Don't Get a Bloomingdale's Card

This post breaks one of my rules, as it is not about something specific to the DC area (or a vacation we have taken while living in the area!), but it's a warning every young and married girl in the area should have.

Most of us have fallen victim to the temptation of a store credit card at one point or another. My weakness came at Bloomingdale's over a year ago. I was buying a pair of fairly expensive new boots, and I decided it would be worth it to apply for the card and get the discount. They upgraded my card to be a Visa, which would allow allow me to use the card outside of Bloomies. After getting annoyed with another card, I decided to make this one my primary for "fun" purchases. Two months in, I realized I hadn't gotten a bill for the card. I know I should have noticed, but I've been busy, and didn't. I called to figure out what was going on, and discovered something absolutely ridiculous.

Apparently, Bloomingdale's set up two accounts. One for in store purchases, and one for out of store purchase. I used to work in the credit card industry, so I get this, but it should be completely transparent to the customer. Instead, they let me know that the billing for the second account was not set up to appear in my electronic account. But not to worry, I was current on the account and all I had to do was login and pay my bill. Annoyed, but slightly relieved, I did that. I checked in two days later to make sure everything was applied appropriately to discover they had assessed a $29 late fee.

I'm still trying to get this remedied. It has taken way too much of my time, and frankly, I expect much more from a high end retailer. So take this as a warning - if you are addicted to Bloomingdale's like I am and end up with a card, pay very close attention to your balance. They seem to be falling short in this area.