This card is for building credit, and it's for people with poor credit. I accepted the offer they sent me by mail because I was hoping to increase my credit score. It has been working fine. They offer magazine subscriptions and special offers that if you sign up for I'm sure you will never stop paying for, the rule of thumb is don't sign up for those things. I have never had to call, I do everything online or through the mail. There has never been an incorrect statement, charge, or payment amount. (I'm knocking on wood). I have heard so many bad things about this card though, and it worries me, but I stick with it as I see my score go up. If you want to improve your credit, get this card. Don't expect anything fancy, I'm guessing you wouldn't expect it considering how many creditors you likely have screwed over (Like I have). Just stay within your limit, make your payments, and don't expect a credit increase unless you are good with your credit now. If you want to get credit built get this card, apply for the Orchard credit card, and though it's expensive go ahead and get the 1st Premier card too. They charge you like mad, but if you were as bad as me with credit in years past, you don't deserve much better. ;-)

I too got 1 of those little letters..They told me they could not verify my residence. I found that odd since I've lived here darn near all my life, and I'm 36 now. The funny part was when I read the "About Us" section they said they cater to those who are having the same damn situation they turned me down for. Oh and the kicker they cater to new residence of the USA??? Maybe I'll get a PO Box in Mexico and then apply again...Maybe thats the trick.

I have been a cardholder for over 5 years and have experienced some of the things listed in this website. BUT....I have noticed within the last few months that I can now get a Rep when I need to if I listen to the new messages when calling in. There is an option to speak to a Rep now. They are also working on website accessibility and you can make payments via the web for a small charge. I too complained about the phone payment charges and I was told by a Supervisor that they are able to waive one fee per year and are lowering the fees to encourage cardholders to make payments. In my opinion, the exrta fees are the cost of doing business since I had really crappy credit and was offered this card...I was a credit risk so they would need to charge me fees to ensure that I didn't continue to screw up. They are helping me improve my credit score. I see that on the credit report. I am keeping the card and encourage others to give them another chance - I think they are listening to what we are complaining about!

I REC'D AN INVITATION AND SINCE I HAVE BAD CREDIT SOUNDED GOOD TO ME TO RE-ESTABLISH CREDIT ETC ETC. ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PAY THE FIRST $20 PAYMENT AND MY CARD WOULD BE ACTIVE WITH $400.00 CREDIT LIMIT. SO I GOT THE CARD, USED THE CARD AND MADE MY PAYMENTS, EVERYTHING WAS A OKAY. KNEW I WAS GOING ON VACATION AND WOULD NEED A CARD TO RENT A CAR SO I MADE A BIG HUGE PAYMENT OF $300.00 SO I COULD RENT THE CAR ETC.....POSTED THE PAYMENT BUT MY CREDIT LIMIT NEVER SHOWED THE PAYMENT, MY CREDIT LIMIT WAS REDUCED TO THE BALANCE OF THE DEBT???? I CALLED AND CALLED AND GOT SOMEONE THAT DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH VERY WELL AND WAS TOLD, SO SORRY YOUR ACCOUNT IS CLOSED??? CLOSED??? WHY??? YOUR CREDIT HISTORY???? BUT YOU GAVE ME THE CARD AND I HAVE BEEN ON TIME ETC ETC...WE PULL A CREDIT REPORT EVERY MONTH AND YOUR OTHER CREDIT DID NOT FALL WITHIN OUR CRITERIA ANY LONGER. WHAT!!!! SO HERE I AM A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE VACATION, OUT $300.00 BUCKS, CAN'T RENT A CAR AND MY ACCOUNT IS CLOSED. THEY HOUND ME 8 - 10 TIMES A DAY ASKING FOR PAYMENT, I WILL DIE BEFORE I SEND THEM ANOTHER DIME, I DON'T CARE HOW IT EFFECTS MY CREDIT. THEY CAN TAKE THE BALANCE AND SHOVE IT. WORST CARD EVER!!!! I WILL USE THE PREPAID CARDS FOR THE TIME BEING!!!

I had an old Fingerhut balance I owed, and didn't pay. I got a call one day from Aspire saying they purchased my Fingerhut balance and if I paid it off they'd give me an Aspire Visa with a starting limit of $300 with no annual fee. I figured ok, I'm trying to clean up my credit, I can pay Fingerhut off and get a new unsecured card. After paying the Fingerhut balance off in 4 months, I got my new Aspire Visa. I have had this card for 17 months. I have never ever missed a payment, never ever paid late, and never ever went over my credit limit. Yet they have never offered me a credit limit increase. I called and there's no way to speak to a representative. When you press the option for other question, it says you have to email them. I did twice and got no response. I would pay it off and close it but I need the positive tradeline. I will pay it off and not use it again until they give me an increase. Also the other thing that stinks about them is they charge $15 for an online payment. And I've had 2 occasions where I didn't receive any bill at all, and I was told they had a problem with their mail. Luckily I went online and got their address and mailed it by the due date the automated phone system gave me. The only good thing about this card was that it's an unsecured Visa. If you don't need it for a positive tradeline, stay far away!!!

My husband filed for bankrupsy 7 years ago,we had a small child. we applied and got this card! We would go to eat,charge it, pay off at the end of the month. Great! No problems at all! Then about 5 years ago, without notice they raised our limit by $1000. I called to get it lowerd, and got an automated system.the third time i called I finally got someone. instead of lowering my limit they took my my interest rate from 19% to 29.99%!!! We did not use the card. we kept calling and calling, nothing. I emailed them,nothing.We sent a letter to cancel the card, got a bill stating our limit went up another $900!! Mind you, several years went by and all we got was the machine when we called. Where are we now?A whole lot of available credit at 29.99%, that we can not get rid of. this is THE WORST credit card to have. If you have it try to get rid of it!It's been 5 years, and i still cannot cancel this card!!

