JPMorgan Chase Go!Card help?

Don't touch that credit card; the interest rates alone will give you a massive headache.
If you’re a student, you’re better off grabbing an American Express card—you can actually shop via installments without getting hit by interest.
The Student discount program card is also a solid move if you want to pay in installments.

A Go card isn't even an option if they're just working under a student contract. They might be able to get an overdraft approved—if, that is, those funds are actually hitting a JPMorgan Chase account 🤷

Frank Perez96 said:Can students working through a campus job placement service actually get a GO! card?
And honestly, I could use some advice on which route is best for me here.

I’m looking to pick up a laptop from $1.00, but I don't have the cash upfront. Plus, I need this thing ASAP for a new job. Which card would let me buy it on a student plan over something like 20 installments, and which one gives me the best deal?

Thanks in advance.

You can grab a student Diners Club. The annual fee is $17, and it basically works just like a standard Diners card. You can do installment plans on whatever you want (unlike that student American Express where you're capped at 3 items), and it works outside the US too (unlike the student Amex which is US-only). The main thing is having a parent set your monthly limit; otherwise, Diners sets it themselves at $333 (for example, I have $1667). They'll just need your last pay stub and their signature.
Anyway, check out www.dinersclub.com—everything is laid out there. 😉 Personally, I'm more than happy with mine. 👍

Edit: You can even pick up a co-branded Diners card from AAA, Bill, HOO, or Lions Club. After six months of use, you can switch it to a revolving credit line (though I wouldn't recommend that).

Hey there.
Back in late March, I decided to run a little experiment. I pulled $33 out of an ATM using my credit card, and they set up a repayment plan over 24 months where I’d be paying back $40. I wasn't about to sit around for two years waiting to pay off $40, though, so I just cleared the whole thing at once. That first month, it looked like I had to cough up $8.00, plus the remaining 23 months were set at $1.50 each. Some guy on this forum previously told me that those $6.75—the extra amount tacked onto what I pulled from the machine—was actually just an ATM convenience fee, and that they’d hit me with interest after some quarterly calculation. Well, that never happened. All I ever paid was that initial $40.
History is repeating itself, just with bigger numbers this time. This time I grabbed 10 $0.00 using the exact same method, so I'm dropping the payment schedule as it shows up on my JPMorgan Chase online portal here:

Account Payment Schedule
xxxxxxxxxx (credit account)
Remaining Balance: $10,350.00
Due Date Principal Amount
09/15/2008. $766.67
10/15/2008. $416.67
11/15/2008. $416.67
12/15/2008. $416.67
01/15/2009. $416.67
02/15/2009. $416.67
03/15/2009. $416.67
04/15/2009. $416.67
05/15/2009. $416.67
06/15/2009. $416.67
07/15/2009. $416.67
08/15/2009. $416.67
09/15/2009. $416.67
10/15/2009. $416.67
11/15/2009. $416.67
12/15/2009. $416.67
01/15/2010. $416.67
02/15/2010. $416.67
03/15/2010. $416.67
04/15/2010. $416.67
05/15/2010. $416.67
06/15/2010. $416.67
07/15/2010. $416.67
08/15/2010. $416.59
TOTAL: $10,350.00

What I'm trying to wrap my head around is where the hell is the 12% interest? Based on this breakdown, it looks like I'm only paying back $117 more than I originally took out. Is it actually possible they don't charge interest if you're pulling cash from an ATM?

Look, it clearly states right here that we're talking about the principal amount... they're going to be calculating your interest on a quarterly basis...

I’m wondering if it’s actually possible to top up the available credit on my Go Mastercard, and if so, how do I go about it?
Basically, I started out with an available limit of $1667, but now that I've used it up, I'm sitting at $4.75. Every time I head down to the bank to make a payment specifically to increase my available credit, they just take that money to cover my upcoming monthly installments instead. Meanwhile, my online banking dashboard keeps showing me that my available balance is still stuck at $4.75...
The issue is that I really need this card for online shopping, but it’s impossible right now. The bank just keeps applying my payments toward future installments rather than replenishing my spending limit...
Thanks!

