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While our content is based on our extensive knowledge and experience of the credit card industry, this information is intended for general educational purposes and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for managing your finances. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. |
Credit Card Fine Print (terms and conditions) Explanation:Below we have taken an exact copy of the terms and conditions of a 'Chase Credit Card' and have included help question marks across the page to help you decipher in a quicker way all the fine print included in credit card offers.Even though the exact terms and conditions vary between credit card companies, the way they are explained is mostly consistent. Pricing & TermsPlease take a moment to carefully review the Pricing & Terms below.RATE, FEE AND OTHER COST INFORMATION
aWe will first consider you for the pricing above with the lowest rates. We reserve the right, based upon our review of your credit history and information furnished by you, to open an account with alternative pricing as stated above, or not to open an account at all. bRates, fees, and terms may change: We reserve the right to change the account terms (including the APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of your account. The APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs. Any changes will be in accordance with your account agreement.
dThe "Prime Rate" is the highest prime rate published in the Money Rates column of The Wall Street Journal two business days before the Closing Date on the statement for each billing period. Variable APRs are based on the 5.00% prime rate on 05/05/2008.  All Other Sections
TERMS & CONDITIONS Authorization: When you respond to this credit card offer from Chase Bank USA, N.A. ("Chase", "we", or "us"), you agree to the following:
Before we approve you for a credit card, we will review your credit report and the information you provide with your response to confirm that you meet the criteria for this offer. Based on this review, you may receive a card with different costs or you may not receive a card. You must be at least 18 years old to qualify (19 in AL and NE). We reserve the right to change the benefit features associated with your card at any time. Ohio Residents: The Ohio laws against discrimination require that all creditors make credit equally available to all customers, and that credit reporting agencies maintain separate histories on each individual upon request. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission administers compliance with the law. Notice to Married Wisconsin Residents: No provision of any marital property agreement, unilateral statement or court decree adversely affects our rights, unless you give us a copy of such agreement, statement or court order before we grant you credit, or we have actual knowledge of the adverse obligation. All obligations on this account will be incurred in the interest of your marriage or family. You understand that we may be required to give notice of this account to your spouse. Married Wisconsin residents must furnish their (the applicant's) name and social security number as well as the name and address of their spouse to Cardmember Service at P.O. Box 15218, Wilmington, DE 19850-5218. Balance Transfer Option: The Visa,® MasterCard,® Discover,® American Express® or any store card account(s) you list will show a credit, reducing the amount you owe them by the amount you transferred. The available credit on your new account will be reduced, just as if you had made a purchase. The balance transfer amount(s) will show up on your initial statement for your new account. Your other credit card account(s) will not be closed even if you transfer your entire balance(s). If you want to close an account, please contact the other credit card company directly. It may take up to three weeks to set up your account and post the balance transfers. Therefore, you may need to make payments to your other account(s) to keep them current. Balance transfers are contingent upon issuance of your new account. There will be a transaction fee for each balance transfer if one is disclosed in the Rate, Fee and Other Cost Information that accompany this offer. We reserve the right to decline to process any partial or full balance transfer request and will not process a balance transfer request from any other account with us or any of our affiliates. Affiliate Information Sharing: Chase Bank USA, N.A. is part of JPMorgan Chase & Co. We and our JPMorgan Chase & Co. affiliates may share information about you among affiliates in order to offer products and services of interest to you. If you would prefer that we do not share information from your application, credit bureaus or third parties, please call us at 1-888-868-8618. For more information about our information handling policies, visit us on the web at: http://www.chase.com/privacypolicy. Replying to this offer: If you omit any information on the form, we may deny your request for an account. If applicable, Chase cardmembers who currently have or have had a Chase credit card in any Rewards Program associated with this offer or have received a similar bonus offer, may not be eligible for a second Chase credit card in the same Rewards Program, or for any bonus offer. Chase cardmembers currently receiving promotional pricing, or Chase cardmembers with a history of only using their current or prior Chase card for promotional pricing offers, are not eligible for a second Chase credit card with promotional pricing. You must have a valid permanent home address within the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. The information about the costs of the card described in this form is accurate as of 05/05/2008. This information may have changed after that date. To find out what may have changed, write to us at Cardmember Service, P.O. Box 15043, Wilmington, DE 19850-5043. USA Patriot Act: To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver’s license or other identifying documents. © 2008 JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Our simple explanation:
Depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 3 options:
Our simple explanation:
Depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 3 options:
Our simple explanation:
Depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 2 options:
Our simple explanation:
If you are late in making a payment, OR go above your credit limit, OR make a payment that bounces back then ALL your APRs will go to 28.99% Variable APR. Even a 0% Intro APR will go to the 28.99% APR!
