According to reports made by Destructoid, retailer GameStop may be venturing into the financing business with its own credit card. This card would lock its users to their PowerUp Rewards program.
One of the more troublesome factors about the credit card isn’t the empty incentives, however, as the article shows some documentation that reveals a staggering interest rate. In a marketing slip that Destructoid managed to snag in photographs, an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) would be set at 26.99%, where the average is around 13%.
According to their sources, PowerUp Rewards members would already be preapproved for the credit card line. Basic users would receive 5,000 bonus points upon signing, whereas Pro members would get 15,000.
PowerUp Rewards is a program GameStop runs to incentivize purchases. Upon transactions, customers receive a set amount of points that can be accrued to collect trinkets of various kinds.
There would be financing options for the GameStop credit card that could possibly reduce the APR, albeit momentarily, but it would seem this is a source of concern if it’s true. There are plenty of gullible people out there who don’t read the fine print, who could be left destitute from credit purchases.
Credit cards are rarely a good idea. If you do need one, for whatever online product requires it, please consider a pre-paid option. They usually come with flat monthly rates and can’t ruin you more than you put in yourself.
This isn’t even GameStop’s only financing plan currently running. In previous news, the company stated that it could be working directly with game developers to create exclusive content.
Imagine if both worlds would meet and the only way to gain exclusive content is to purchase through a GameStop credit card. Don’t even think for a second that they wouldn’t consider actually doing that.
