How to get a Credit Card in 6 months

Credit Card Tips Again - Pay it off

2005-12-05T19:23:00.000+02:00

Ok, here's a nice tip... Pay off your credit card.

One way I would suggest doing that is getting a hobby that actually pays you a little pocket money. Again, related to the articles below, a nice way to do this is become an online publisher. For example:

1 - Create a web-page (or a blog) about something that you enjoy or are knowledgeable about (like spelling??? Could I possibly be lysdexic or dyslexic)

2 - Get a nice following. You will know you have one if you have a hit counter or traffic monitor counting the number of people visiting your pages... Like I mentioned earlier, I probably found this by using an ad on another web-page, but searching for one using google will be good enough.

3 - Add some Ads. If the ads are relevant, they will pay nicely for your website, and hopefully pay for your credit card addiction. Unfortunately, Google doesn't send you any checks in the post (or "Cheques in the post") until you've hit the $100 mark. So, work hard....

It can all be "EASY MONEY"...

Discover Credit Card Tips 2

2005-12-02T01:03:00.000+02:00

Ok, how's this for another reason to use the discovery credit card. You get Discovery Miles. Which, in turn, you can convert to Voyager Miles. Not sure how they work (the Voyager Miles), and I'm not sure if the Discovery Miles will be valid next year.

But if they are, good!

You can go on tropical cruises or holidays for up to 45% discount. Well, it looks like I can, anyway... I could go visit Atlantis in the Caribbean for 6 nights all food and drink paid for, for only R6000... ($1000 - Sounds cheaper).

Til next time...

Discover Credit Card Tips

2005-11-17T12:01:00.000+02:00

Well, now that I have the credit card, and I'm making all these cool savings with it, I thought I could give you just ONE tip (at a time?) on how to make the same sort of saving. That is:

USE THE CREDIT CARD!

Why am I now promoting debt? I'm not really. I don't believe in it at all. (Read my previous posts on how this has caused some issues). But, what I do is put money onto the credit card at the beginning of the month, and use what I have on there. If I need more, I'll transfer some more onto the credit card. You'll discover credit card uses that make life easier such as:

1 - Interest on Credit Balances on the credit card are actually more than my "savings account".
2 - I pay for 1 transaction - transferring of the money. I don't pay per credit card transaction
3 - I don't have to keep drawing money. Related to #2, but also a matter of convenience.

Anyway, maybe more of these ideas will come later. Enjoy.

A few Punts

2005-11-15T01:24:00.000+02:00

Well, now that everything seems to be finished regarding this rant and rave, I thought I'd like to mention a thing or 2 that have made this interesting.

1 - It's been interesting to see what ads people are clicking from the AdSense ads on this page. Setting up AdSense was really simple, and personally, I thought Google would say no to my request to sign up. But, considering how popular blogging is, and how many people might stumble upon this site, it seems pretty worth it. I'm not quite making enough to pay off the house, but it's fun to dream none the less...

2 - Somehow, this site has made it onto the 1st page on "http://search.msn.com/" when searching for "Discovery Credit Card" or just plain old "Discovery Card"... How it's done that I'm not sure. If that's how you've come to be here (and you've actually read more than 2 sentences), welcome. I hope there's a nice link on this page for you to exit with...

Which brings me to:

3 - The Site Meter, or Site Statistics, Hit Counter, heck, I don't know what you'd call it, but the little piece of code you put on the web page that counts how many people have come to your webpage... Anyway, I'd like to recommend "http://www.activemeter.com". The reports that this website gives you are amazing. They also say where your visitors have "arrived from". And this is how I came to point number 1... I originally searched for a "Web site visitor counter" using google, and on another hit counter website, it linked to Active Meter. (I can't remember if it was through AdSense or not). I thought I'd give it a try, and this is SUCH a cool "product". Just give it a bash (and tell them I sent you :-) )...

It's been real. I'm sure I'll add a couple of comments over time. If I'm ever bored, and I don't have any other toys like a PlayStation or XBox, I'll be back here.

Til then, enjoy the read.