I have filed a comnplaint with consumer afairs. Please listen to what people are saying. I too have experienced most of what these people are saying. I was not even late on my payment I made a data entry error of $6.00 which I rectified immediately after discovering. Because of this error my interest rate is almost at 40%. This is a company that will hold you in debt forever! My minimum payment doesn't even covedr the interst every month and I DO NOT have bad credit! PLease do yourself a fqvor and don't consider it or get out of it. You can't ev en get anyone in their customer service department. Go to their website and try to even get a telephone number to call them on. There is not one listed it tells you to refer to your billing statement or the back of their card. You should find that odd. When you do call the number on the back of the card their is not option to press to speak to someone. The only place you can get an actual live person is if you call them long distance. You can only get that number off of your statement. Please please lease listen to these people before you make the mistake of obtaining their card or keeping it. Why would a bunch of people have something against the same credit card company and have the same horror stories? The postivie comments were probably added by someone at Aspire! Please be careful!

Here is a copy of a letter sent to the finance institution: I have a complaint. From time to time your company keeps sending invitations with certificate numbers to apply for your credit card. I understand it is for people with marginal credit problems and it is suppose to aid in re-establishing your credit. You also make the invitation seem as if you have already obtained some information about the person's credit which leaves the impression that you have some idea of the person's credit score. If my credit was perfect and above 600, I would not be applying with your company to re-establish credit. It is unfair to lead a person in believing that they can receive the card and have the opportunity to re-establish their credit. I would appreciate very much if you will stop sending invitations to apply since you continually turn me down. Your inquiry into my credit history reduces my credit score making it even more difficult to obtain credit or improve my credit rating. Your invitation to apply for your credit card is misleading and should not be sent if you are not guaranteeing credit.

I have for the last six months have tried to cancel with this company. Three letters, and eight phone calls later they say they will cancel it. They have tried to stick me with late payments over and over. They are so incompetant it is not even funny. When I mailed my payments I would write in the memo section to cancel, and all over the bill to cancel this account. But, did they, oh no they would send me yet another bill with more monthly charges for a card I cut up six months ago. No matter how bad you want or need a credit card. Do not get this one. I came to this web site right after I got the card and disagreed with all of the bad pr they were receiving. They were all right and I was so wrong. Please get away from this company, no matter what you do, just stay away, or get away. I have had to obtain an attorney to get these guys off of my back. So I went with a real company. Try getting a Discover card or something else, instead of these rip off artists. They say the will help you rebuild your credit. During the month of March while I thought they were cancelling the account they turned me in for late payments to the credit buruea. Now how is that helping your credit. Now I have to try and get that removed. DONT GET THIS CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was on my honeymoon and was trying to use my aspire visa card for just a few small purchases. It was red flagged for suspicious behavior several times in a row. This occured over and over again even though I called them daily to explain the situation. There was a complete lack of communication within the non english speaking customer service. Luckily I was able to do without my card for the remainder of the trip and as soon as I was home I cancelled the card. I did not ruin my honeymoon, but was close to being a disaster. The worst card ever!

this card is horrible. has TONS of hidden fees. compounding this, the customer suffers with phone reps who are not able to articulate in english, give phoney names, reluctant to give i.d.s, do not "know" what the current U.S. time it is, give inaccurate quotes and policy informtion. a total nightmare card!!!

ASPIRE PURCHASED MY ACCOUNT FROM PROVIDIAN AFTER I CLOSED THE ACCOUNT. IMMEDIATELY, THEY STARTED REPORTING ME AS PAST DUE. I FACXED THEM CANC'D CKS NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO CALL ME 5-8 TIMES PER DAY AND WILL TELL THEIR "STORY" TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE PHONE. I HAVE HAD TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY AND THEY STILL CALL ME INSTEAD OF HER. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE FTC & THE ATT'Y GENERAL'S OFFICE.

I made a payment on time in june of last year. They didn't post it to my account in turn charging a ton of fees and reporting my account to the credit agencies as a 30 delq. When I finally got a hold of someone after my bank had made contact with them they were like there's nothing we can do to correct this. Well what little did they know that I do work for Citibank card holder services and I know all the banking laws!! HAHAHA!! So I requested a superviser. He gets on the phone and reassures me that all fees would be removed and my credit history corrected once I disclosed to him who I work for. Well I 'm thinking everything is fine when I pull a credit report and it shows them reporting my account closed by grantor and 30 days past due. After fighting with them for literally 5 months they fixed after I launched a complaint with the BBB. So RUN!! Now it shows closed at my request and no delqs so far.

I DON'T LIKE THE MONTHLY FEE AND SOMETIMES I WILL PAY ON MY BILL TWICE AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN INCREASE

THIS CARD COMPANY IS A DEEP NIGHTMARE. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN IS OTHER DIRECTION!!!! THERE TIME IS COMING!!!! RARELY A HUMAN TO DISCUSS ANY PROBLEM WITH. WAS GOING DEBT CONSOLIDATION AND WAS ASKED NOT TO THAT THEY HAD A BETTER PLAN FOR ME. MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD FOUND OUT IT WAS A LIE. THEY SOLD ME TO AN ATTORNEY AND THIS ATTORNEY IS NOW WANTING DOUBLE WHAT I OWE IF I DON'T PAY THEY WILL SUE ME AND GARNISH MY WAGES..HELLO NIGHTMARE!!

i have this card 1 month. when i activated it i was told i had a $800 limit. i was also told if i paid it off in 2 months the limit would be raised to $1750. i tried to use my card yesterday and it was declined. i was told by customer service,when i finally got someone on the line, that my limit was reduced to $350 for no reason at all and without notification. now i am responsible for overlimit fees and nobody can tell me why. i am in the process of trying to re-build my credit and they just shot me in the foot

