BankAmericard Basic Visa – Deal or Clever Marketing?
There’s been a big backlash lately against the credit card industry for terms and conditions which are just too complicated. But is the new BankAmericard Basic Visa – which touts a one page TOS – actually a better deal or just clever marketing?
The Basics about “Basic”
Bank of America will be launching the Basic card on Thursday. The selling point is, well… it’s basic! The terms of the service agreement is only one page long. It has the same APR for everything – purchases, transfers, and cash advances. This interest rate is a fixed number of percentage points above the prime rate. They say they will never change the rate, even if your credit goes down the drain or there’s late payments.
But Look Closer…
Like they say, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. I applaud B of A for coming out with one card that appears to be more straightforward and transparent to the consumer. But the APR is just way too high to make sense in my opinion. Sure, it’s a “flat” rate, but that is calculated as the prime rate + 14%. At the time I’m writing this, that equals out to be 17.25%. Now that’s not exactly a APR, but then when you take into account the fact that the prime rate is at historical lows, that means during the “good times” you will probably be looking at something around 20% and up.
The Verdict
If you’re someone that doesn’t have the best credit, are chronically late with making payments, and don’t carry a balance, the BankAmericard Basic Visa might benefit you. But for anyone that is responsible with their credit and makes payments on time, this probably just isn’t a good choice. You may not carry a balance now, but the bottom line is in the event of an emergency where you have to carry a balance, you don’t want to be held to an APR of 20%
By the way, if you’re curious as to why BofA is going by the name BankAmericard on this card, check out Bank of America’s for the answer.
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