Week 52 - Status Update - SUCCESS

2005-11-14T22:15:00.000+02:00

Well, I've had this card for about 3 months now. Yes, yes... Typical. Only write something when you have complaints. Well, considering it took so long to actually apply for a credit card, prove i have a good credit rating (or is that a debt rating???) and then get this card delivered free of charge and for free... (Is that "mahala" in Zulu?)

How did I manage to get the discovery credit card? I spoke to 2 different managers, who managed to personally organise the delivery of the card. What really bugged me previously is, no matter what I said, nobody would put me through to a manager who had any authority. These 2 managers were so good, I ALMOST got 2 GOLD Discovery Credit Cards.

Ok, enough complaining. Now I have the card, do I like it? Yes I do. And what do I like about the card:

1 - There are no fees for normal Credit Card Transactions
2 - When I used my card overseas, there were no issues or abnormal limits. But they did phone to confirm that it was me using the card. Just checking that there were no fraudulent transactions occuring
3 - The CashBack bonus. Because I am on gold status, I get up to 12% cashback from selected stores, like Woolworths
4 - The discovery miles that I have accumulated. I can also convert these discovery miles into Voyager Miles, and use them for standard Voyager Miles Transactions and discounts

Sometimes, I wonder if America had a card like the Discovery Credit Card... I'm sure it would be America's #1 Credit Card by now. It would probably be a LOT easier to apply for the credit card over there, because I think it's a standard in America to have a minimum of 3 credit cards......

Week 32 - Surprises all round

2005-06-08T01:19:00.000+02:00

Well, I phoned again today. I asked when my card would be ready and the HDJ sounded shocked to see that my cards/accounts were closed. I explained the whole thing about no Card unless the old card was cancelled, so she did some investigating. I found out a couple of things:

1 - They needed to make my accounts active again to get me a card. whatever....
2 - My card might be printed by the end of the week and sent to the courier company
3 - The average time for a brand new card to be delivered, (from application to delivery), is 1 month. So much for 5 days. Can't even remeber WHERE I heard that, it was so long ago.

I said that MIGHT wasn't good enough because I'd waited so long. She promised to phone the bank (FNB???) to find out where my card was, and then phone me back.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

I asked her to wait, I took out my phone and started recording the conversation. Asked her for the time (1:33PM), her name, how to spell it, and to promise me that she would phone me back. Thought I might get a better response once I'd told her I'd hold her to it. SO MUCH FOR THAT. Did she phone me back. NO! But she did give me the e-mail address for supervisors. Hope it's correct. Something like discoverycard_service_team@discovery.co.za. Let's see what they say...

Week 31 - June 2005 - Shocking Truth Revealed

2005-06-03T22:20:00.000+02:00

...............

Well, after a wait of, what, half a second, are you ready for the punch line, the climax, the ultimate truth, the final twist in this macabre tale of shocking service and absolute cluelessness (is that a word?).

nobody knew they had to order an actual card for me.

There we go. I've said it. Shall I say it again, in case you missed it the first time.

NOBODY KNEW THEY HAD TO ORDER AN ACTUAL CREDIT CARD. A PIECE OF PLASTIC!

Do you think even I can understand this? It looks like, when I ordered an upgrade from a Debit "CARD" to a "GOLD CREDIT CARD", somebody was under the impression that all I ever wanted was a limit increase. And that nobody informed Discovery that my card had been destroyed like it should have been.

Sorry, read this post if you missed that.

I'm lucky now though, because after a wait of only 6 months, somebody has ordered me a new credit card. How sweet.

Week 31 - June 2005 - Part 2

2005-06-03T22:15:00.000+02:00

Guess what. NO PHONE CALL!!! Are you really suprised? To tell you the truth, I am. He sounded like such a nice chap. So, let's see where he was.

A lovely sounding lady answered the phone today. She was surprised that yesterday's HDJ didn't phone me back. Her words: "But he always does?!" So, she'll find out what he says and one of them will DEFINITELY phone me back. ha ha ha ha... Am I REALLY starting to enjoy this torture? Could this possibly be a case of "Stockholm Syndrome" taking effect?

Well, yesterday's HDJ phoned from his "lunch break, as this was the only time he had to call me"... I like it. He was mailing his manager and would CC me so that I knew who I was dealing with. (I still haven't received the mail, by the way). Why would he be so keen to get a manager/supervisor in to keep me happy, after all this time?????.........................

