Who is Providian Visa. Providian is the 5th largest bankcard provider in the nation with assets of $27 billion. They must be doing something right to be this large, but make sure to do your homework on their features and benefits when you do an instant credit card application online
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(At the end of this article, we provide you with tons of great options for credit card providers).
With an approved instant credit card application online, Providian offers a good line of credit on the Platinum Visa, which includes the usual (ie car rental insurance, accident insurance, extended warranty, etc.).
But with an approved instant credit card application online, check out the "exclusive rewards". If you look at their literature, they don't tell you what the rewards are. They tell you that you get 2 points for every dollar spent "in the first year", and you get 5000 points for joining. You can start trading them in when you get to 7500 points, but for what? Providian doesn't seem to make that clear.
Secondly, check out the account information. You pay 19.99% variable APR for purchases--by variable, they mean "will not go below 19.99%". So add that to the $1000 you'd have to spend to get your reward points. Also, with an approved instant credit card application online,
you will pay 21.99 APR on cash advances, plus a 5.00 *minimum* fee.
On top of that there is a hefty $29.00 late payment and over-limit fee. And a fee "may be charged" if you accept a credit line increase. Interesting. For the privilege of increasing your credit line, Providian charges the fee AND the 19.99% APR.
And finally, with an approved instant credit card application online, there is no annual fee, but there is an "other" fee of $7.95 billed monthly, or $96 per year.
This is the kind of homework that you need to do on every credit card before you send in an instant credit card application online. Some cards may seem appealing on the surface, with nice perks, but determine how much those perks cost before you jump in.
And remember, other credit cards such as Mastercard, Discover, Visa, American Express, Aria and Capital One also offer instant online application approval like Providian. Many offer free secured and unsecured credit cards, and student cards as well. Applying online is fast and many offer great services.
