3 Responses

1. Shannon

   September 9th, 2007 at 11:43 am

   1

   I had a First Financial Bank student credit card and it was the worst credit card ever. It was my first card and it served a purpose, but as soon as I was accepted for a 2nd card I closed it!

2. hb

   May 18th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

   2

   I’ve had a 1fbusa [first financial bank] c.c. since I started college just about. It was my “lets establish credit history” card. Here are the pro’s and con’s i’ve witnessed first hand

   Pro’s
   -Online capability to view transactions and pay credit card.
   -Low credit limit available

   Con’s [where to start]
   -Very high interest rates, subject to change without proper warning
   -Will increase credit limit without asking, you have to ask to have a stop on your account for it
   -The online service leaves a lot to be desired. They do not post interest or finance charges to your account activity. As well, after your current months statement is up, the purchase activity dissapears. Unless you have the paper statement, you’re S.O.L. as to historical purchases. If you send a customer representative a note - you have no way of going back and reviewing what you sent. Also, once a note is cleared from a rep, you may easily log back in and find no evidence it ever existed.
   -As far as charges - BE CAREFUL with 1fbusa. You’re account will show all your recent purchases, and you’re total amount due with your next payment, and a few days later, you will have extra money charged to your account without explaination [is it a finance charge, interest?]. For me, this has always only been between .20-.50 cents extra. But when you’ve paid the card already - you’re not about to write a check to them for .28 cents - or pay online…since it costs $9.00 to do so.
   -Back to that last sentence, it costs NINE DOLLARS to pay any bill online

   All in all…they leave a lot to be desired. If you need your credit limit established, fine - but once you have, cut the card up. Don’t close the account, as it can effect your credit rating - just zero it out [make sure there are no monthly fees etc., mine never has] and leave it be.

   I’ve gone to Chase and they are phenomenal. The online service has all the bells and whistles - more than I could ever want, but, the options are nice.

3. Kt

   September 12th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

   3

   Back in May of this year, I signed up for a 1st Financial Bank Student Mastercard. This is the first credit card I’ve ever got, and I got it with a credit limit of $750. They must have given me that high of a limit to tempt me, seeing as I’ve never had that much money at one time in my life!

   I’ve gone through 3 billing cycles so far, and the exact day I get the bill in the mail I write a check and mail it as to make sure it will definitely get to them on time. It always gets to them within two or three days as displayed when I log in to my account online. I love that I can easily check online when my billing cycle ends and when my next payment is due. I do agree with the reviewer above though that it sucks that you cannot see your transactions from previous billing cycles.

   I never charge over $100 on this card and I always pay my balance in full. This card has a high APR, I think it somewhere around 21. I haven’t had any credit increases yet, but I haven’t had it too long.

   I would suggest getting this card if you are responsible and need to build credit. This isn’t a card you want to leave a balance on. Just pay the balance off in full each month and you’ll be fine.