Dennis Garcia said:I’m wondering if it’s actually possible to top up the available credit on my Go Mastercard, and if so, how do I go about it?
Basically, I started out with an available limit of $1667, but now that I've used it up, I'm sitting at $4.75. Every time I head down to the bank to make a payment specifically to increase my available credit, they just take that money to cover my upcoming monthly installments instead. Meanwhile, my online banking dashboard keeps showing me that my available balance is still stuck at $4.75...
The issue is that I really need this card for online shopping, but it’s impossible right now. The bank just keeps applying my payments toward future installments rather than replenishing my spending limit...
Thanks!

Just wait for the payment to clear and process—then you'll see your spending power go back up.
To break it down:
- You owe $1662
- You pay $333
- You end up with $1332 or an available balance of $338
Keep in mind—it sometimes takes a few days to see the actual real-time status on E*TRADE.

By the way—your maximum limit is $1667 and there is zero chance of going above that (unless you go through a whole special process, obviously)

Best,

That's not right. If you're transferring money to the prepaid card account through E*TRADE, it shows up instantly. There’s zero waiting period, no "processing days" required, nothing.

Mark Sullivan62 said:That's not right. If you're transferring money to the prepaid card account through E*TRADE, it shows up instantly. There’s zero waiting period, no "processing days" required, nothing.

Well, now you're being inaccurate too. Sure, when you move funds through E*TRADE to the card account, the transaction hits the credit side immediately, but your available limit doesn't just jump up the same second. At least not for me. It usually takes a few hours—or definitely until the next day...

Look, all I’m saying is that the deposit shows up instantly, 😁

But as for whether the transfer limit updates right that second? Honestly, I have no clue. I haven't really sat down to dig into the fine print, and besides, I’ve never actually been in a spot where I had to sit there sweating my eyes out wondering if my limit was going to refresh the very moment the money hit the account or not.

Here is the situation I’m dealing with....
I made a deposit of $217, and my E*TRADE account showed that the funds were being applied toward my monthly installments through December. I was stunned. I called them immediately, and the representative kept insisting everything was fine and that I should be able to use my card normally. I tried explaining that my available credit hasn't changed because of the $4.75, which obviously means I can't make any online purchases, but she just insisted I was doing something wrong... fine. So, I decided to withdraw that cash from an ATM in downtown Chicago to ensure it wouldn't be swallowed up by those future payments. Now, I’ve ended up with a negative balance on my checking account because of that $217 withdrawal. Somehow, my available limit jumped to $13 on its own, and nobody can give me a straight answer about the deposit I made—the one that the website explicitly stated was for "paying off" those installments through the 12th month....
That would mean this month's payment for my Chase Visa $67 is the usual amount plus these extra $217... totaling $283. And still, no one understands why that initial deposit appeared as a prepayment for future months instead of increasing my available balance...
Basically, I gave the bank $217, withdrew $217, and now I owe $283....

Looking at my account status, it’s pretty obvious there’s an available deposit limit set, but if I actually want to touch those funds, I'm stuck waiting through 🤔 48 hours
first.

So, does that prepaid card actually accrue interest? I'm asking because a buddy of mine uses one and swears he isn't paying a dime in interest when he buys things on installment plans... (wtf?) 🙄

That’s how it works when you're dealing with installment payments...

So, does that mean if you're paying something off in installments, there's actually no interest involved?

When you're dealing with an installment plan, you don't actually have to pay interest, but there's a catch—you have to go down to the specific branch where you signed the contract (the bank/retailer combo) and explicitly request it

Aha, okay, thanks.

No offense intended, but that card is absolute garbage.
I used it for a few purchases and now I'm getting absolutely hammered with interest.
It’s honestly not worth using unless you’re dealing with a total emergency.

Plus, you can't even skip out on interest at some of the shops the bank has partnerships with.

Personally, I think the zero-interest installment card is totally fine.
The number of retailers signed up with JP Morgan Chase for those installment plans just keeps climbing...
...so I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Yeah, marko27 is right—if you pay the card bill through the JP Morgan Chase app, your available credit doesn't update instantly.
It hits sometime later that same day, at the latest.

I honestly think Amex still holds the best merchant agreements and perks in the US.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve noticed the price or interest rate is higher when using a Mastercard or something else compared to an Amex. Just my two cents