TO BE CONTINUED...

Week 31 - June 2005

2005-06-02T12:48:00.000+02:00

Well, I finally phoned them back. I helpful person on the other end of the phone was astounded that I had phoned 10 people, 6 of which had promised to phone me back, and not one of them had, except for 1, who phoned me back a week late. I practically made him promise 3 times to phone me back once he'd finished investigating where my card was. It was the usual story:

- Phone Delivery - "sorry, your card's been delivered - in March"!!!!!!!
- Put through to Discovery Card - "They had the wrong card. I'll look for it for you and phone you back before close of busines"

More Musings

2005-05-31T00:04:00.000+02:00

I'm going to phone Discovery again tomorrow. (Or later today). I'd like to see if they're still saying that the card's on it's way. I've been thinking about this though. I wonder if they actually PAID for the Credit Reports that they pulled on me? Or if they were free credit reports. The reason I ask is, hopefully they didn't pay to make up a code. Sometimes I just feel bad for them. THen I think that it's actually me sitting here, waiting for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Do yourself a favour. type the following in Google's search engine (or just click the link below):

"debt 'credit card' site:*.blogspot.com"

This will show you a TON of Blogger blogs on how people are trying to get rid of Credit Cards and all manners of related debt problems. They are suggesting all sorts of things like consolidating debt, announcing free credit reports and using them to analyse the problems, even going so far as to go for credit counselling to help with your debt management.

If anything, I urge you to read this article about how this generation is becoming know as the generation of debt. Could it just relate to americans? At the moment, probably, but as with everything, it will filter down. Check out our obesity problem now hitting South Africa.

Musings - Part 3

2005-05-19T00:26:00.000+02:00

Once again you might ask: "Why write this on the internet?"

Personally, I don't think it should take this long to get a Credit Card. And I heard an ad on the radio by the CEO of the company asking users to take advantage of this product. My question is: "If the company is struggling with the applications as it is, why try and get MORE business? Sort out your current issues first." Or, am I the only issue?

And what about all this inconvenience?

Well, I know that Discovery themselves won't DO anything for me to make me happy. They told me as much. So, all I want is to share my story. I'm a little guy with a voice (or, at the very least, a keyboard), and I'm standing on my box in "Speaker's Corner" on the internet, and venting my frustrations.

This is all I can do, because who will I spite by refusing this card when (IF) I get it? I already make good use of Discovery's other products through their Vitality programme.

I am not writing this to discourage anyone from getting this card. All I would like is for people to read what I've written, and maybe leave a comment.

I will definitely keep the cyberworld updated on my progress. Wish me luck.

Week 29 - May 2005 - Part 2

2005-05-19T00:10:00.000+02:00

I phoned Discovery again today. Let's see if I can get everything written in one post. Just to let you know, the total length of this call was around 10 - 15 minutes.

Me - "Hi, I had an upgrade approved and it should be shipping out now. Do you know where it is?"
HDJ 1 - "Let me check........ Please hold, you're going through to Customer Service"

...music... ...ads... ...music...

Me - "Hi, I had an upgrade approved and it should be shipping out now. Do you know where it is?"
HDJ2 - "Aaah, I see you're upgrade was approved."

Me - "Yes it was...?!?"
HDJ2 - "And your limits were increased."

Me - "Yes they were..." (I'm still breathing deeply!)
HDJ2 - "Ok, that means it's going to be delivered. Let me put you through to delivery."

...music... ...ads... ...music...

Me - "Hi, I had an upgrade approved and it should be shipping out now. Do you know where it is?"
HDJ3 - "Ok, let me look......... But you got your card in December."

Me - "Yes. The wrong card....... but that's a long story that I don't want to get into right now. Where's my new card?"
HDJ3 - "Ok, please hold, let me check..."

...music... ...ads... ...music... ...ads... ...music... ...ads... ...music...

HDJ4 - "Hello, servicing department.."

<...repeat HDJ2's dialogue above (except for the transfer)...>

HDJ4 - "Ok, there is a bit of a back log at the moment, but the cards are being processed. I can't give you a specific date, but the cards should be with the delivery company, and you should receive the card in the next 2 to 3 weeks..."

