I've signed up for the card to get the discount. Then paid in full, and then immediately cut up the card.
These are dubious arguments, at best. They are all predicated on the premise that you, the smart, relatively prosperous, well-employed customer (if you aren't, you shouldn't be in that store in the first place) don't pay your credit-card bills in full every month. If you are in that habit, all four of his 'reasons' are bogus.
Oh, yes: Quoting Chuck "The Schmuck" Schumer doesn't boost his credibility, either.
bttt!
As someone who pays c card balanced in full monthly, I always take advantage of offers like these. I only use the card for that one time and then cut it up.
The store cards were the worse when it came to the consolidation company and arranging payments - they would give them such a hard time. The cards from the banks are pretty decent as far as arranging payments under consolidation.
Sign up, get the freebies, cancel the card. What happened to self control? Take all the bums will give you and let the weak losers pay for it. That's the opposite of us paying for higher prices because of losers stealing stuff and other losers paying late.
Which is why he had his staff obtain Michael Steele's credit report.
All that said, as long as you pay it off immediately you still win.
If you pay your credit cards bills in full, the cards are a good deal. I usually get an additional 15 percent discount off of sale prices by using the store card.
I got a call at 7:00 AM one SATURDAY morning notifying me that I was about to be reported to a credit collection company. I was groggy, and while I didn't think I had missed a payment (I pay everything in full when I get the bill), I agreed to let them take my payment (about $200) out of my checking account. Okay, I was half asleep. I had to also fork over some charges, about $20.
The incident disturbed me, but I had remembered buying a couple of outfits the previous month. The next bill came in the mail--I had a credit balance for the $200--plus the record showed I had paid within the proper time.
I spent the next couple of hours growling my way up the ladder of management at Brand X--and I got my $20 back, cancelled the card, in addition to yelling at a few yuppies for waking me up on a rare Saturday off.
It occurred to me later that a lot of people might not have bothered--and that Brand X was making a nice bundle (in volume) on those $20 charges.
Let 'em keep their discounts--
As for the actual shopping experience; I use the internet since I can't stand malls and usually there are no sales TAXES.
A word of warning......watch for the Sears CitiBank Visa, in my case I thought I had it paid off, using it only for a discount purchase. I stopped getting monthly bills for 6 months, then got a notice that I had an annual fee, late charges and penalties and the rate was up to 30%. I asked where the bills had been going....no response. I paid off the card, closed the account and will not get within 50 feet of a f---ing Sears store if my life depended on it.
I’ve been approached several times in the last couple weeks and asked if I want a store card. I reply, “What? You don’t take VISA?”
The "lousy deal" is pretentious traitorous New York Senators pretending to be looking out for the little guy's pocket book on one hand while taxing him into financial oblivion with the other.
What a phony creep.