1 star for customer service is 1 star too many. My account got closed for no particular reason, just like many others here. I was never late on a payment, and my account was always in good standing. They closed it anyway. Fine. No hard feelings. I'll just pay off this account and take my business elsewhere. Well, I've paid off my balance. Only I'm still TRYING to take my business elsewhere. It's a funny thing: they don't seem to be willing to cancel my account for me, even though it's been paid in full for months now. I've requested this cancellation many times through email and letters, but they only send back vague, confusing responses that provide absolutely no help. They keep telling me my account was "closed". YES, I KNOW THAT! BUT, I WANT TO *****CANCEL***** IT! No dice. Now, they essentially invented a $3.00 credit on my account to keep it alive. That's right. They claim to owe ME $3.00. They don't. They're just trying to keep my account active... I'll be expecting one of those fun $40.00 service charges soon, like many of you have reported. So, to sum up: I can't use this card, and I can't get rid of it, even though I don't owe them a cent. By golly, they're GENIUSES! Stay far away from these dirtbags if you can. I'm currently wasting valuable time looking for solutions to deal with this sham of a credit card company.

I have had this card for a few years, but only recently have carried any kind of balance and since then I can't believe the way they treat customers! I made a payment of what was 1/3 of my balance via my bank's online payment system and it took over 3 MONTHS to credit it to my account, during which time they raised my interest rate (ILLEGALLY); charged me late fees (ILLEGALLY) and continually call me at home (ILLEGALLY) up to 10 times in one day!!! I just made another payment of about 1/3 of the balance and they are doing the same thing, it's been 40 days and it's still not credited to my account...when their "customer service" autosystems calls my house, no one ever comes on the line. When I used caller ID to call them back to straighten it out they hung up on me when I told them they were recorded on Caller ID as making over 10 calls in one day to my home. I'm calling the attorney general of Massachusetts this afternoon, hoping for some remedy there...

I paid my account in full and received a statement with a past due ammount. After trying to contact them i got nowhere. Now as the balance grows, i become less tolerant to their business practices. I've sent letters to the BBB, my attorney general and my lawyer. I plan on looking into filing a class action suit against the company. If anyone is interested please e-mail aspirelawsuit@sbcglobal.net.

I have read many reviews of the Aspire Visa card. It may be beneficial to know that if your account is past due,you will not be able to get through to customer service of any kind. You will need to speak to the collections dept (which I am sure will contact you) and bring the account current, THEN call customer serivce. So if you are complain about nt getting to customer serivce,you should consider your payment status

I cannot get in touchwith an actual person! I'm trying to call 866-816-6993 and I cannot get a hold of a live person! Can anyone help with a different number? Better Business Bureau should be involved in all of this -- people are getting ripped off!

I just found your review site today as I continued my search to find a phone number where I could actually speak to a live body from ASPIRE or Columbus Bank and Trust. For the past three months I have not received a statement from Aspire. Fortunately I have sent payments in which were credited to my account but I have made repeated attempts to get my statements mailed to me without success. I see that others have received the same response as I have. "We received returned mail on this account", even though my address has not changed in over 17 years. I have not been able to speak with anyone, even after trying to use the "lost or stolen card" prompt on their automated menu. Obviously the interest and fees are outrageous but as a person whose credit was shot a few years ago I was thankful just to get a card for car rental, hotel reservations, etc. I will never charge anything to this account again and will probably close it once the balance is zero. I would never recommend this card to anyone.

They call you and tell you that you owe a certain amount then they send you a different amount in the mail and you get a different amount when listening to there automated line. If they are ever sued--sign me up to bury them too. They are so rude when they call you it's as if you owe the rep on the phone the money. They are lying, manipulative, creeps.

I am having the same problems as most everyone who has posted a message. I had a Providian Visa, when I was a student. The account was closed and I was paying a collection agency. I had no notification that Providian sold their customers to Aspire. Never even heard of them. I received one statement in Sept. to my old address. Called and let them know, I had no idea who they were, and told them that I was making payments to a collection agency. The lady told me okay. I never received another statement from them. I was notified from the collection agency, that their client had recalled my account, but nobody could tell me who the client was. I called Providian, they couldn't tell me anything. They gave me Aspire's number. They couldn't tell me anything and told me to call the collection agency. They gave me Aspire's number again. Talking to Aspire is like talking to ghosts. Has anyone ever seen the movie Boiler Room. I am kind of likening, this experience to that movie. When I finally am able to talk to someone, they are foreign. One man told me that they are located in Calcutta, India. Its ridiculous. They are very rude, and each person I talk to has different information. They tell me they have been sending statements to my current address since August, which is a lie. I just gave someone at Aspire my new address, two weeks ago. They are a BS company, and something needs to be done. The Federal Trade Commission website has a form to fill out online to file a complaint. Lets all join together and make something happen. Please visit their website. I don't know what else to do.

What do we do about Aspire and their poor/fraudulent credit practices? I am trying now to seek information. I am going through the same mess as everyone else on here. It is ridiculous. It reminds me of the movie Boiler Room. Are they really a company? Why is their customer service located in Calcutta, India? Why can you never get through to a person, and when you do, they can hardly speak English. Why they say they send you statements, when they don'T. FTC, has a form you can fill out online for a complaint.

I'm just going to echo all the other complaints. There was absolutely no customer service. They withdrew funds from my bank account without authorization, and then, due to "company policy," told me the only course of action was for me to solve the problem with my bank. Interest rates are through the roof, and they dump you the first chance they get. I can't think of one positive thing to say. I have had problems with this card in the past as well.

I paid this card by transferring the balance to another card and closed the account. They promptly added $40.+ in interest to the -0- balance. It has risen to 48.00+ and will probably rise even further because we are not paying this. I have been trying for 4 weeks to get someone to talk with about this card. I have at least a dozen e-mails to and from them regarding help I need. They keep asking the same questions over and over and over again. I believe they are stalling to add service fees and interest to the balance. I have sent a letter containing the e-mails to the dispute resolution address on the bill but I am not sure it will get me anywhere. On one website I noted that the Aspire Card was issued by COLUMBUS BANK AND TRUST OF COLUMBUS, GA. I wonder if we should all flood them with complaints???

