Years ago, my credit was great. I had some serious ‘happy’ credit. You know the type of people that can apply for anything, then walk away smiling? That was me. “Excuse me, but can I pay for this pack of gum with my credit card? Oh, thanks!”
Yep. That was your friendly neighborhood MomGadget Julie.
Everything went well until life happened. Coasting along with everything you touch turning to gold. A car, a truck, a bit of land and a little home on it to call your own. That’s when the ‘Break-Up’ happens.
Break-Ups can ruin not only your emotional state, but your finances. By the time mine was over, I had went from a $60k a year household to penniless. My credit looked like someone had dropped all 3 of my credit files into a manure pit. Then danced on them.
Dead serious, Dear Reader- I was left with around $80k in debt. That included a partially paid home loan, a few bank accounts that had been overcharged by He-Who_Shall_Remain_Unnamed and other things I just couldn’t pay. We’ll just call this Julie’s Epic Fail of Finance.
For years I didn’t get credit offers. I told DadGadget (my husband Rob) that the credit card companies were going to start sending me a letter with FAIL printed in the middle. He laughed, but when you can’t get credit, you have a harder road to getting a lot of things in life. From jobs to housing, not just shopping. Your credit score affects a lot.
Then I found by checking my free yearly credit report, that this year nearly every bad mark on my credit was coming off. Time to start fresh! A home loan consultant pointed me in the direction of sub-prime credit cards to build my credit.
Before you get all shaky and sweaty at the mention of sub-primes, trust me here. They sound like a scam- you apply for a card, they give you a small line of credit, but charge a fee to the card. Everything is higher on the sub-primes, but-
For someone with poor credit trying to re-establish credit, this is the fastest way to begin doing so. You should begin working to pay off your old debt. At the same time, a sub-prime card will help you rebuild as you pay off old debt.
My choice? First Premier Bank. They start with $250 of credit, charge fees to the card. It ends up leaving about $70 in open credit for you to use. Payments are a minimum $25 a month. Not a bad price to help your credit grow. My experience with First Premier has been great. The customer service agent I spoke with when I had a problem was wonderful. My statement was the $25 stated when I signed up- nothing more.
I’m happy. No more pre-paid cards. A real line of credit that will push that manure covered credit score out of the pit. A friendly company with reasonable fees, no overcharges and a multitude of cards to choose from.
Bottom line? If you have poor credit, search out First Premier Bank. If you pay on time, you’ll re-establish your credit quickly.
*I am not paid by First Premier Bank, I am an actual customer/cardholder. The link to the yearly credit report links to a Federal Trade Commission website and is completely free.
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Great review Julie! Thanks for sharing a little bit of your story and your experience with this company. Bad credit can be a scary thing!
Actually, I too, used First Premier a long time ago to start building my credit. I admit, I eventually left them once I really didn’t need to pay the monthly fee to keep the card, but I kept them for a good 1-2+ years, and they reported my on-time payments to the bureau’s EVERY month, and they were my first step to rebuilding my credit a long time ago. *DO* read and understand what you are getting in to, but they are better than most of the sub-prime card companies, and for my experience, they did EXACTLY what they said they would, and every fee and amount I paid was spelled out up front!
Just to have a friendly voice chip in with his experience…
First Premier Bank may have started off good, but now are a bunch of rip-off buttholes who steal your money. If you read this prior to applying, SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!! They do not post payments before 1 week time period so most payments are late and fees are charged! This is why Americans should run these companies if based there….NOT FOREIGN IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing,this information is useful for me.
i am using this card to rebuild my credit as well. the fees **can** be a bit much; however, what i found is that any time you pay off your card, you get an early payment credit that far exceeds the actual monthly charge. i ONLY use the card for things i already have budgeted (gas, groceries) and pay it off every pay period. i end up with a monthly credit of almost $20 which more than offsets the monthly fee.
In order to increase my credit, I generally do not use credit cards on any luxury or “fun” buy. Instead, I pay for the bare essentials on my card, which would for sure have been paid, so I’m able to pay them off regardless in a timely manner.
My husband just got a credit card offer in the mail from First Premier with a 59% APR on purchase. I told him it must have been a typo, because I’ve never heard of an interest rate being that high. He showed me the paperwork and if it was a typo, then it was done throughout the entire offer. Why on earth would anyone ever get a credit card with an interest rate of 59%. That’s insane. Don’t we have laws against that sort of thing?
This is a very irresponsible article! First premier feeds off the poor! Are you paid to endorse them, Julie? $300 credit limit comes with a $45 application fee, a $75 annual fee and a APR of 59%! What a joke. Shame on you!
Mike thank you for your follow up research and comments. We agree a $45 app fee and 59% APR for a $300 credit limit is OUTRAGEOUS. When this review was written the credit card reviewed to DID NOT have those terms. Please note that we DO follow the rules for disclosure, and if we are paid for a review we let people know it is a paid review. In this case Julie was not paid for her review. It was her opinion at the time. I have sent a note to First Premier to find out more about the different sub-prime cards they offer today and will provide an updated post in the near future. Please feel free to write to me directly if you have an any additional concerns or questions. Best…cathy@momgadget.com
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