Taking Target off the list

I previously blogged here about the top ten consumer-friendly credit cards. There's a different list of "consumer-friendly" credit cards popping up on the internet, but I would be careful; the one I see a lot is actually a list of the top ten consumer friendly rewards. 

Instead of the list I used, which was based on the work of cardweb.com and Consumer Reports, the new list is based on "perceived value of what each card offers to the most people, plus the numbers of online visits to card offers." That means that the list is based on all the wrong criteria. Instead of emphasizing terms that are financially friendly, like no 2-cycle billing, no balance transfer fees, reasonable rates, or reasonable grace periods, the new list is a popularity contest. So lots of environmentally friendly cards make the list, along with cards with rewards that are enticing to the most internet users, like the World of Warcraft rewards card from Visa.

If you should google consumer friendly credit cards, and it leads you to an article that has Capital One's Card Lab as the most consumer friendly credit card, you're looking at the wrong list. The list I recommend has TNB Members Platinum MasterCard from Town North Bank in the #1 slot, followed by 1st Tennessee, Pulaski, Simmons 1st National, BB&T, Target, etc. 

That's where we run into a problem. 

You might notice that these top ten truly consumer-friendly credit cards are a bit obscure. I'd never heard of 8 of the ten on the list before cardweb and Consumer Reports brought them to my attention.  The best bank in the country, BB&T, only operates in a handful of states, so unfortunately most of us don't have access to their credit card. Of the other 9 on the list, the most familiar is Target.

I've recommended the Target Visa Card before all the others for several years now. It's the easiest of the ten to actually get. Not only does Target operate in 49 states, you can apply for a card and pay your credit card bill in any of their stores. I could recommend, say, Pulaski Bank's Visa Gold card, but their credit requirements are extremely high, and most people were just better off going with Target.

Until now.

I just got a notorious "Important changes to your Target Visa credit card agreement." While it's not as awful as the notice I got from Bank of America (and blogged about here), it's enough to make me cancel the card and take Target off the list of consumer-friendly credit cards. 

Here's the first paragraph of their letter:

Like many credit card issuers in this challenging economic envioronment, we are modifying some of the terms of our REDcard(sm) Agreement. The details of these changes are outlined below. Please know that we remain committed to providing the great guest service, outstanding value, and exceptional support to our communities that you have come to expect from Target.

So they're blaming the "Challenging Economic Environment" for these changes. It's a microcosm of the economy writ large; even though I've never missed a payment, I'm seeing my APR go up by 6 points because Target has given too many credit cards to other people who couldn't pay their bills. They're robbing ants to pay grasshoppers everywhere you look these days.

Well, I'm done with it. And I'm through recommending credit cards. The most sensible course of action in life is to have as little to do with credit card lenders as possible.

Comments

[cass]

Has it occurred to anyone that capitalism is in trouble because we have replaced capitalism with capitalism on steroids, otherwise known as thievery?

The current management of the financial sector couldn't figure out how to set things up to keep a vegetable stand in business for more than a month. (but no doubt they'd be shutting it down with money in their pockets at week no. 2)

It looks like corporations are now just vehicles for individual theft by a bizarre bunch of MBA holders.