I am a customer service rep in the Dallas area. I'd be fired if I handled my accounts in the manner in which these people have handled my visa account. I am not at all surprised at the testimonials on this site. I closed my account and paid it in full. I was assured by the account reps at Aspire that "Everything is taken care of - your card is paid in full." I have a list of dozens of their account managers names who have now told me "Everything is taken care of." I looked all of these words up in the dictionary and found that Webster was mistaken: "taken care of" really means "royally reamed". It is a year later - I still receive preapproved credit card apps from these people as my balance increases on the (closed) Card from Hell from late fees and interest.

I recently got my statement for November. It showed that I did not make my last month's payment and they charged me $35.00 on top of that for a late fee. I have proof from my bank that I paid off that card last month and the check went through. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. And when I called Aspire Visa, they told me that I had to fax a copy of that check that came back. Shouldn't they call the bank not me? It's not my fault it's not in their records!! I hate this card. The interest rate is outrageous and everytime you call to talk to someone, all you get is a machine. I wouldn't suggest this card to anyone!!

If you have a dispute with a charge or credit you can not reach a real person on the phone - there is no 800 number to call - they do not answer the number on the card - if there is a problem they will harrass you until YOU solve it - they are not customer oriented -I would not recommend this card to anyone - anyone who ask me I will warn away for dealing with this company -

PLease DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS CARD THEY WII LIE CHEAT AND STEAL YOUR MONEY. I THINK THEY MIGHT BE MUSLIM EXTREMEST. IF YOU ALREADY OWN THIS CARD OR SHOULD I SAY----IF THIS CARD ALREADY OWNS YOU, PLEASE RIP IT UP AND CONTACT A LAWYER.

I will never do business with them again. They closed my account since I had not used their card in 3 months. I held their card for emergancy use and now it is gone with no warning. I do not remember seeing it in the card member agreement but I'm sure it is there. I keep my cash in savings, IRA's, 401k's and I liked having the credit is case I needed cash in a hurry. Now I will have a closed account on my credit record and I will have to apply for another card.

WITH AN INTEREST RATE OF 27.9% AND A SMALL INCOME EQUALS NEVER GETTING THIS 2,400 DOLLAR BALANCE PAID. THEY HAD THE NERVE AFTER 2 YRS OF PAYING ON TIME TO CANCEL ME B/C THEY SAY THEY ARE SEEKING A "DIFFERENT CLASS OF CUSTOMERS" DON'T DO IT!!!

THIS CARD IS THE WORST!! THEY GAVE ME A LIMIT OF 1700. CHARGED ME 30% INTEREST RATE. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, YOU CAN'T GET ANYONE ON THE PHONE. THIS CARD WILL NOT LOOK GOOD ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT. I FINALLY PAID OFF THE CARD AND OVER PAID THEM 7.00. IN ORDER TO GET THAT 7.00 I HAVE TO CONTACT THEM. I OVER PAID FINGER HUT AND THEY SENT ME A CHECK. I WOULD THINK SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE THERE WILL BE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM FOR BEING THE CROOKS THAT THEY ARE. I WOULD PAY THEM 50.00 A MONTH AND ONLY 6.00 WAS GOING TOWARDS PAYING IT BACK. OH I AM SO GLAD TO BE RID OF THEM. AFTER PAYING OFF THAT CARD, AND MANY OTHERS THAT I HAD I FINALLY GOT A REAL CARD IN THE MAIL. "DISCOVER" WITH A 2,000.00 LIMIT AND NO FEE'S. IF I WERE TO MAX OUT THAT CARD THE MINIMUM WOULD BE ONLY 20.00 A MONTH. SO IF YOU HAVE ASPIRE VISA, DO ANYTHING YOU CAN TO PAY IT OFF AND DON'T EVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN!!!

I had a providian card and found out the day I usual pay my Providian online that someone else had purchased my account. I was never late with my Providian and now my bill was late and That is because no one informed me about the change and when I called Aspire they we ever so rude I was told to do a phone pay it was $30 and $30 to pay online thats out rageous I am goinmg to get ride of it and don't recomend it to any one!

My husband applied for an Aspire Visa card and received one in the mail. When I saw how much the fees added up to, I immediately suggested he cancel the account within the 30-day time frame as is indicated in the Important Information pamphlet included with the enrollment package. We mailed such a letter to their correspondence address the next day. Exactly one month and seven days after he initially applied for the credit card, we get a postcard from Aspire stating that we had to make a minimum payment of $40 to get our account back up to date or face credit consequences. When I tried to call the "Customer Service" number(s) (Customer Service my A**!!!), we could only get an automated voice. We never could get through to a live representative, foreign or otherwise. I e-mailed their customer service center, but I am not holding my breath there. Suffice it to say, they aren't getting one brass farthing from me or my husband. We did everything we were instructed to do and followed all of their rules. This company is the most exasperating, HORRIBLE piece of work I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. How in the world they can stay in business is beyond me!!!

I've had this card for about 4 years now. I closed it 2 years ago and now all of the sudden the account is open again. Customer service was of no help, especially since they're from another country and you can't understand them! They could not even explain to me why the account opened back up! Do not rely on getting your monthly statements! It seems that every other month I have to call them about this problem, and they say they got returned mail! I have had the same address and no problems with any other mail! Also one time a representative from there called me, and he was so rude! My account was current and closed and he was yelling and cursing at me for no reason! When I asked for his name he refused. I called back to complain, and they had no record of the call! This is a horrible card unless you don't mind the worst customer service ever and don't mind not getting answers! There is something wrong with this company and it should be out of business!

