First Niagara Bank Credit Cards

This was my first credit card. I applied for it because I was attempting to establish credit history, and also wanted to be able to charge something in an emergency if needed. Now, I use it for almost all of my purchases in order to accumulate rewards. However, the rewards are not great compared to other rewards programs out there. Points take forever to accumulate unless you are a big spender, and your best value reward is to cash out a $25 account credit after accumulating 3,000 points (spending $3,000). Customer service is easy to work with, but if you're looking to get the most rewards for your purchases, don't choose this card! If you don't care about rewards, then it's a fine card to have.

This was the first credit card that I ever got. I got it because First Niagara was a trusted bank and there was a branch right near where I was going to college. I got this card to help pay for college stuff like books and in case of emergencies so I didn't use it all the time. That being said, it was really nothing special. The interest rate isn't that great. The rewards aren't that great either. I don't like points systems and would prefer having gotten cash back. Points expire after a few years which is bad for people who don't use credit all the time, since you don't really get to accrue enough points for anything good. Overall I would not recommend this card to others. Not because I had any problems with it or the customer service, but simply because there are much better credit card options out there. Even from First Niagara themselves.

I opened up a credit card with this bank a few years back and never had an issues with it until it was going to expire. I didn't have a balance at the time so when my new card came I tossed the old one out and didn't think about it. My wife always pays the bills and the next month I had a $50 charge which I made. She used the online bill pay and paid the balance, but unfortunately to the old card which for some reason was now a separate account which we were initially unaware of. The next month the same thing we gather the bill with a few for being late. Unsure why she pays it again. And again to the wrong account. Three more the into this I'm getting calls about an outstanding and later balance of 77 dollars but they are telling me I have another account with 110 dollar credit on it. After fiNall figuring out the problem I asked if they could just pay one with the other and the only answer I recieved was no.. it was an amazing hassle and sad that they dropped the ball for months.

I had a horrible experience with this credit card. I actually didn't intend to sign up for it, but when my HSBC accounts switched over to First Niagara, they gave me this card for free. While I'm sure the card would have worked well in emergencies, for some reason, they automatically linked it to cover my overdraft fees, which became a huge fiasco and headache, and forced me to ultimately pay more money than I would have without the card. The card was also quite difficult to cancel, and took a couple of phone calls. I'd recommend looking for one of their other credit cards, if you must go with First Niagara.

The First Niagara Platinum MasterCard is the newest credit card that I've added to my wallet. This card is a "for emergencies" card; because it has no fee and the interest rate is SUPERB! Also, the fact that it is a MasterCard is another huge plus, as the rest of my cards are all Visas; so having some variety is quite nice. Honestly though, the best part of this card is it's huge grace period. 25 days is a long time to help reconcile a late fee; which makes this card absolutely perfect for an emergencies only card. Knowing that I can safely repair my car, and have ample time to pay the balance off is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

I used this car to transfer two other balances onto to get my household down to a single credit card. It had a 0 percent introductory APR for the first six months after the transfer. This helped me chip away at that debt big time. After that, my interest rate was about 15 percent. This is not great, but there are cards with 18-20 percent or more out there - including ones I've held - so it's not horrible, either. The standard rate for purchases is around 14 percent, which again isn't too bad in today's market. This is my only card, but it would be my primary card if I held more than one today.