Everything Else: Credit Card Insanity

I got a credit card offer in the mail today and I must say, I was stunned at the utter stupidity of it. It was one of those offers where they say they will give you X amount of credit and then in the very small print they say well, they MIGHT give you that much, but they won't give you less than $300. In this case they were offering me a "whopping" $1500 in credit. That is not even three car payments, not that I would pay my car payment by credit card but you get the picture. My credit is not all that great, but it is getting better, and one of the main reasons it was really bad in the past was credit cards. So, I always like to see what the wonderful credit card people are "offering" me when I get this stuff in the mail. Here is what I could look forward to if I were to accept this offer:

First, I get to pick a card with a really cute puppy or kitten on it. Awww..

Second, I get to be saddled with a HUGE APR of 23.90 %...at first I thought this must be for cash advances but, no, it was for everything.

Third, I have the wonderful opportunity to pay $75 annual fee (for the first year) and thereafter it will be $99. AND if I add an authorized user to the account I get to pay an extra $19 per year. So, this means that I will be paying $100 per year just to hold this credit card in my hand...make that $119 per year if I add someone else to the account.

Huh? You have got to be kidding me! So, lets say I accepted this offer and I didn't get the $1500 credit line...lets say they only gave me $300. Lets say I then add an authorized user. So, that means that I would only really have $206 credit. And, I could actually hold that card for a year and not use it at all and still have to pay $75! or $94 if I have that extra user added.

But, wait, there's more! I might just get that $1500 credit line which I would surely max out in a very short time. Then I would be paying 23.90% interest on it plus every year $100-119 would be added on top of it!

I just had a vision of a rat in a trap.

The sad part is there are people out there who would accept this offer!

WAKE UP! WAKE UP!

Federal Trade Comission Credit Education