There is NO customer service. As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to talk to a rep. The ONLY way to talk to a person is to choose the "lost or stolen card" option on their worthless phone menu. Be prepared, you will be transfered to India or some other Asian country that they outsource to. You will get "NO SATISFACTION" if you have any type of problem. Beware of this card.

To start off with, this card is for people with bad credit who are trying to learn how to organize there money, (if that is what you are looking for I suggest you try) if you are mad that they don't credit your payment in time send the money earlier... make a copy of one of your statements just in case you do not get it in time... when you call the number on the back of the cardm yes it is an automated system, if yu would like to speak to somebody directly the secret is to push the number that reports your card lost or stolen, and it will take you directly to operator... last DO NOT KEEP you card around the credit limit, sooner or later that will come back to get you and yes you will incur late fees, remember the card is to teach you responsibility if you can;t handle save yourself the trouble.....my only complaint about aspire is they do not report to the 3 credit agencies, so using to rebuild yoor credit report is pointless

I like most of the benefits of this card, but i have had a few problems in getting through to customer service. I would suggest that anyone who has had credit problems in the past apply to this company.

Before I sent in my paper work for this card I read the user reviews in here and decided I'd give it a whirl anyways. My credit is already trashed, so what the heck. However, I did learn some lessons from here... First off, I noticed the posting of the payments after the due date, so what I do is send a MONEY ORDER and I mail it PRIORITY MAIL with CONFIRMATION RECEIPT. Yeah, it costs 4$ to mail it out, but I know exactally when my payment gets to them and I have proof of it, so there cannot be ANY argument over it. Knock on wood, I've yet to have any problems with them, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to re-establish my credit. I could live without the astronomical annual fee, but hey... they took a chance on me, I'll take the chance on them.

I have there card. I pay it off in full each month. I sent a check this last time on July 2nd. It cleared my bank on the 7th of July. I had to wait until the 21st before they would take a hold off of my account. But if I would give them the bank number they would call and verify that it had cleared and release my hold. Thanks for not trusting me Aspire. You made my decision that much easier. Where are they hiring these people. You can't ever understand a word they say, and you have to repeat yourself time and time again. Everyone, has credit problems from time to time, but these people are a great reason to do your best not to have them. Work three jobs, but don't accept their card.

If you need a credit card and are truly desperate, then go for it. I would strongly urge that you stear clear of these bloodsucking leeches.

I was charged a finance charge that I was promised wouldn't be there, and on top of that they charged me a late fee. The customer service person was extremely rude and hung up on me when I spoke to her. They don't keep records (that's what they said about my account), and use that against you for their benefit. Finally, they just closed my account without any reason and said that they could not do anything about a closed account. These guys suck big time and are simply out to get your money!

I have heard some terrible stories here, but I must say, I cannot agree with what is being said. I have had one small complaint with the company, and that was the fact that I had to wait 11 days after my first payment was posted to activate my card. Now, how bad is that really? As for APR, well, mine is lower than 20% and I have had such bad financial times in the past five years that I doubt my FICA score is even back up to a 600. I have been able to reach customer service each and every time that I have called, and even though they have accents that are sometimes difficult to understand, they have all been very nice and helpful. For those of you who are not happy with the card, I agree... get out of the situation. But just because you have had some bad luck, it isn't right to totally rule out the possibility that maybe not everyone will have the same experience. Like me, some people may be happy that they are even able to qualify for a card and are appreciative of the opportunity to restore their good credit.

They want money for me to use this card, have had a payment, but not credited it to my balance, and have charged me 145 dollars with not one bit of credit available, and I have made no charges. This is a scam do not apply for this card

My husband receives a letter from the credit department saying the account is past due and to send a double payment. If there is a dispute to call the 800# listed on the letter. We knew we had paid the payment so we called the 800#. Never once did we get a live person but the automatic recording said the account was uptodate and that NO payment was needed! I have sent two personal letters to their credit department trying to resolve this issue and no response from anyone! We are paying this account off ASAP and will cancel the account. I will be sending my complaint to the Attorney General and whomever I can complain to. I was wondering if they only knew there were sites such as this with customer complaints but with their attitude I gather they really don't care one way or another. *DO NOT GET THIS CARD. BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!*

I had more problems with the customer service about false statements.

35% - 41% APR, rude and uncooperative customer service...and an ANNUAL FEE to boot!

I paid this card off a year ago and cut it up. I'm still recieving all kinds of charges and the company refuses to allow me to cancel. I have tried to cancel by phone, in writing, and was told to send a fax by some guy named Patrick. Surely there's a way to get this compny out of business and I'm going to find it.

DO NOT GET THIS CARD! The application/acceptance form I received said on the front, in bold "NO ANNUAL FEE!". Inside the document, in smaller print it plainly states "Annual Fee: $100.00"! The front of the form also said "NO APPLICATION FEE!", while inside it indicates that there is an "Account Opening Fee" of $29.00 - Aspire also creates a minimum, fixed cost for having the card ($6.50 monthly account maintenance fee), which means you'll pay that amount, whether you carry a charge or not. Why would anyone pay someone for ... "nothing"? RUN FROM THIS COMPANY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!

Ok, we accepted the Aspire Visa as a way to build credit and we only used it when we were sure that we would be able to pay off the balance, because our interest rate was very high...over 35%. We did use it to build our credit and decided to use it to buy some furniture. We paid, we started getting charged weird fees,$35 for this and that, so we tried to go through customer service to resolve the issue and was unable to speak to a live person. When we did not pay these charges, we certainly heard from a live person. She wanted us to pay these charges immediately with a check by phone. We had recently made a another purchase on the card and told her that we would make payment for our charges but not for any fees that we did not owe. She accepted our payment and we were told that the fees would be removed. When we decided to call and check the balance on our card, our credit limit had been dropped to zero and we owe a $35 fee. We can not get a hold of a live person. Does anyone know how to get a real person on the phone besides letting the fees build up until they start calling us? We do not want this to be a scar on our good credit as we plan on buying a house soon.