Week 29 - May 2005 - Part 1

2005-05-18T23:51:00.000+02:00

Well, it finally happened. No, no, no, don't get your hopes up, I didn't get a Credit Card...

I went to fill up with petrol, and with the Oil price and our slipping currency (an' all an' all), I paid the most I've ever paid for a full tank. The petrol attendant came back with the dreaded news:

"Sorry, but your card was denied."

Lovely. NOT embarrassing at all!!! Thank goodness it looked like he was used to situations like this. He told me how to use a Debit Card, bless his heart. But no, not the lovely Discovey Debit Card. That has been cut up for something like 29 weeks now. Wouldn't want anybody abusing it now, would we?

Musings - Part 2

2005-05-18T03:10:00.000+02:00

Well, I guess it's near the end of May now. It's taken a while to write the story so far, and yet there seems to be more. If you've read this far, well done. I'd just like to outline a few things I've learnt from all this.

1 - Is Discovery a bad company?
No, I wouldn't say so. It just looks like they don't really know how to handle new processes very well. Let's just say I think they'd qualify as a CMMi Level 1 company.

2 - Is it easy to get a Credit Card?
No. Unless you spend a LOT of money and owe people money, it would seem. I'm not saying you're completely in debt, though. I think it's a case of owing a lot of money, but still making the correct "minimum payments" required. Then you're a good payer, and you can get a credit card. But apparently you can't be a good payer if you don't owe money. One of life's little hiccups.

3 - Are all Help Desk Jockeys bad?
No. I am just SO glad I am not one. Imagine having to deal with clients/customers like me when your company offers you no support...

Week 25 - April 2005

2005-05-18T03:07:00.000+02:00

Hey. GUESS WHAT!?! My card was approved. I guess I have HDJ 2 to thank for that. So when will my card arrive?

"I'm afraid there's been a delay with the cards. They will only come out near the end of May."

Week 24 - April 2005 - Part 5

2005-05-18T02:36:00.002+02:00

HDJ 2 finally phoned me back. She said that she was trying to find out exactly why my card was rejected. You see, she was thinking along the same lines that I have. There were 2 possibilities for my card being rejected:

1 - I had outstanding debt --> This was proved to be false, because I don't have a credit profile.
2 - I don't have a credit profile --> Ok, I have a car that a bank decided to give me money for. I have a house that the bank decided to give me money for. I don't have any accounts anywhere because I don't like owing money. If I want a shirt, I draw the money, and buy the shirt. Fine. They don't know if I spend money well or not? But I sent them my financial details, and to me, putting 1 + 1 together should give you 2. It gave SOMEBODY here -100.

So, HDJ 2 would like to find out what's happened, and why the Bank/Discovery won't approve my willingness to give them money. She'll phone me tomorrow...

Week 24 - April 2005 - Part 4

2005-05-18T00:55:00.000+02:00

Back to the Helpdesk Jockeys. LOVELY. I phoned quite a few times this week, so let me sumarise.

HDJ 1 - I told him that I was tired of trying to find out why the card was rejected. ESPECIALLY since I was dealing with Discovery directly, so Discovery should be telling ME why it was rejected. NOT make me go hunting for the reason. So HDJ 1 said that he would try and find out what a T100 code was. He would phone me back the next morning.

NEXT DAY:

HDJ 2 - After waiting until the next afternoon for the phone call that never came, I phoned again. HDJ 2 said that I couldn't speak to HDJ 1 (obviously). Nicely enough, she volunteered to try and see what people (like the Finance Dept.) were saying about code T100. She would phone me back in the morning.

NEXT DAY:

HDJ 3 - Sorry, you can't speak to HDJ 1 or HDJ 2, but the system said that HDJ 1 has sent a letter as to why the card was rejected. Expect it in the post any day.

Lovely, on top of all this, the company also uses snail mail (which, by the way, still hasn't arrived, 1 month later).

Week 24 - April 2005 - Part 3

2005-05-18T00:18:00.000+02:00

So, the phone call to ITC. And for those who don't know, ITC is a company that keeps details on your credit profile. This includes when, where and how often you have applied for credit.

