Have any of you ever applied for a Credit Card with an 18%+ rate?

[ThomWV]

I don't think I've ever seen a card advertised that carries a rate as high as they invariably will raise it too the first time the moon is in proper alignment with a near infinite number of other celestial bodies. That alone should be proof enough of the intention of the issuing companies to entrap us all with debt. If there is any "industry" operating in this country that is more in need of regulatory attention I do not know what it is. Every bit of their advertising is as fraudulent as it is enticing. We don't allow dangerous and addictive drugs to be sold to any fool on the streets - we arrest the predators that try to do it. Why in hell do we allow the issuing banks to get away with this open usury?

[rcrush]

1. No but I once bought a computer from gateway

And their finance plan ended up charging me 22% interest a month. Took me 4 years to pay off a $2000 computer.

[moez]

9. why the hell do you need a $2000 computer?

you ought to be able to get one for less than half of that.... should've bought one that you could afford...

[rcrush]

11. I was 19 and stupid

I realize that taking 4 years to pay off a computer is stupid.

[Warpy]

2. My first, last and only card had an 18 3/4% rate

I was fine with that since it represented small, unsecured personal loans.

When that 18 3/4% suddenly showed up with an advisory that all sorts of junk fees would be added to the appropriate interest rate on a high risk loan, I decided they were getting greedy and I canceled the bugger.

That was 18 years ago. I have never been so glad I did anything in a fit of financial pique as I have been that I canceled that card.

You can live without a credit card. Really.

[phantom power]

3. First one's always free.

[old mark]

4. There used to be mortgages with higher rates about 25 years ago. nt

[JSK]

5. Yes, back in the olden days

that's what they were.

[napi21]

6. YEARS AGO almost all cc's had high rates. In recent years, I pay much

more attention to the benefits, like cash back etc. than I do to the rate because I've been paying off the balance each month for a long time.

[Ms. Toad]

7. I honestly don't know.

We use our credit card like a checkbook - it's just more convenient since you pretty much have to sign over your first born child to pay for things by check. We never purchase anything using a credit card that we don't already have the money for - so the interest rate is not a factor for us.

We do look at the contract to make sure that they can't ding us for any charges if we pay off the balance by the due date, circumstances that might trigger unexpected charges, and cash back plans.

[appleannie1]

8. No, but B of A bought out the bank I had a fixed 10.9 rate card with and raised it to 22.9.

Paid them off totally, first chance I got.

[customerserviceguy]

10. I did about a dozen years ago

I had filed for bankruptcy in 1996 (ruinous child custody battle) and all I could get were high interest rate cards. I dutifully charged a few hundred dollars on them, and paid them all back within six months or so, then applied for better cards.

By the time my bankruptcy went off my credit report in 2006, I had stellar credit, and I still do. I was able to get zero rate cards about a year ago to roll my remaining debt into. One got paid off before I lost my full-time job, the other had the lower balance, and I might just decide to roll it over to another zero or low interest card when it starts charging full interest in May.

[michreject]

12. I've never been offered one nt