And for even more rope...
Sep. 1st, 2005 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseOn a bit of a whim, I decided to apply for one of those Alaska Airlines Visa cards. The annual fee is a bit high for my taste ($45 for the basic version), but since I've started working out a budget it actually works fine if I just use the card for most stuff and pay it off right away, and I certainly could use the extra mileage. I'd say a good 80% of the people in Juneau have them, at least from my experience at the clinic - which makes sense, considering how bloody expensive it is to fly out of here. We can use all the help we can get, really.
Anyway, I went and applied for the card online, expecting a "decision in seconds!", but instead got a "We need more time to decide whether or not to extend you credit at an insane interest rate in the hopes that you'll pay us the bare minimum, thus allowing us to pat you on the back with one hand by raising your credit score while charging you even more interest as the balance goes up" message. I guess they probably had to take some time to determine why my FICO score (according to one of those online quiz thingys) is likely somewhere in the 715-740 range, despite the fact that I'm in a high risk category (young, relatively low income, unmarried, etc.). So I waited for a few days and finally got the notification today that I've been approved - for a credit limit of $3500.
Whoa.
I realize it's not that much in the long run, but combined with my newly-increased limit on my existing Visa card, that's $5 grand worth of credit available. More than I've ever had available before (and likely much more than I'm ever going to use, unless I start making a helluva lot more money), but still...that's kind of cool. Even though I can't use it. (Well, I suppose I technically could, but I'm rather proud of the fact that I've never paid a single cent of interest to any credit card company out there, and I'd rather prefer to keep it that way.)
So, in conclusion...airline mileage is good, credit cards can be good if you don't let them get the better of you, and it's nice to have your financial habits validated by people you're likely never going to meet.
Anyway, I went and applied for the card online, expecting a "decision in seconds!", but instead got a "We need more time to decide whether or not to extend you credit at an insane interest rate in the hopes that you'll pay us the bare minimum, thus allowing us to pat you on the back with one hand by raising your credit score while charging you even more interest as the balance goes up" message. I guess they probably had to take some time to determine why my FICO score (according to one of those online quiz thingys) is likely somewhere in the 715-740 range, despite the fact that I'm in a high risk category (young, relatively low income, unmarried, etc.). So I waited for a few days and finally got the notification today that I've been approved - for a credit limit of $3500.
Whoa.
I realize it's not that much in the long run, but combined with my newly-increased limit on my existing Visa card, that's $5 grand worth of credit available. More than I've ever had available before (and likely much more than I'm ever going to use, unless I start making a helluva lot more money), but still...that's kind of cool. Even though I can't use it. (Well, I suppose I technically could, but I'm rather proud of the fact that I've never paid a single cent of interest to any credit card company out there, and I'd rather prefer to keep it that way.)
So, in conclusion...airline mileage is good, credit cards can be good if you don't let them get the better of you, and it's nice to have your financial habits validated by people you're likely never going to meet.