DO NOT GET THIS CARD. I CLOSED THE ACCOUNT IN MARCH 2002. TWO MONTHS LATER THEY CHARGE MY ACCOUNT ANNUAL FEES. TO DISPUTE THE PROBLEM TO BEGIN WITH YOU HAVE TO WRITE THEM A LETTER. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS RIDICULOUS, EVERY ONE OF THEM THINK YOU ARE TRYING TO GET OUT OF CHARGES. DO NOT GET THIS CARD IF POSSIBLE. YOU ARE BETTER OFF ROBBING A BANK THAN DEALING WITH THESE PEOPLE.

I have had this card for two years. I moved and sent in a change of address...two months later they were charging late fees. When I called they said they would remone one of the charges which they never did but they said they had my new address. Well two months later once again they added past due fees. When I called again they said that receiving a bill was a conveinence and that I should have called to get their address and mail the check to them. The people in service are rude and unhelpful and the interest rates are nuts. STAY AWAY FROM THIS CARD!!!

I have closed my account as of 1-18-03 I have tried 5 times to get a response from customer service to just get ping ponged back and forth. This company has the worst customer relations I've seen in my life. Do not apply for the Aspire card high interest rate, you will never be reviewed and your apr will never go down. I have used the card 2 years thinking paying on time every month would qualify me for a lower rate/I have found out that will never happen. I can't say enough bad things or words about my encounter with Aspire. You would be better off borrowing money from a loan shark. I think Aspire is a loan shark mailing cards out to people. Don't get sucked in by these people.The csr I talked with last night on the phone had such bad english I could not understand her. I told her to switch me to a csr I could understand but ofcourse she understood me whem I told her to close my account right then. I have never done business with a more anti customer relations and the worst customer service i have ever experienced.....................................

This card has terrible customer service. I have tried to change my address since I moved four different times and they are still not sending me my statement. I would never recommend this card to anyone.

I regret having accepted this card. The service is poor. There is no online billing or payment facility. They gouge you to death with improper charges and would never ever correct their mistakes - even when they promise to do so. I'm ready to file a class-action suit against these gangsters. I have destroyed my card.

You can not get a hold of anybody. Everything is automated. They will rarely respond to e-mail. Interest rate is insane. If anybody has a number to contact these morons please post it for others! Thanks

I was told that I had a $35 late charge to pay. I have NEVER been late on a payment in 6 yrs. Always paid in full. they said it would be removed and it never was. It is IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THROUGH TO CUSTOMER SCREWVICE. Emails were sent and they played games there to. Don't ever get mixed up with this card. I am going to follow this to the end. Maybe even get them put out of business. Sincerly pissed off in Phoenix.

I was told, by Customer Service, that online pay capabilities would be available very soon - that was almost a year ago! In order to be competitive with other card companies, this benefit should be addressed immediately.

Promises are made and them the real fact hit you, you are paying 24% on your account and will never get reduced

I was just inquiring about the Aspire Visa. The women I spoke with was rude and then I was hung up on. When I tried to call back several times and It was busy. After a few attempts, I went to the website and I noticed that they have no on-line payment option. I contacted the customer service department which was hard enough to get a live person, and they were not able to help me because it was not their department, they also did not have the number to loan department. Therefore, I was stuck with the annoying busy signal.

I paid off my card this month, and the automated service says that I only have a very minimum credit on the card. Shouldn&#'t I have the amount on the card that it is worth?

Aspire promised several benefits such as automatic car rental insurance, etc., when I signed on for the card. But when I got the actual terms, those benefits were nowhere to be found. I called to ask about it and was treated sooo rudely by a snotty customer service rep who tried to act like I had hallucinated the entire thing. Every service rep I&#'ve spoken to at Aspire has been rude and unhelpful, and it&#'s almost impossible to get a live person on the phone anyway! The final straw: they sent my statement in Spanish and refused to issue a corrected statement, even though I don&#'t know Spanish and didn&#'t ask for the switch! I cancelled the card but two months later am STILL waiting for confirmation that my account has been closed.

Horrible Customer Service, I had to press the option that my card was stolen then that never recieved to talk to a real person. Other than that, you cant speak with no body, their useless automated system keeps cycling over and over. I had this card for 4 months and there were no ups. Its better not to have it.

WE asked that our interest rate be lowered. We were never late with payments, we were long term customers and we were refused. We then paid off the majority of the account and asked again. They refused, they refused to let us talk to a supervisor and then cancelled our account without notice.

I have had a apsire classic card for 6 months so far credit line started at 500 and recently got a 200 limit increase which was nice. Most of the posts hear seem not to be accurate here. I agree the intrest is way too high. But think about it in any situation or any credit card who the hell would put more then $1000 dollars on it unless you plan to pay atleast half of it or full balance. Thats just crazy for anyone to do that. And as for customer service i never had any problems getting a hold of them. They helped establish my credit and as for somone who said they dont report to the 3 major credit beuros thats false it shows up on my credit report as good. All and all i would only recomend this card if your not planing on maxing it out as you should never do on any cards for that matter but this is a good card to just establish credit if you have bad or no credit at all. And a final note i think just about all credit cards are pointless no matter what unless emergency comes up i think any card is just good to establish your future credit for a loan for a car or home but other than that most credit cards are just pointless im not saying all are but most are.

Getting through to a live customer service representative is extremely difficult. The telephone access menus are difficult to work through or call is dropped. Account management is not available online.

i will give them credit they have never called my home trying to sell options you dont need anyway like other card companies do.

