Fees - There is a one-time application fee of $149.95. However, there is no annual fee or monthly processing fee which is common in credit cards in this category. Hence, your total first year fees will be $149.95. There is no interest charges, but you have to pay the greater of 15% of your balance or $25.00 monthly. Your credit payments is also reported to one major credit bureau (the terms and conditions, however, do not say which credit bureau they report to).
Application Criteria - Though there are no credit or employment checks and you have to be discharged from bankruptcy to qualify for the card.
usashoppingclub.com - This catalog card can only be used at usashoppingclub.com. The Shopping Club offers over 14,000 products.
Unsecured Credit Line - You can get an unsecured credit line of up to $5,000. The amount will be lower initially and your credit limit will be increased periodically if you have made timely payments. Your monthly payments will also be reported to one major credit bureau.
$300 Grocery Gift Card - The All American Gold offers a $300 grocery gift card consisting on 30 $10.00 coupon certificates.
Fine Prints - There are a few fine prints that you have to be aware of before you apply for this card.
When you are approved, All American Gold will give you a 30-day *free trial whereby you can access your credit report. (On their website, they are not specific as to which credit bureau you do you get your report from). However, after 30 days, they will start charging you $9.95 per month to access your credit report unless you inform them that you are canceling this service. This is rather annoying as many people will not even be aware that they have been signed up for this service. You can actually get a free report from the three major credit bureaus once a year. Even if you wanted to get instant access to your reports and credit scores, you will be better off buying this service from the credit bureaus themselves.
Under the terms and conditions, you will be automatically given a 30 trial of All American Gold elite membership program (as a cardholder, you are a "member" of the usa shopping club. As an Elite Status Member, you will receive privileges in USA Credit Care, USA Prescription Discount Plan and USA Emergency Roadside Assistance Plan. If you choose to be an "elite member", you will be charged $19.95 monthly fee (more like your bank account will be debited with a monthly $19.95 monthly payment to USA Gold) until you call them up to cancel it.
On the All American Gold Card website, there is a section that says that you stand a chance to win a free DVD. To get a chance to win that free dvd, you have to once again enroll in a membership of an external website call freecooloffers.com. Unlike the previous two cases, you are not "automatically enrolled or given a free trial". My take on this to forget about this offer as your one-time payment to get this card will probably get you a very good Sony DVD player!
When you submit an application for the card, you would have authorized All American Gold Card to debit your bank account of $114.95 as an enrollment fee and $35.00 for the application fee. The $35.00 application fee is non-refundable (which means if you change your mind about getting this card, you will lose $35.00). Hence, you have to be sure this is the card you want before you apply.
Conclusion - If you are looking to reestablish your credit, you should weigh the choices among unsecured, secured, prepaid or catalog cards. I still believe getting a secured credit card should be the first choice. The key advantage of the All American Gold Card is that aside from the one-time application fee, there are no other fees involved, like monthly processing fee, transaction fees that are so common in prepaid credit cards and unsecured credit cards. You are limited by where you can actually use your card. Hence, it will be your choice between cost and convenience.
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