Entry 21 - Shopping for Credit

1. Credit card name (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Kohl’s, etc.)
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa
• Discover it chrome for students
• REDcard
2. Type of Account
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - Credit Card
• Discover it chrome for students - Credit Card
• REDcard - Target Visa Credit Card
3. Company name, address, phone
• Visa Inc.; 900 Metro Center Blvd.Foster City, CA 94404; 650-432-3200
• Discover; Salt Lake City, UT 84130-9850; 1-800-347-0213
• Target Corp.; Dallas, TX. 75266-0170; 1.888.755.5856
4. Website
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa
• Discover it chrome for students
• Target REDcard
5. Locations where card is accepted
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - Pretty much any store that is globalized, i.e. Walmart
• Discover it chrome for students credit card can be used at any store that accepts credit cards. According to the link I provided above, about 9.2 million merchants accept this card.
• The REDcard can be used only at Target.
6. Annual fee (if any)
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - $0
• Discover it chrome for students - $0
• REDcard - $0
7. Payment grace period
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - 25 days
• Discover it chrome for students - 25 days, you have until midnight eastern standard time on the due date to pay
• REDcard - 25 days
8. Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - For the first 15 months after you activate your card - 0%, after that - 10.15% - 24.99%
• Discover it chrome for students  -For the first 6 months 0%, after that 12.99% - 21.99%
• REDcard - 22.90%
9. Finance charge calculation method
• All three cards use the "average daily balance (including new purchases)" method, or mention that they use this for the balance
10. Credit limit
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - I couldn’t find it online, but my mom told me that her limit on this card is about $8,000.
• Discover it chrome for students  - at the least it is $500
• REDcard - The website says that it takes a few things about you into account, but it doesn’t necessarily give you a specific amount.
11. Minimum payment
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - The website doesn’t specify how much the minimum payment is for the particular credit card I am researching, but my mom’s personal minimum payment is $35.
• Discover it chrome for students  - The greater of: $35; 2% of the New Balance shown on your billing statement; or any Interest Charges and Late Fee shown on your billing statement, plus $20.
• REDcard - The greater of: $25; or the sum of 1% of your new balance, interest charges, return payment fees, and late payment fees.
12. Other fees: (late payment or others that you find)
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - Balance transfer fee is either $5, or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, but after those first fifteen months the percentage is 5% or you pay a minimum of $5. Cash advance fees are the greater of either $10 or 5% of the amount of each advance. The Overdraft Protection Advances fee is $12.50 for advances under $50, but anything larger is $20. The foreign currency conversion fee is 3% of each transaction that you converted to US dollars.
• Discover it chrome for students  - The Balance Transfer fee is 3% of the amount of each transfer. The Cash Advance fee is the greater of either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance. Your first late payment is free of charge but after that the late fee can go up to $35. The Returned Payment fee is up to $35.
• REDcard - Late Payment is up to $35, Return Payment is up to $25
13. Other features:
• Wells Fargo Platinum Visa - There is a zero liability program, overdraft protection, cell phone protection, rapid alerts for monitoring your account, a credit defense service, chip technology that allows your card to be accepted at even more places worldwide, a unique password for online shopping, an auto rental collision damage waiver, emergency card replacement, roadside dispatch, travel accident insurance, and travel and emergency assistance services.
• Discover it chrome for students  - 2% cash back on Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1000 in combined purchases each quarter, 1% cash back or more on all other purchases with no cap, a free FICO credit score on your monthly report, Paying late won’t raise your APR, No overlimit fee, No foreign transaction fee, 100% U.S.-based customer service available any time, and a $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee meaning you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your card.
• REDcard - You can donate 1% of all your credit card payment to any one school in a list provided on target’s website, you get free shipping from shopping on target’s website, and you can also have access to many money saving offers specifically for REDcard holders

1. Which credit card has the highest annual percentage rate and how much is it?
1. The Wells Fargo Visa at its highest possible annual percentage is the highest out of all the three credit cards that I researched. The annual percentage is 24.99% at its highest.
2. What method is used to calculate the monthly finance charge for the first major credit card?
1. The first major credit card’s method for calculating the monthly finance charge is calculated using the average daily balance (including new purchases) method.
3. When does the finance charge begin to accrue on the credit card from the local department store?
1. Target’s credit card section of the website didn’t specify when the finance charge would begin to increase, it only told me that they use the average daily balance method to determine the finance charge.
4. Do any of the cards have annual fees? If so, which one(s) and how much is the fee?
1. None of the cards I researched had the annual fee.
5. Is there a transaction fee on any card? If so, how much is it?
1. None of the card websites specified a transaction fee.
6. Is there a minimum finance charge on either of the major credit cards? If so, how much is it?
1. None of the cards had a specified minimum finance charge that I could find.
7. Does the first major credit card charge a fee for late payments? If so, how much is it?
1. There is a late payment fee for the Wells Fargo Visa card that goes up to $35.
8. What is the grace period on the credit card from the local department store?
1. The Target REDcard grace period is 25 days from the date you made your purchase.
9. Rafael wants to buy a new CD player that costs $450. According to his budget, he can afford payments up to $62.00 per month. Which of the three credit cards you’ve found would you recommend that Rafael use to purchase the CD player?  Explain why.
1. I would say that the Target REDcard would be the best credit card for him since he only plans on buying the CD player and because of the savings he gets from purchasing the CD Player, he could probably afford to also use the card to buy CDs. Also, the target card has the smallest minimum payment out of all three credit cards, $25 if the other specified value isn’t greater than this value, and because of the fact that the card gives him an option to order the CD player from the comfort of his own home with the free shipping that he gets on Target’s website.
10. In general, reflect on how making responsible financial decisions regarding borrowing and credit (debt) can lead to financial well-being over a lifetime.
1. The great thing about using credit responsibly is that it allows you to pay for certain goods that you wouldn’t normally be able to afford by allowing you to pay for it smaller annual payments. This can lead to financial well-being because the using credit means that a person can then use the money he/she would’ve spent on the product on something else or save it in the bank. Another reason why making responsible financial decisions with credit can lead to economic well being is that it sets up a good reputation for yourself as a consumer (when you make your payments on time) and this can eventually help you get lower interest rates for when you make major life purchases like buying a home. Furthermore, the great thing about owning a home is that it eventually increases in value and it develops a thing called home equity, which is the market value of your home that you can essentially use as an emergency pool of money and that can lead to sustaining your financial well-being especially when you are supporting children, sending them to college, or dealing with and economic situation.