Is this CC any good? (Discover Platinum)

[EY2K]

I've been getting tons and tons of credit card ads and sign-ups thru the mail, and none of them have really caught my attention accept for this one. It sounds too good to be true. Here's the rundown of what this pre-approved Discover Platinum is offering me:

- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
- no annual fee
- up to 2% cashback bonus
- online account access
- $50,000 credit limit <---- (this one really caught my eye! the most anyone has offered me is $25,000.)

Now I have a few questions.

1) Is Discover a good CC company? i.e. do they have good/great customer service?
2) This will be my first CC (aside from a Debit card) so I won't need to worry about balance transfers, right?
3) Discover isn't really a big player like VISA and MC, but do most online vendors now take Discover?

Reason, I'd like to get a CC is to build up my credit report since I do not own one and the fact that I'm already 21. My dad is really against me having one, and on this application they make no mention of "guarantors" or "co-signers". Should I be worried about that?

-Thanx AT OT'ers!

 

[Kaervak]

I started out with a Discover classic card back in 2k. About two months ago they bumped me up to Platinum for no reason. Got a cool transparent card also. Never had a problem with them. My mom's had one since they've been around and she's never had a problem with them at all.

 

[Praetor]

Whenever you get a credit card, take a look at the APR after the promotional period is over. i.e. 4.99% + PRIME = 10.49% or somesuch. You can expect your first credit card to have rates anywhere from 12-21% probably.

Personally, I like my Discover classic. I've argued my APR down to a 12% fixed (the highest of all my cc's), but I always use it. Customer service has always rocked for me, I like being able to pay my bills online with no hassle, they do have a CC# masker thingy (don't remember the official term) so you can shop securely, it is taken at a large number of stores, online and off.

Ask RossMAN for some good credit advice, he seems to know his shiznit.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I try to ONLY use Discover. You get 1% back (I'm waiting for my $67 check to arrive any day now.) It's a free card, and they pay you to use it basically. It's one shortfall is that it's not accepted everywhere. DC Platiunum allows you to use your Cashback Bonus Award at special places and you get twice the value. For example, say Delta Air Lines is a DC partner, then you could play twice your award to buying a plane ticket or something.

Discover's Private Issue gives you 2% back of all purchases. But, you have to earn your way into that club. I only know one member.

 

[RossMAN]

Remember that just because you received a "pre-approved" cc offer in the junk mail does not guarantee your approval so be prepared for a decline. Although your chances of being approved are probably better than just applying without a pre-approved offer. They usually target certain people for those offers.

The 0.00% APR on purchases and balance transfers expires when?
Remember that's up to 2% cash back, it's probably tiered.

I highly doubt any cc would give you a $25k, $15k or even $10k for your very first cc unless you are filthy rich and/or someone who is VERY rich is co-signing for you.

My first cc was a CitiBank VISA with a whopping $300 limit back in the day (19 yrs old). Now I can get a $25k VISA with no problem (that's a bad thing, not a good thing).

A good thread to read is in the Hot Deals forum search for credit card hot deals.

 

[RossMAN]

Here's the Credit Card Hot Deals thread I was talking about.

 

[Praetor]

Good timing, RossMAN.

 

[RossMAN]

<< Good timing, RossMAN. >>



I hit reply when there were 0 replies by the time I got done blabbering there were already 3-4 replies ahead of mine

Skoorbie would be proud of my response time and the fact that Nissan Sentra's suck

 

[Praetor]

Oh great. You mentioned his name, now he'll make an appearance in the thread. He's like Beatlejuice, y'know.

 

[EY2K]

Thanks for the replies so far!

Whenever you get a credit card, take a look at the APR after the promotional period is over. i.e. 4.99% + PRIME = 10.49% or somesuch. You can expect your first credit card to have rates anywhere from 12-21% probably.
On the application, it states that the tAPR go to 12.99% after the intro rate.

The 0.00% APR on purchases and balance transfers expires when?
It ends December of this year.

I highly doubt any cc would give you a $25k, $15k or even $10k for your very first cc unless you are filthy rich and/or someone who is VERY rich is co-signing for you.
My dad has 2 Platinum CC's that I know of, and he always pays them off every month. FWIW, he makes over 100k a year as a university dean. I think that's why I've been getting a lot of "platinum" CC offers lately. I usually just ignore them, but my mom said that her Discover card has always treated her best. My mom doesn't have a job, and my parents are divorced. One word, "alimony."

 

[Praetor]

More than likely, you won't get a platinum card on your own. Or if you do, it'll be one of those fake Capitol One cards. But still, Discover is a good company, IMHO. Give it a shot, I don't think you'll be disappointed. They were my 2nd card and I keep 'em because they've been good to me.

 

[RossMAN]

Capital One is one of the easiest cc's to qualify for but they suck donkeys balls.

They recently approved me for a freakin' $500 cc, I'm still pissed off about that.

 

[Cyberian]

I've had a Discover Platinum card for years - never had a problem and the 'cash back' feature is a nice little extra.
There are a few places that don't accept it, though, so you may want to ask before taking friends out to a nice restaurant for dinner.

 

[RossMAN]

That's a good point Cyberian. Discover isn't accepted everywhere like VISA/MasterCard are.

