Any credit card ads that bother or offend you?

[CanadianDaniel]

With all the enticing balance transfer offers out there, I decided to do some research on credit card advertising that gets under the skin of consumers.

On the Advertising Standards Council’s website, there was one case in 2007 where a financial institution promoted a direct mail credit card offer without mentioning its annual fee – that yearly charge was buried in the fine print on the card issuer’s website. Penalties are heavy, especially if intent to deceive is proven.

Have you encountered other credit card promotions that you feel are misleading? This can include prepaid or gift cards that come with strings attached.

[sweet sparrow]

I don't like when the PC Financial reps stalk me while shopping to ask me to sign up for a PC card. Once, one of their reps handed me a bag of their PC cookies and said "this is a free gift for you". When I told him I had a PC card, he ripped it out of my hand and went after someone else. I guess it wasn't a free gift for me after all. Most of them will hover near the sign-up area, but I get annoyed by the ones who stray from their zone to hunt you down.

While I find PC's recruiting tactics annoying, I don't think I've been misled by my credit cards yet.

[CanadianDaniel]

I got tackled into signing up for a PC MasterCard deal last December which involved a subscription deal to the Toronto Sun in exchange for a free $20 gift card reward. I did read the fine print, and was vigilant about canceling well before the discount period ended. So while that wasn't misleading credit card advertising, it did involve pre-authorized payments that definitely required a credit card. The fine print on the agreement on how to cancel after the trial period was about 5 point so was very easy to overlook.

[kmiecp]

While it is a bank and not a credit card, I HATE scotiabank's slogan "you're richer than you think'.... Seriously, banks giving loans and mortgages to people who cannot afford them (I.e. who are poorer than they think!) is what caused the huge crash a few years ago! Most Canadians have huge debts, making them much poorer than they think about.

[SassyAshley]

I agree with hating that slogan, I know how much money I have and no I am not richer than I think.

While it is a bank and not a credit card, I HATE scotiabank's slogan "you're richer than you think'.... Seriously, banks giving loans and mortgages to people who cannot afford them (I.e. who are poorer than they think!) is what caused the huge crash a few years ago! Most Canadians have huge debts, making them much poorer than they think about.

[blueeyetea]

I'm now leery of any gift card put out by the credit card companies. They have an expiry date, usually one year, and if you still have a balance by then, the credit card pays itself an administration fee and brings the balance to zero. Unlike store gift cards, which are governed by provincial law, credit card fall under federal regulation and can do what they want.

The other one I don't remember which card advertises it, but it's the one where people are in the stands watching a baseball game and they encourage their neighbors to use a credit card to pay for small purchases like a drink and a hot dog. That one drives me nuts because the consumer thinks it's not costing him anything and amping his opportunities to collect points. What's undisclosed is that the merchant pays higher fees and/or cutting into their profits because small transactions like that don't many any money. Since then, I can't help but shake my head when I see people buying their $1.70 cup of Tim Hortons and paying with their credit cards.

[CanadianDaniel]

blueeyetea: I think that's the "smallenfreuden" TV ad where a couple are shocked to see friends using a Visa card to buy drinks in the stands at a game. Irks me because small card purchases, albeit convenient, also involve processing fees that small businesses have to pay. Not sure whether this is misleading advertising but I'm going to ask whether upfront disclosure is required.

Here's a Globe article about it.

[Travelnut]

The things I can not stand about credit cards are

#1. You want to CHARGE me a fee per year to have your credit card. Oh but you will give me points/air miles/some other junk. Oh I will keep my money but thank-you for the offer. LOL
#2. And along with the yearly fee you want to charge 18.00% or more... again no thank-you I will keep my NO FEE CIBC Petro-points card.
#3. You have to have credit cards to build a credit history. Banks do not care how much money you have in the bank/invested etc with ZERO debt. It is just the way it is.
#4. Oh and the "you are richer than you think" ad drives me NUTTY. If you do not have the cash in hand ....... "maybe you are NOT richer than you think you are".

[Zonny]

The things I can not stand about credit cards are

#1. You want to CHARGE me a fee per year to have your credit card. Oh but you will give me points/air miles/some other junk. Oh I will keep my money but thank-you for the offer. LOL
#2. And along with the yearly fee you want to charge 18.00% or more... again no thank-you I will keep my NO FEE CIBC Petro-points card.
#3. You have to have credit cards to build a credit history. Banks do not care how much money you have in the bank/invested etc with ZERO debt. It is just the way it is.
#4. Oh and the "you are richer than you think" ad drives me NUTTY. If you do not have the cash in hand ....... "maybe you are NOT richer than you think you are".

The 18%+ interest fee doesn't matter at all if you don't carry a balance. And if you play it right, the rewards can easily outweigh the annual fees. Otherwise I'm in agreement!

I especially hate those guys trying to give away cookies. At one time they used to say something like, "Are you able to have access to YOUR bank while you're grocery shopping?" My response was, no, and they don't try to bribe me with cookies either.

[blueeyetea]

#1. You want to CHARGE me a fee per year to have your credit card. Oh but you will give me points/air miles/some other junk. Oh I will keep my money but thank-you for the offer. LOL
#2. And along with the yearly fee you want to charge 18.00% or more... again no thank-you I will keep my NO FEE CIBC Petro-points card. .

Well, you do realise that the interest charge on your no fee CIBC Petro Points Card is 19.99% if is this MasterCard?

And you do realise those points don't come free? Every time you use the card, even with paying your full balance very month, the merchant has to pay fees on the transaction. And I'm not even addressing the impulse to use your card when you don't have to, just to collect more points.

Fee, no fee, they still have you where they want. The more you use your card, the more likely you'll carry a balance, and then, wham, 20% interest charges on all your purchases. You'll never see it coming.

#3. You have to have credit cards to build a credit history. Banks do not care how much money you have in the bank/invested etc with ZERO debt. It is just the way it is.

And not the way it used to be. When I started working full time in the 1980s, I couldn't even get a credit card even though I already had my own apartment and paying rent. I applied for an Eatons card, which in those days, was easier to get than a Visa or Mastercard. No can do. I was refused. I eventually built my credit by asking my father to co-sign a loan to buy a refrigerator at a local furniture store. Then I applied for a Zellers card, and three years later, Master Card finally accepted to give me a card, when Visa refused.

Nowadays, students with no jobs are getting credits without so much as a signature from their parents.

[GatineauGirl]

"For everything else, there's Mastercard." The commercials show things that people tend to cherish, like families, puppies, smiling kiddies etc, and refer to these things as "Priceless."

Irks me because it pulls on your heartstrings to buy buy buy happiness. On credit, of course.

[canadascouponeer]

It bothers me when cashiers offer special offers to people who don't understand English very well. For example the cashier offers someone $15 off their purchase, but little do they know, they're about to sign up for a credit card. I see this happen all the time at Walmart and Sears. It's even more disgusting when the cashiers know exactly what they're doing, and carefully try to make the credit card sound like a loyalty card or something.

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