Credit card with 79.9% interest rate!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Toni Riss had a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate. The 58-year-old woman from Texas thought she struck gold when she found the First Premier card, which is aimed specifically at consumers with poor credit.

money.cnn.com...

And people are signing up for these like there's no tomorrow.
What is this world coming to?
Wow.

I think that might be because there is no tomorrow.

Wow. . . it's pretty hard to make loan sharks look like compassionate members of society but there you go.

reply to post by helltick


Such a thing should be illegal and I'm pretty sure it is in Canada but I can't find any sources which confirms it.
In any case, how can it be beneficial to these companies to bankrupt people? If they wanted to make money they'd charge an interest rate that would bleed people but keep them afloat... which even if disgusting is pretty much what most companies do.

It's up to people to be smarter than that. We don't have a card with more than 300$ limit and yes you can ask for less credit. Also, the interest rates on the cards are all below 20%.

We hate feeding the banking institutions and if there was a way around it, we'd definitely do it.

What a loon. Who would voluntarily sign up for that crap-deal? Lol... You know, the sub-par lending and credit card market is about is low as you can go, but those who voluntarily do business with them also get what they pay for.

reply to post by helltick


Just a way to try and finish off the rest of those who aren't doomed financially.
2nd line


Deebo

reply to post by LadySkadi


Desperation + ignorance would be where I'd wager they're coming from.

reply to post by Boreas


There is nothing "desperate" about signing up for a sub-par card with a starting limit of $300 with a $100+ annual fee and then still carry a balance month to month, in addition. People do it because they choose to and are not bothered to find out, or don't care what the repercussions of that choice is. If someone has had financial problems in the past and is using this type of card to help re-establish credit ranking, then that someone had better not be carrying a balance month to month. If they are, then their "plan" is faulty.

One spouse may run up the bills and blindside the other.
During the divorce the other spouse may be forced to use a card like this for a certain period until their credit rebounds. Just because the interest is 79% doesn’t mean they have to keep a balance from month to month.

Just how much would you charge someone who just settled bankruptcy if the money came from your own pocket? I am assuming the new card company doesn’t know how bad things actually were for the person. So they just have to cover their tail.

reply to post by samkent


Well I certainly wouldn't charge them 79.9%
Little over the top don't ya think?

Over the top? No.
If you look at it in terms of real numbers and consider the credit history of the person, it’s not unreasonable.
With an outstanding balance of $500.00 that amounts to $33.00 in interest for the month. It would take 15 months for the card company to recover that $500 if the customer didn’t pay a penny towards the balance itself. That assumes the customer doesn’t use the card for the other 14 months.

What are the odds of a 5 time DUI doing it again? Pretty high I would think. It’s the same with people who don’t pay their bills.

It’s the same with Safe Auto insurance. Anyone can get insurance with them but some have to pay through the nose because they wreck cars a lot.

If you absolutely positively have to have a card for emergency proposes but you have crappy credit, this cards for you.

Try going into the inner city near you and handing out $100 loans. See how much you get back at the end of the month.