[DogFish]

I was on Amazon looking at the Nano tanks and found:

FT1202BK-D65: Finnex 4 Gallon Aquarium, 6500k w/ moonlight LED & Filter - BLACK for $48 + $16 S/H

Nothing special, that's pretty much what they are on e-bay. BUT WAIT!!! sign up for their Visa card, get $30 off immediately! So, now it's $35 and being shipped in 3-5days!!

BUT, A Ha you say, they get you with some annual fee?

NO Annual fee!!~!

Of course they are planning on you going head-over-heals in dept. Wether you fall for their fiendish plot is only up to you.

 

[radioman]

I have heard that if you cancel cards after you get them it will hurt your credit. Sounds like a good deal though.

 

[Noahma]

I have heard that if you cancel cards after you get them it will hurt your credit. Sounds like a good deal though.

Just have to pay it off, and forget you have the card lol.

Great find dogfish

 

[DogFish]

I'm not finance expert, I just can't see how if you open a credit line, use it once (to get almost 1/2 of) pay off the debt can do anything except improve your credit rating.

Maybe, for some that have an annual fee this might be a double bonus...LOL

BTW - I have nothing to do with Amazion or VISA. I was just real excited about getting this Finnex, Light & HOB for $35 and thought it might help other members.

 

[demonr6]

The act of having the the hit on your credit is bad enough especially if you do not need or want an unnecessary credit card. First off you get an inquiry to see if you qualify, if you do then you get a card, if not you just took a hit of 15 points or more that will stick to your credit for months. If you do get the card then now you take another hit because you have a new open credit line. If you do not intend to use this credit line regularly then you may now take another hit because a credit line that has little to no use can also hurt you as well.

Trust me I have been down this road and went through an extensive process to repair my credit and opening unnecessary lines of credit is ill advised.

 

[DogFish]

demonr6 - I think those are valid points and should be considered.

I typically on have one card and never carry a bal. (anymore). I got a little out of control years ago, got everyone paid off, and won't go in the neighborhood again.

I plan on seeing what other perks are offered before I decided what to do. These days the CC is for PayPal, or Motel if I travel, everything else is ca$h. For me that keeps me on the straight & narrow.

 

[HiepSTA]

seems like a lot of trouble for a 30$ discount lol

 

[demonr6]

demonr6 - I think those are valid points and should be considered.

I typically on have one card and never carry a bal. (anymore). I got a little out of control years ago, got everyone paid off, and won't go in the neighborhood again.

I plan on seeing what other perks are offered before I decided what to do. These days the CC is for PayPal, or Motel if I travel, everything else is ca$h. For me that keeps me on the straight & narrow.

My honest advice to you, avoid opening new and unnecessary credit lines unless you intend to use the card to build up your credit. If your credit is already good then run from new cards like the plague. Most of the feedback I read is use your credit card(s) on a regular basis and pay them monthly in order to build/maintain your credit score. A dormant card does you no good and can actually hurt your score with the new scoring system so even a small recurring bill you use it for every month then pay it off is better than a dormant card. Closing any account that has a long history is a bad thing too so damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[demonr6]

seems like a lot of trouble for a 30$ discount lol

Exactly.. $30 savings in exchange for a 15+ point hit on my credit score and as an added bonus I now have a credit card that will rail me at 18.99 APR... LOL

 

[mach_six]

The explanation from my mortgage broker on credit cards is the rating agencies looks at the available credit to debt ratio. If you have over $20k total available credit and don't carry any balances then your credit score will reflect that. If you had a credit card with a $10k limit and you cancelled that then you may see a lower score but a small amount won't hurt it.

If you open that card, just ask for the least amount like $500 limit or something.

From my experience, if you have taken loans (auto, school,etc) out and paid them back then your score will be high assuming you don't have any late payments that would hurt your score. I have opened up credit cards in the past 10 years just for these reasons. I have cancelled them and still have a high credit score. Of course if you're looking to get a house now, you shouldn't open up more credit lines.

 

[DogFish]

Good points by everyone. One thing is obvious it depends on one's financial situation.

I'm in my 50's, payed off student loans on time, own my house, own my car, carry no balance on my CC. Retirement investments are solid. Have bought & paid off a dozen new cars over 20 years.

Now, I'm laid off, working part time. So, getting $30 off a $65 sale is worth the 15 point "hit" as I really won't be making any major purchases until well after my employment status improves.

mach_six - interesting point about credit line to income ratio. I have a $30K/10L cash line on my M/C (12yr old acct.) the Visa gave me $3k. I an interested in learning if I should drop my line totals?

 

[Quentin]

The Finnex tanks are nice. I dont belive it would be worth the hassel of opening a CC but thats your decision. I'll just stick to the fish tankl.

 

[The Dude]

As for the deal on the tank, that's solid if you pay it off immediately. I was a regional director for HSBC. The third ( at the time, may be higher now that Citi plunged) largest bank in the world. You will never understand your credit score. It's garbage anyway. I used to take advantage of my near 800 credit scrore and got all kinds of things and paid interest on all of them. Now I am debt free. I don't need credit for anything. When I want a new car I'll pay cash. It was hard to get to this point and at times a little irritating as I get spread thin at times when I make big purchases, but I refuse to get into any of my assets. I have little faith in the future of this country, but that's another topic.

 

[mach_six]

Good points by everyone. One thing is obvious it depends on one's financial situation.

I'm in my 50's, payed off student loans on time, own my house, own my car, carry no balance on my CC. Retirement investments are solid. Have bought & paid off a dozen new cars over 20 years.

Now, I'm laid off, working part time. So, getting $30 off a $65 sale is worth the 15 point "hit" as I really won't be making any major purchases until well after my employment status improves.

mach_six - interesting point about credit line to income ratio. I have a $30K/10L cash line on my M/C (12yr old acct.) the Visa gave me $3k. I an interested in learning if I should drop my line totals?

It's credit to debt not income.

I know we were told to get rid of credit lines or lower them before applying for a mortgage but what he said seems to be the opposite and actually helps.

I'm guessing it shows the bank that you can manage your finances and is responsible enough to live within your means.

Going by the credit to debt ratio as a positive factor for the credit score then I would leave it alone.

I'm not a financial advisor so take this info with a grain of salt, it was based on what my broker told us during the application process and when he revealed to us our scores.

 

[The Dude]

Anyway since you got a steal on the tank, I'm looking forward to some seriously impressive scape and perhaps a canister upgrade!! What filter come with it?
What are you planning to stock in it?

 

[JasonG75]

Just have to pay it off, and forget you have the card lol.

Good Luck with that...better hide it from the Wife/gf as well.

 

[DogFish]

Unbelievably, it arrived TODAY!

The dist. warehouse must be in the Chicago metro.

Dude - Loose, Asian Bio type. The main character my PlaKat Betta.
Dirt floors with a sand cap, I have enough E-bellem to get a great start on wall to wall. Trident Java fern, maybe a little Taiwan moss.

I'm very low tech these days, built a 30 gal reef tank in 1985 from an article in TFH. Now I'm full circle back to simple.

I would just use a sponge but it's just too hard to hide in that little space. So I'll use the HOB, they supplied. I do not like seeing equipment...drives me crazy...LOL

I may double up on the lighting, need to give it a month 1st.