I've had the Aspire classic visa for 6 years. They are the worst creditor. Their customer service is as sub-par as the card. I closed the account and asked for it to be reported to the CRAs. I waited 4 months and had to dispute to get it properly stated on my report as "closed by consumer". I had a dispute that I was told to fax over. Three weeks later, I was told it was never received. I tried to call the corporate offices but no one with Columbus Trust and Bank would give it to me. I finally accidentally found it and had to threaten legal action to get the corporate officers to do anything. The interest rates run 22-30% for people with a FICO score of 700 or better (which is obscene). They are being investigated by several governmental divisions and possible litigation is in the works. This is an awful company who should have been placed out of business a long time ago.

I have newer experienced worse service. The trouble started with someone stealing my card number. By calling up a few places I manage to find out the name and address of the person using my card#, report it to the police and call Aspire. They tell me they'll send me a form to dispute the charges. Never arrives. Then they refuse to change my address because I moved twice within a short period of time, and hence I don't receive my statements and therefore can't obtain the information necessary to dispute the charges. Aspire has shown no interest in solving this problem despite my efforts and has shown complete incompetence so far.

This was the worst card I had ever had. High interest rates, and they didn't send me a bill for 2 months in a row, and when I called to tell them I hadn't recieved one, they treated me like I was trying to get out of paying my bills. I was told the only way I could pay it was by a check by phone, which they charged me $11.00 to do! Oh yeah, that was after I had waited 25 minutes listening to elevator music trying to get someone to help me. DO NOT GET THIS CARD!!!!!

This has to be the worst credit card that is available to it's poor unsuspecting customers. They badger you daily with phone calls, concerning nothing!! They make promises which they cannot follow through nor do they ever intend to. When you actually do need customer service, no one is available. They raise your interest so high you'll never pay off the card (mine was at 33.9%) Thank God, another card took a chance on me and I was able to transfer the balance.

no benefits,high rate and bad customer service.don't get one.

I pay my balance in full every month, and Aspire charges me interest from the day I make a purchase, so I still end up having to pay interest. As a result, I cancelled my account and they continued to post charges to it and assess finance charges on top of that. Someone named "Ms. Green" calls me at home and at work to harass me about my dispute. She is arrogant and unwilling to fix the problem, and Aspire violated the credit services agreement.

I received my CBT Visa the day i graduated from Army Basic Training at Fort Benning GA. It was my first credit card. They gave me the oppurtunity of having a credit card at age 18. Everything from customer service to interest rate have been outstanding.

I live in the southeast for a period of 3 years. I recently moved to Iowa. Upon moving I notified the company that I had moved. They instructed me (a cardholder in very good standing)That Iowa is the only state in the union that I can't live & have an Aspire card. I can understand if I was in poor standing. But ordering me to cancel my card & pay my balance in full. Is very ureasonable.

Refuses to stop charges to card, when customer is not making charges to card. Refuses to reverse charges not made by customer to card. Refuses to close account after card was paid off.

A horrible card with NO benefits to the consumer. Dolts manning the 800 number phone lines, all with an amazing inability to resolve even the most simple card-related issues...idiots. P.S. - all of the reviews listed for this card that have all THUMBS UP and 5 STARS and 'way to go, Aspire' smack of some the jerks from Aspire trying to tank the true results. -- But we all know better. Aspire Visa offers no benefits. Caveat.

The interest rate on this card is 29.75%. I didn't really have credit til I was about 38 yrs old. I feel that this card targets people with less than perfect credit. The other problem with this card is the customer service, they tend to be difficult to get a hold of.

when i started to put my credit back together'it was pretty bad.they gave me my start&now almost a year later i have a respectable credit history.thank you aspire.

Okay, i got the card. No problem. I made one purchase on it and I'm paying it off. I make two on-time payments that were a little more than the minimal balance, and i get a $2,000 increase. I am late on a payment so I told them that I would make a double payment in the next bill. No problem. Then they called me and harrassed me to make payments directly from my bank account. I said no. Then they mailed me letters. I wanted to pay off a layaway for a bed. When the funiture store called to verify the limit status, the card company told them to confiscate the card and cut it up and throw it away when i left! This is over one late payment! So, I e-mailed customer service for the phone number (it was on the back of the card, which now i dont have). and they e-mailed me back saying they will get back to me in three to five days. I HATE THIS CARD. I am getting a loan from a bank just to pay it off and get rid of it! Also! i wanted to get a second card for my fiance. They said i had to write them a letter, i did. I called one month after i did that after not recieving a card. this is now one month after i called and i still dont have the card. Two months after first requesting a second card and i still dont have it!! Aah! DONT GET THIS CARD!

This card overall wasn't too bad. I just feel that their interest rate should be illegal. I think the correct term for this is called "usery". Meaning that in my own terms the card will never get paid off. I did give them credit for increasing my credit line much faster than other cards I've dealt with in the past. I made a couple of just over minimum payment due payments and got a $500 increase. But, then again, at the interest rate, I guess it benefits them more than me.

Yesterday, I received a Pre-Qualified mailing from Columbus Bank and Trust Co. for an Aspire VISA. The first sentance says I am "PRE-QUALIFIED* for the Aspire VISA with a credit limit of $300." However, when I read the "Summary of Credit Terms", I discovered that there are the following fees "$150 Annual Fee + $0.54 per month Account Maintenance Fee + $29 Account Opening Fee (one time)." Therefore, the real amount of credit available to the borrower the first month is $120.46. But there is a catch. The borrower can not access even the $120.46 until AFTER the borrower makes "a minimum monthly payment" to activate the account. The bank does not disclose the minimum monthly payment amount. However, if we assume that the minimum monthly payment is $10 per month, then without ever charging anything to the account, it will take the borrower over 21 months to pay off this account at the stated 19.75%. Again that is without any additional changes and the borrower closes the account before the next monthly Account Maintenance Fee is charged to the account! That is a total of $215 just for having the account open for ONE MONTH!!!!

