I have another *buyer beware* for you. If ever you get a tempting credit card application from Tribute cards, throw it immediately into the nearest trash can.

I should have suspected that these people were trouble from the very first when errors at their Web site prevented my registering my account online ~ and there was no link to report the problem then. Subsequently, I tried to phone in the problem, only to be told by the customer service dude that there was nothing he could do about the Web site. Finally, after about three months, someone caught on to the problem, and I did register ~ much to my relief because I do a lot of online banking. However, by then, the high interest rates were beginning to register in my teeny brain ~ my own fault there.

My next step was to attempt to transfer my Tribute balance to my CapitalOne card. Although CapitalOne reported that the transfer had been made, it didn't show up in my Tribute account ever. When I called Tribute, once again, I was moved through an automated round of voices and ultimately told *Good-bye!* by the automated voice. I tried again ~ punching buttons for options that didn't fit my situation just to see whether I could get a real person. I finally did ~ but he couldn't tell me why the credit wasn't showing up in my account ~ only that it wasn't. Well, duh. So he put me on hold for a good ten minutes and came back to tell me that Tribute doesn't accept transfers?????

I called CapitalOne back, and they have put a stop payment on their check to Tribute and will send me a credit card check to deposit enough money into my personal checking account to pay off Tribute and close that account-from-Hell.

So learn from my experience, Grasshoppers. CapitalOne has been *fantastically* helpful and polite ~ Tribute so *not.* Of course, the bigger lesson might be to avoid using credit cards at all ~ but if you must use one, CapitalOne gets my vote forevermore! What's in your wallet??? :)