 

[Praetor]

<< That's a good point Cyberian. Discover isn't accepted everywhere like VISA/MasterCard are. >>



That's easy to fix. Don't patronize those shops.

I've seriously done that though. "What? You don't take Discover? Okay, I guess I'll go to the other store."

 

[iamwiz82]

i have an AMEX and a visa as my backup, in case AMEX is not taken.

 

[EY2K]

So I guess that the general consensus is that I cannot go wrong with Discover, and that I should try it? I am kinda scared of getting my first CC. I dunno why.

 

[Kaervak]

Go for it. My first CC was GTE Visa card. Used that for a while till I got my GM Card, which is the only one of four that I use. Whatever you do, don't carry a balance. I've never carried a ballance on any of my cards. They leep increasing my limits and lowering the APR trying to get me to carry a balance. If you're responsible, then credit can be one of the best things you have.

 

[FrustratedUser]

<< Capital One is one of the easiest cc's to qualify for but they suck donkeys balls.

They recently approved me for a freakin' $500 cc, I'm still pissed off about that. >>



I need to build my credit. I've been in the US since mid January and managed to get a $4700 credit at criminal rate.
Next step would be to get approved for a suck-donkeys-balls CC.

 

[Praetor]

<< So I guess that the general consensus is that I cannot go wrong with Discover, and that I should try it? I am kinda scared of getting my first CC. I dunno why. >>



Don't worry. They're extra gentle with first-timers.

 

[EY2K]

Don't worry. They're extra gentle with first-timers.

Thx Praetor. I think I'll try em out. I can always cancel whenever I'd like right? BTW, I wuv Calvin 'n' Hobbes too!

 

[Praetor]

<< Don't worry. They're extra gentle with first-timers.

Thx Praetor. I think I'll try em out. I can always cancel whenever I'd like right? BTW, I wuv Calvin 'n' Hobbes too! >>



Yes, you can cancel whenever you want, though I can't imagine why you'd ever want to.

Calvin & Hobbes kicks ass. In some ways I wish Bill had allowed some limited licensing, because I'd love to have a C&H wall poster or a stuffed Hobbes. Hrm... plates would've been nice too.

 

[EY2K]

Yes, you can cancel whenever you want, though I can't imagine why you'd ever want to.

Calvin & Hobbes kicks ass. In some ways I wish Bill had allowed some limited licensing, because I'd love to have a C&H wall poster or a stuffed Hobbes. Hrm... plates would've been nice too.

So that's why I was never able to buy a stuffed Hobbes? Doh!

 

[bizmark]

Discover was the first card I got. (got it when I was 18, I'm now 21) They started me out with, I think, 15.99% fixed, then at one point when interest rates were high, they changed it to a variable rate (I think that it changed to 15.49% at the time -- I'm not sure exactly what the terms are, but it's at 10.74% yearly now -- all I can say is that I'm not griping about 10.74%!!!), but it really doesn't matter since I've paid off my balance in full every month except for a couple of months when I was in a cash bind. I had a $1000 limit to start (this for a HS student who made like $2000 the year he got the card -- plus parents' money of course, but we're far from rich), and at one point they bumped me up to $1300 without any doing on my part. Whatever -- I don't think I've ever had the balance beyond like $500 anyway! But it's nice to know that it's there for emergencies and stuff.

So even if you apply and they bump you down to a regular Discover, I'd say to keep it. It's FREE after all. And it's good to have a credit card. Just BE CAREFUL WITH IT and don't charge it up! But of course, this goes for every credit card company.

As far as service goes, they can't be beat. I pay my bills every month on-line, straight from my bank account. Plus they have this Discover Desktop thing that makes up one-time Discover Card numbers to use on websites, so that your real account number isn't given out. I've called 1-800-DISCOVER a few times, and every time the service was fast and friendly. Most online vendors take DC, no problem. As others have mentioned, it's not accepted at some B&M places, but it's becoming more common. Also, if you plan on a vacation outside the US, you'll need another CC, because Discover is a strictly-US affair AFAIK.

For every credit card offer you get, look on the BACK of the sheet. Don't even look at the front of it -- they just hype stuff there. There will be a table with all of the relevant information, esp. APRs and annual fees. That's what's important about a credit card IMO, not the perks. These tables will be laid out the same way for all of the credit card offers you receive, so it's easy to do comparisons. And a high credit limit on their promotional thing doesn't mean a thing. There's no way you're going to be getting a $50k limit on your first credit card, unless your name is Bill Gates Jr.....

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm a long time Discover customer, and it's my favorite credit card.

This is what Discover is good at:

1) Cash back bonus: It's nowhere near 2%, but it's nice to get back a few bucks of my monthly purchases.
2) Good customer service. They are quick with the phones, and can quickly get you a replacement card if you need it.
3) Nice upgrades. They give generous credit limit upgrades every year or two. I started with a Classic card with only a $1,000 limit, but I was upgraded to Platinum card with a much higher limit soon after. Forget about the $50K limit, though, you would be lucky to get $2,500 as a college student.

These are Discover's problems, though:

1) Most restaurants don't take Discover, so it's usually best not to even bother trying.
2) If you're a frequent flyer, you would be better off with a card that gives you bonus airline miles. I know a guy that gets a free cross-country trip on American every year, because he charges almost everything to his AA Advantage charge card.