Into the frying pan (Egg Card)

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	Egg Card
Date:	14/09/00 (463 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: handy..if you can get online

Disadvantages: snail paced site

I was rather dubious about getting an online credit card but have been pleasantly surprised by EGG.

It was their 0% rate for balance transfers that enticed me ahead of their rival Cahoot.It takes about ten minutes to apply and you get an instant decision-although the card took a week to arrive and then you have to activate it online.The card is a pleasant green colour and is labeled 'created for..' before your name.I don't know if this is meant to give it a certain cachet,but no surly garage attendant has yet to express admiration for it!

Balance transfers are easy to do online and although they don't send out statements they do e-mail you to let you know its available to see at their site.The available offers change on an almost monthly basis so it's a good idea to check EGG and it's internet rivals each month if you're a serial surfer.Currently,as of 28/02/2001 the offer is 0% interest for balance transfers and new purchases.These offers are however for new users with we existing customers getting a reasonable but not exceptional rate of 11.9%apr.

You can nominate a monthly repayment or choose to pay all or 3% of your balance.You can also nominate your payment date so that it coincides with payday.A small gripe is the lack of a facility that lets you pay in more than once a month in case,God forbid,you have excess cash in a given month.

The only real drawback is the speed of the site which can crawl at busy times-no doubt a symptom of too many punters for their server.Another problem is the log in with your first name,second name,post code,date of birth (three drop downs),mother's maiden name and password all needed before they let you in.I'm all for good security but most of this information could be easily found for most people by determined crooks,surely a username and password would suffice?.Perhaps it's so they can promote themselves as super secure but after a few visits it gets tire
some.

They also offer 1% cash back and 2% back for purchases via their online shop.I only use the card for petrol so the sad £2.24 I've accumliated won't have me counting the days to the September payout.A handy feature is that a single screen displays all your EGG business be it in or out goings.I have a savings account with them too so it's easy to see where the cash goes!.

On the whole cheap and convienient,but with a few tweaks it could be the market leader.The site has been down recently and the address in the browser is newegg.com.A phone number is given,but I'd have been worried to go online to check my cash and find the site gone,presumably along with my cash.The new site is nice but cluttered with pictures of happy customers that serve only to slow the download.

I'd recommend EGG but would also guard against complacancy as they will no doubt up their rates to claw back the start up costs.A faster site and quick log on would also be welcome but these are small gripes when you take into account the good rates and easy access.

Summary: