[Nessie]

I was approved for the Apple Eduation Loan for a new Powerbook, but MBNA, the financer of the loan apparently, wanted to charge me 26.99 percent interest. 26.99%! What's the going rate of a loan shark? I'm surprised that a company can get away with this. It's not that my credit rating is bad, because I asked. The representative said it was the "amount" (2500). It's not like I haven't bought a car before. Too rich for my blood, thank you. I might still do it if I can manage to pay down the principle quickly, but that's one scary interest rate. Thoughts, anyone, on this white collar extortion?

[DigitalDNA]

MBNA is the worst.. the absolute worst. I've had several accounts with them and ended up closing them all because of their shady practices and VERY high interest rates.

[tgrundke]

It could have something to do with your credit history.

You are better off trying to get a credit card that offers a 6-month introductory APR of 0% or 1.99-3.99% and that then goes up to 7-9% (which is far more appropriate).

But again, if they are coming back to you with 26% interest, you should call and ask why the rate is so high. Sometimes they will negotiate with you, other times it is due to your credit score.

Want to know something scary? There are lots of people who finance *AUTOMOBILES* at those kinds of interest rates...

[Nessie]

Originally posted by tgrundke:
It could have something to do with your credit history.

You are better off trying to get a credit card that offers a 6-month introductory APR of 0% or 1.99-3.99% and that then goes up to 7-9% (which is far more appropriate).

But again, if they are coming back to you with 26% interest, you should call and ask why the rate is so high. Sometimes they will negotiate with you, other times it is due to your credit score.

Want to know something scary? There are lots of people who finance *AUTOMOBILES* at those kinds of interest rates...

Great idea, tgrundke, about the credit cards. I'll look into that.

I asked about the interest rate and he said it was the amount, not the credit history. But I've had automobile loans before for three times the amount of the Powerbook. They said the rate would go down some after a few months, if I called and negotiated. I might just try for the 12" PB, not the 15", and see what the rate would be for that.

[tgrundke]

Well, if they won't budge on the rate, look elsewhere or wait until you can pay cash for the item. It really is not worth it to finance at such a ridiculously high rate when interest rates in general are down in the neighborhood of 1-2% from the feds.

I'm one of those people who looks for cards with oodles of benefits, even if they have an annual fee. Right now I use a Chase World Continental card for airline mileage, free tickets, insurance on car rentals, etc. For me it's worthwhile because I spend about half my year in Europe and half here stateside.

As to Amex, keep in mind that they usually require you to pay off the balance every month - but in return you get the warranty goodies. Some of the other cards may offer it. Do a search for credit cards through google and see what offers you can find. You can usually negotiate interest rates just like any other fungible good.