. The outfits that offer free credit cards make money simply by having the use of your money for a period of time. Usually, there is some accompanying bank acct to go with it. In addition, if they feel you are a not-so-nice risk, they will require you keep the amt of your credit limit in the bank. Banks really aren't set up to lose by us -- they only lose on S. America, Poland, ... -- --steve kramer {allegra,genrad,ihnp4,utzoo,philabs,uw-beaver}!linus!axiom!smk (UUCP) linus!axiom!smk@mitre-bedford (MIL)