Anyway, the phone call kind of goes like this:

"Hi. I believe I have outstanding debt. Could you tell me what a code T100 means?"
"I'm sorry, what is a T100?"
"I have no idea. I was told it was an ITC code and it means I owe somebody money."
"Well I've never heard of this code."
"Oh?"
"What are your details and I will check your profile..."
"blah blah blah..."
"Sorry, there are no details for your name in our system."

So, for the second time in 5 months I have proved to myself, and OBVIOUSLY, to myself ALONE that I do not have a bad credit profile. Forget bad credit profile, how about NO profile whatsoever. This might not be the best of things either though. Read the next post to find out why.

Week 24 - April 2005 - Part 2

2005-05-17T20:27:00.000+02:00

"Hi. I'd like to know when my Credit Card will be delivered. I was told it will be delivered at the end of April"

"I'm afraid it looks like your card was declined"

...breathe...

"Could you tell me why it was declined?"

"Yes. It looks like there is an ITC code 'T100'. It must mean you have debt outstanding or you've had a problem paying another credit card. You will have to phone ITC to find out what the judgement against you is."

...riiight...

Week 24 - April 2005 - Part 1

2005-05-17T20:21:00.000+02:00

Right. Finally it's nearing my Credit Card time. I can just feel it. Phone the other company, say "Sorry, I don't need your card". But first, let's do a little follow up.

I'm calm.

I can breathe.

I'm not shaking. Much. Do I HAVE to feel nervous phoning these people. I mean, what could POSSIBLY go wrong now?

Week 20 - March 2005

2005-05-17T20:15:00.000+02:00

As with last month, I'd just LOVE to know exactly how things are going. So, let's do the phone call thing again.

"I'm sorry sir. But there's been a slight delay. The cards will only be ready at the end of April"

OH... MY... WORD!!!!!! And the problem is?

"I'm afraid I don't know."

So, I've been messed around for 4 months, rejected, and made to wait a little longer each time. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a VERY badly written thriller movie, or at the VERY least, a badly written thriller blog!!! What can this company do to make me happy?

"I'm sorry sir, I've spoken to my supervisor, and I can only offer you our apologies"

lovely

Week 15 - Feb 2005

2005-05-17T20:11:00.000+02:00

We all know how well this fantastic process is going, so let's just do a check on things.

"Um, sorry sir, but I can see that your request has been processed. But the cards are only going to be available at the end of March".

That's fine with me. I can wait until the End of March. They don't know whether it's been approved just yet, but it has been processed.

Week 10 - Jan 2005 - Part 3

2005-05-17T20:03:00.000+02:00

Aaahh, I phoned again, and they found my Fax. It looks like things are starting to move along now.

Unfortunately, there seems to have been a large number of upgrades. So, there's ANOTHER backlog. But don't worry, they will process my request and once the card has been approved, I should receive it by the end of March.

"Very sorry for the inconvenience"

Musings - Part 1

2005-05-16T02:44:00.000+02:00

Here's a little private Q&A Session

"WHY are you still doing this???"
Well, I know I qualify for this card. I'd really like to see how long it will take to get it. And, of course, there's the matter of the NOW EXPIRED Garage Card on my other account.

"So, why the stressing out?"
That's because I feel powerless at the hands of such utter incompetence. I am tired of asking for something, and because I mean nothing to the people/company, why bother with some decent service...?

You also have to realise, I know 5 people who applied for this card. ONE person managed to receive the correct card. 2 people received the Electron Card, 1 received the correct card, but with incorrect personal details on the card. And the 5th person was lucky enough not to have been given anything. No explanation necessary.

Week 10 - Jan 2005 - Part 2

2005-05-16T02:39:00.000+02:00

I phone the Helpdesk. Sorry, I can't talk to yesterday's HDJ. But surely this new person can help me.

SURE, you can tell me if you're received my fax request for a Credit Card upgrade.

"Will that be a limit upgrade?"

No, that'll be the CARD I ORIGINALLY REQUESTED! please.

I must learn to relax. It's only a credit card. Once again, why get upset with an HDJ. They can't do anything, can they?They answer the phones and check the system to see what it says.

All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS my garage may have expired, but I can carry on using it until I pick up my new one.