RevolutionCard Not So Revolutionary
Filed in archive Credit on September 24, 2007
The RevolutionCard has late fees and over-the-limit fees comparable to other cards, and according to its Web site it can have an interest rate of over 29%, depending on your credit (to be fair it can also have a rate of under 8%, which is very good). None of that seems revolutionary.
It looks nice, although it reminds me of the soap shape that several manufacturers adopted when they wanted to give you less soap for the same price.
The security features are good; you have to use a PIN number with every purchase, so no one could steal your card and just go out for a night on the town. While that's a good thing in that it will save you some hassle, the truth is that current credit cards don't charge you more than $50 if your card is stolen, and most don't charge anything. So it's not that big of a feature unless you're really paranoid about identity theft (which I'm not, so I might have a bias).
The real "revolution" here is actually for the merchants who accept this card (reportedly at 100,000 or so already). The RevolutionCard is offering a much lower interchange rate to merchants-that's the rate merchants have to pay every time you use your credit card. If the Revolution Card only charges them 0.5% on purchases where they're currently paying 1.9% (the amount quoted by RevolutionCard, not sure how accurate that is), then merchants will want it to be used, and they'll encourage its use.
The RevolutionCard wants you to think that what's good for the merchants will be good for you, but I'm not so sure. From everything I've read about merchants such as gas station owners, they're bitter over credit card fees, but they seem to believe they should be pocketing that money, and I don't know that they would be "passing the savings on to you," as the saying goes.
What say you? Is a revolution afoot?
Permalink: RevolutionCard Not So Revolutionary
Tags: credit 2007 revolutioncard card money credit+card revolutioncard+revolutionary home+based
Vote for RevolutionCard Not So Revolutionary:
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Rating: 7.17 out of 6 vote(s) cast.
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Response from:
ed
(09/24/07 5:40pm)
you don't understand identity theft if you don't read the statistics of how often it happens. It is on a massive scale across the globe and costs the credit card companies billions! at who's cost? ours the consumer! no annual fees! No rate hikes! no high interest rates for people who deserve low rates for good credit histories! transfer money from your bank for free! transfer money online for free! transfer money to friends and businesses for free! pay bills for free! no more stamps! i think you jumped the gun on bashing a company who is really trying to save the citizen and the consumer money to put into their own pocket and pay for things like their kids education!
Response from:
Joe
(09/25/07 6:49am)
I'm not super impressed... Gas station merchants may feel they are being gouged on credit card fees, but what was the last gas station you went to that didn't accept credit cards? As soon as the price drops, efficient markets will fix the rest. Of course you have to have enough users of this card to make it worthwhile.... while 100,000 locations seems impressive, thats just one location per 1,000 Americans.....
Response from:
Joe
(09/25/07 6:51am)
Excuse me, I mean to say thats just one location per 3,000 Americans.....
Response from:
Ted Leonsis
(09/25/07 4:00pm)
Hi--It is Ted Leonsis here-- the real savings also come from not charging fees to consumers that transfer money online;if you are an online merchant or just a consumer exchanging money-- you can get the money out without fees-- and asap; we dont play with your money to earn the float. Best, Ted Leonsis
Response from:
Senn
(03/10/08 4:49pm)
I was tell you my REAL EXPERIENCE with this company. I was put on hold for more than 1 hour, and when the automated machine say that I was the first in line I need to wait for more than 20 min to speak to a representative. What she says is that the decision letter is mailed, and it takes more than 3 weeks from that call to now I received a letter of rejection. WHAT MAKES ME REALLY REALLY SURPRISED IS THAT WHAT THEY REQUEST ME TO SEND TO THEM FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN ORDER FOR A REVIEWED: 1st - COPY OF MY ***SOCIAL SECURITY CARD*** (What the hell they want to do with a copy of my actual SSN card, my Wachovia and Suntrust bank don’t even required of my real SSN; they can check it with the Credit Bureau … Federal Agency), 2nd a copy of most recent year’s tax return (this may be understandable), and 3rd is the most funny one - Original PHONE BILL DATED within 90 days … (what the hell … for WHAT … my parent pay my phone bill, why do you need that to check my credit).
Overall, What a SUCK company is it. I like the idea of your secured credit card, but you are so suck to offer such a good credit card. By the way, I called Customer Support on MONDAY and in BUSINESS HOURS and wait for MORE THAN 1 HOUR FOR a “unhappy” REPRESENTATIVE. Do you want to pay my phone minutes for >70minutes of waiting?
Paypal and Ebay MasterCard is MUCH MORE BETTER than you, So don’t even call you as a COMPETITOR to Paypal on the news. You just paid them to talk good about you :O. By the way, AOL has their hands in this, so be aware; if you know how suck AOL is, this company is the same
Overall, What a SUCK company is it. I like the idea of your secured credit card, but you are so suck to offer such a good credit card. By the way, I called Customer Support on MONDAY and in BUSINESS HOURS and wait for MORE THAN 1 HOUR FOR a “unhappy” REPRESENTATIVE. Do you want to pay my phone minutes for >70minutes of waiting?
Paypal and Ebay MasterCard is MUCH MORE BETTER than you, So don’t even call you as a COMPETITOR to Paypal on the news. You just paid them to talk good about you :O. By the way, AOL has their hands in this, so be aware; if you know how suck AOL is, this company is the same
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