Buy.com Visa (First USA)

Pros: 1% credit for all purchases
Cons: 1% Credit good at buy.com only.

UPDATE 9/2004: The card changed. It's just 1% now. Check out the citbank Dividend Platinum Select card for better rewards. UPDATE TO THIS OPINION: The 5% credit on buy.com purchases changed to 3% credit. I think BUY.COM is going through some ...

Pros: 3% back when buying from Buy.com, 1% elsewhere, low initial APR
Cons: Security is a little to strict, many transactions get declined

I love buying computer equipment, and I've been a loyal customer of Buy.com ever since they first came out as Buycomp.com. I was curious to see what their new Visa card is all about, so I went ahead and applied for one.

First of all, the...

Pros: 3% Buy.com credit for Buy.com purchases, 1% Buy.com credit elsewhere
Cons: Relatively high APR, ugly, you'll be seen as a nerd :P

******* Start Update - Feb 25 '02 *******
This card isn't the best card out there anymore. Although Buy.com has kept their low prices, they've taken away a lot of things that made them #1 over the years:

1. No more customer...

Pros: Seems like a good card
Cons: The site it comes from

The offer seems good at first..1% cash elsewhere, 5% at buy.com, but first we must look at buy.com. I can use my discover card and get 1% cash, and not even have to worry about where I can redeem it (never been a problem for me to spend cash). That is...

Pros: Points for the techno-geek that can't be used elsewhere
Cons: Incredibly high interest rates and not attractive

The Buy.com Visa is just another 'branded' bankcard that is generic Visa with a fancy plastic picture - that's Plastic, not Gold, Silver, or Platinum.

But on this one, read the fine print! While you think you are getting points at that awful...

Pros: Quick approval
Cons: Cancels pre-ordered items 10 days before delivery which invalidates your introductory discount

6/15/2006
I agree, this is not the best deal out there on VISA cards, so keep looking around. I was really shocked once I was approved for the card and used the 30% discount on the first purchase charged on their VISA. They pulled a variation of the old bait-and-switch on me. I ordered five books, tried to cancel one within 36 hours and was told too late; then three of the books were preorders and a few weeks after I placed the order they cancelled my order stating the publisher was not supplying them even though their release dates are 6/27 for two and 9/1 for the third. I was told I needed to reorder them and would not get the 30% discount on the reorders. Since Walmart, Amazon and overstock.com allow preorders several months on items and don't play games, I was shocked by BUY.com's practices.

Pros: None that I found.
Cons: Slow credit approval for people with great credit.
Buy.com getting bad rep on misleading ad.

An deal I followed from slickdeals.com led me to Buy.com with an offer of $30 off instantly of an item if you apply for the Buy.com visa card. Well there is no instantly involved here. I applied with a credit rating of over 800 and a week later have heard nothing from Buy.com or the visa card company... Of course the item I intended to buy is long gone.. Just another come on here.
Contacted buy.com and told them that the practice was bad business and they just sent a form letter back stating some credit approval takes 30 days.... eh hem! What happened to instant????
Anyway not a great deal on this card I will be cancelling account if approved and avoiding buy.com in the future. There are plenty of legit companies to deal with out there.