Our simple explanation:
Do not worry about this. It is not available in some states and it is not a big deal. It applies only if you go overlimit and it is the interest you will have to pay on the overlimit amount. Also it does not differ significantly from the Regular APR and in some cases it works out in your favor.
Our simple explanation:
When an APR is Variable it means: Your APR = Prime Rate + A Fixed Number The 'Prime Rate' goes up and down overitme and so does 'Your APR'. Note: Some credit card companies use the LIBOR Rate instead of the Prime Rate, which is just a different rate that also changes overtime.
Purchase APR: -- AFTER THE INTRODUCTORY PERIOD
Remember: Your APR = Prime Rate + A Fixed Number So depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 3 options:
When these disclosures were printed the Prime Rate was 5% and this is why the Purchase APRs that one can get (based on the section from above) are: 10.99% (i.e. 5% + 5.99%); 14.99% (i.e. 5% + 9.99%); 19.99% (i.e. 5% + 14.99%). Example: If one year later the Prime Rate becomes 7% then the respective APRs will change: The consumers that got the 10.99% rate will go to 12.99% (i.e. 7% + 5.99%); the ones that got 14.99% will go to 16.99% and the ones with 14.99% will go to 21.99%.
Balance Transfer APR (or Transfer APR): -- AFTER THE INTRODUCTORY PERIOD
Remember: Your APR = Prime Rate + A Fixed Number So depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 3 options:
When these disclosures were printed the Prime Rate was 5% and this is why the Balance Transfer APRs that one can get (based on the section from above) are: 10.99% (i.e. 5% + 5.99%); 14.99% (i.e. 5% + 9.99%); 19.99% (i.e. 5% + 14.99%). Example: If one year later the Prime Rate becomes 7% then the respective APRs will change: The consumers that got the 10.99% rate will go to 12.99% (i.e. 7% + 5.99%); the ones that got 14.99% will go to 16.99% and the ones with 14.99% will go to 21.99%.
Cash Advance APR (or Cash APR):
Remember: Your APR = Prime Rate + A Fixed Number So depending on how good your credit is at the time of application you will end up in one of the following 3 options:
When these disclosures were printed the Prime Rate was 5% and this is why the Cash Advance APRs that one can get (based on the section from above) are: 20.99% (i.e. 5% + 15.99%); 24.99% (i.e. 5% + 19.99%); Example: If one year later the Prime Rate becomes 7% then the respective APRs will change: The consumers that got the 20.99% rate will go to 22.99% (i.e. 7% + 15.99%); and the ones that got 24.99% will go to 26.99%.
Default APR:
Remember: Your APR = Prime Rate + A Fixed Number So what this sentence sentence says is that:
When these disclosures were printed the Prime Rate was 5% and this is why the Default APR that one can get (based on the section from above) is: 28.99% (i.e. 5% + 23.99%) Example: If one year later the Prime Rate becomes 7% then the Default APR will change to: 30.99% (i.e. 7% + 23.99%)
All that this says is that in order to figure out how much interest you need to get assessed every month they need to use some type of a balance.
They have chosen to use an average daily balance that includes the balance of all the new purchases that you just made. Our experience shows that almost all credit cards are the same when it comes to this term.
Pretty self-explanatory.
The amount you will be charged each twelve-month period for simply having the card. The credit card referenced in these terms has no annual fee.
If they change you a finance charge. They will at least charge you $1.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Every time you make a balance transfer they charge you a fee. That fee will be equal to 3% of the amount that you transfer, but never less than $5 and never more that $75. Example: If you transfer $2,000, you will get a $60 fee.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Every time you make a cash advance they charge you a fee. That fee will be equal to 3% of the amount of the cash advance, but never less than $10. Example: If you go to an ATM machine and use your credit card to withdraw $200, then you will get a $10 fee even though 3% of $200 is $6.
They charge you a different late fee based on your credit card balance at the time you are late.
In order to keep things simple, our recommendation is that for this card you take away that if you miss a payment you will get a $39 late fee. Plan for the worst and hope for the best...
They charge you an overlimit fee of $39 if you go over your credit line.
In most cases they charge you this fee if you go overlimit at any point during the month, even if you immediately pay back down. We strongly recommend that you call your credit card company and ask them not to allow you to go over your credit limit.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Every time you use your credit card outside the USA they charge you a fee. In this case, the fee will be equal to 3% of the transaction amount. Example: If you go to Mexico and charge $1,000 on your credit card, you will get a $30 fee.
This is a very important section since it gives you an idea on how aggressive there are going to be with changing ALL your APR's to the Default APR of 28.99%, in this case.
For example, with this card if you miss only 1 payment you might get repriced to the Default APR. Other credit cards might reprice you after you miss 2 payments.
Pretty standard across most major credit card companies. We recommend that you focus your atttention on all the previous terms that we have explained.
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