Report Abuse
4 Star Rating
Most schools have one alumni credit card, maybe two. Baylor has four. There’s this one (the Baylor Alumni Association Visa Signature Credit Card), the Baylor Alumni Association Cash Rewards Visa Platinum Credit Card, Baylor Alumni Association Select Rewards Visa® Platinum Credit Card and Baylor Alumni Association Visa® Platinum Credit Card. Like their names, these cards are all pretty similar. They require good or excellent credit for approval, are issued by U.S. Bank, offer 0% on both purchases and balance transfers for 6 months and don’t have annual fees. With the exception of the Baylor Alumni Association Visa® Platinum Credit Card, they all offer some rewards as well. So how's a Baylor alum supposed to choose?
Obviously rule out the ugly duckling card that doesn’t have rewards, but what then? Unfortunately, I would also discount the card listed on this page. If you didn’t know, VISA SIGNATURE CARDS HAVE NO PRESET SPENDING LIMIT. I put that in all caps because many people think that NPSL cards don’t have limits. That isn’t a reason to get the Baylor Visa Signature card though, it’s a reason to avoid it. This card will have a limit, it will just change on a monthly basis and U.S. Bank will not clue you in on what it is. You aren’t alone though, because they won’t tell the credit bureaus either. By opening the Baylor Alumni Association Visa Signature credit card you then resign yourself to never knowing if you have enough available credit to make a big purchase and the potential for credit score damage. In terms of the remaining two cards, I guess the 1% cash back and $10 intial bonuses that the Baylor Cash Rewards card provides is preferable to the 1 pt./$1 spent offered by the Select Rewards Visa, but neither will give you as much value as the best rewards cards on the market. I’d therefore suggest opening the Capital One Cash Card, throwing a Baylor Bears-themed picture on there for free, and calling it a day.
Obviously rule out the ugly duckling card that doesn’t have rewards, but what then? Unfortunately, I would also discount the card listed on this page. If you didn’t know, VISA SIGNATURE CARDS HAVE NO PRESET SPENDING LIMIT. I put that in all caps because many people think that NPSL cards don’t have limits. That isn’t a reason to get the Baylor Visa Signature card though, it’s a reason to avoid it. This card will have a limit, it will just change on a monthly basis and U.S. Bank will not clue you in on what it is. You aren’t alone though, because they won’t tell the credit bureaus either. By opening the Baylor Alumni Association Visa Signature credit card you then resign yourself to never knowing if you have enough available credit to make a big purchase and the potential for credit score damage. In terms of the remaining two cards, I guess the 1% cash back and $10 intial bonuses that the Baylor Cash Rewards card provides is preferable to the 1 pt./$1 spent offered by the Select Rewards Visa, but neither will give you as much value as the best rewards cards on the market. I’d therefore suggest opening the Capital One Cash Card, throwing a Baylor Bears-themed picture on there for free, and calling it a day.
Comment