I use the card rarely, last year a sportscard dealer charged me fraudulently and finally a credit, then a new charge they said he madr but they posted the original charge again in error. In May, I did not get my new card, yet I have a 5,000 limit, 2000 out.I was told my card was not mailed and I need to apply for a new account....because of their lurid behavior. I called 2 supervisors, James Jones,and Len Wood.....each time I am not connected, messages taken and NO return calls........when I ask to talk to a supervisor, I am told NO one is there.....right.......sell it to the moronic masses..........good credit and NO card.........what a turgid, tawdry bunch, that are difficult to arouse by any means!!

The Aspire Visa card while being easy to get comes with a high price. An intrest rate of close to 30%. Its not worth the intrest rate to establish credit. I am no longer a member with this company.

This card was easy to qualify for and had a great starting credit limit.

They are cheaters! They promised the world in their advertising letter but... But gave the highest interest rate that I've seen in a long time (17.9), charged annual fee - "lowest out there, only $6 a month" they told me on the phone! Nobody charges annual fee anymore unless you have really bad credit and I dont. Dont ever get this card. They will trick you into getting one, theyll tell you all kinds of lies and when you get you'll be paying out for a long time. Dont get it!!

This is the worst CARD I own. The customer service is bad, slow and non efficient. The interest rate is HIGH 29.95% / YEAR. The only low is the line of credit.

I happened to obtain an Aspire Visa account when my Bravo account (previously owned by Discover) was sold to Columbus Bank and Trust. I had a balance on the card that I needed to pay off, so I could not close the account. Upon acquiring my account, Aspire said I could either pay off my old account under the same terms I had with Bravo, or I could transfer the balance to a new Aspire card with an APR of 25%. As I thought this was ridiculous, I declined their offer to receive a new card and instead elected to pay off my existing account with Bravo. Despite this, they opened an account for me and sent me their classic Visa card. I have never charged with this card, but I still have a small outstanding balance from Bravo (which, by the way, carried an APR of 14%). I have been paying well over the minimum every month to eliminate my debt on this card. I moved in June, and notified Aspire more than once of my change of address. Suddenly, in December, they stopped posting my payments. I did not find this out until the beginning of February, because they were sending correspondance to my old address. Even though the checks I wrote were cashed, Aspire claimed that I had not paid my bill for two months. I requested copies of the cancelled checks from my bank and sent them to Aspire. Although they now admit they "may" have made a mistake, they have yet to correct the problem. One customer service person told me it can take up to six months to resolve a dispute such as this. In the meantime, they have charged me late fees, closed my account, and reported a sixty-day late to the credit bureaus! I would strongly recommend that anyone with this card cancel it immediately.For those of you considering getting an Aspire account, I would not do it unless you want to deal with rude customer service people, inept accountants, and a moronic collection department. To summarize, I have had nothing but negative interactions with Aspire, and the card has no redeming value whatsoever. There are way too many other credit cards available to waste your time with this company.

This is a good card. I have enjoyed the relationship between customer service and myself. They have tried to be more than friendly. The only set back I have found so far is, I have had to wait 3 months for a "trial" period to see if we pay on time and so on and so on. Only then have I gotten the other half of my credit line. I do not understand this process and it is the only thing I don't like about the card.

I have tried repeatedly to get this company to lower my apr, even a couple of percent, but they are unwilling to do so, or to offer me any advise about getting this card paid off. As soon as it is paid, I plan to close my account with them.

I keep my payments up and tried to keep a low balance. When I started using the card to buy christmas presents, the card was decline. I call costumer service they infomed me that I still had available credit, but had my wrong address and phone #. The change the information not once but three times and the problem is still the same. The card is being rejected when I tried to make purchase the card is rejected. I called costumer service again, and they told me to call the bank (Columbus Bank and Trust Co.), they were nice enough to give me the 1-800 number. So I tried the number and the number is no longer in service. So now I am trying to find another number so I can get my problem resolved. I am to the point that as soon as I can I will cancel the card and not deal with ASPIRE again.

Every month I paid my credit card within days of receipt of bill, on time, and in full. In spite of that they hold off posting payment for 7-10 days and then record late payment with interest and penalties imposed. What a fraud!!! Even when customer service says don't worry it will be waived someone else later says tough luck. I let the card expire because I didn't want it and they reinstated the card without my permission (after it was lost and I didn't know it was activated to cancel it). Ironically, the ad represented that one should get that card to improve or establish credit. I have been on hold for 10 minutes so far to cancel the card and nobody answers. I am reporting Columbus Bank and Trust Company.

I would tell anyone thinking about getting this credit card to,"Just say NO'!!!!!!!I recieved an Aspire by default-my original company,"Prime Option" went out of business.As soon as I was late one payment the calls started,and customer service had very little to be desired!Although they offer a high limit,it just isn't worth it.

Aspire Visa obtained my information illegally, I am sure and called around offering to open a credit card with my personal information. This resulted in them opening a credit card with my personal information and someone elses name, I have tried for a month to correct their mistake, and they will not answer my calls. So if you would like to avoid being a victim of credit card fraud, remove your name from every list out their that Aspire can get their hands on, because they will call around with your personal information to get consumers to open accounts with their company and your left paying the bill.

I would not recommend this card to anyone. It is very hard to contact their customer service department, and when you do they are very unfriendly and unhelpful. My interest rate is very high, and it has been very hard to make any kind of headway on the remaining balance. I also recently pulled my credit history from several different credit bureaus, and even though I have an excellent payment history with Aspire, they have not reported any of it. I accepted this card in an effort to repair my credit, and it has failed to report any of this positive activity in the year and a half that I have had the account.

Aspire is very hard to contact over the phone and when you do get someone, they do not give you straight answers. They have a very high interest rate that seems to go up every month.