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Swiss Colony Credit Account Review
REVIEW

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By : Mr Credit Card

Who Is The Swiss Colony?

The Swiss Colony is an online store and catalog that sells food gifts including Cheese, Petit Fours, cakes and deserts, candies and chocolates, meats etc. They were founded in 1926 by Ray Kubly while he was still a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It wasn't until 1954 that he incorporated the company and Ray still had a full-time job (outside of running The Swiss Colony) unitl 1961 where he had to quit his job to run The Swiss Colony full-time.

When you order from the Swiss Colony, you can either use your credit card to pay when you check out, or you can apply for their credit account (or credit card). The credit account resembles a typical retail store credit card in that you can pay over time. Like a typical store card, there is no annual fee and they do report to all three major credit bureaus (though they did not used to do so). Hence, this card might be help to rebuilders who like to shop at The Swiss Colony's website or catalog. The Swiss Colony does not use any banks to issue their credit account but do the underwriting themselves. In this review, I will compare The Swiss Colony credit card with it's peers and give it a rating.


Key Features

Annual Fee $0
Regular APR 5.75% - 25.99%
Min Monthly Payment $10
Reports to Credit Bureaus Yes


Annual Fee - There is no annual fee for this card.

APR - The regular purchase APR varies between 5.75% and 25.99%.

Credit Bureau Reporting - Swiss Colony reports to all three credit bureaus so this card will help a rebuilder if you pay on time.

Minimim Payment - $10 a month.


How To Apply and Get Approved?

 

There are two ways you can apply and get a credit account from The Swiss Colony.
 

  1. The first is that you get a pre-approved offer either through a mail catalog or line. If you already have a pre-approved credit limit, any order you make from The Swiss Colony will not require additional review. Many of you reading this have gotten lots of mail catalog from them with a pre-approved code.

  2. If you do not have a pre-approved offer, then you just have to shop at www.swisscolony.com, choose the items you want to buy and select "open new account". You will be asked a few questions and depending on their assessment of your credit history, you might be give the following decisions.

Possible Credit Decisions

  1. You are approved and your products will ship immediately. You have to be aware that pproval might take 24 hours. After you are approved, the product you have purchased will be shipped to you.

  2. A Down Payment is Required - This usually happens when there are some issues when your previous credit performance, you have limited credit history or your order is large enough such that Seventh Avenue is only willing to extend credit for a portion of the total amount.

  3. You are declined - This can happend if you have previously defaulted on a Monroe and Main account, there was a fraud alert on your credit report or there is no information in your credit report.


Comparison

As an online store and catalog that sells Cheese, meats and deserts, The Swiss Colony competes with many other online stors that sell similar products. They include Hickory Farms, iGourmnet, Murray's Cheese, Harry and David and many others. The Colony Brands (which owns The Swiss Colony) also owns Wisconsin Cheeseman which sells similar products.

None of these competitors offer any credit account or credit cards. Only the Wisconsin Cheeseman does because they are also owned by Colony Brands. Their credit account and credit cards are similar to the Swiss Colony. Both have no annual fee and have the same purchase APR and approval process.

In fact, their credit cards (or credit account) is similar to most retail store cards offered by mainstream brands. They have no annual fee, allow you to carry a balance and can only be used at their respective stores (offline and online).


Pros and Cons

Pros

  • No Annual Fee - Like most store cards, Swiss Colony has no annual membership fee.

  • Reasonable APR - The APR range of 5.75% to 25.99% is reasonable and lower than most retail store cards..

  • Different Payment Schedules for different credit situations - Swiss Colony has different payment schemes depending on your credit. For some, you might be able to pay your purchases all in installments. For others, you might need a downpayment followed by installments. Those with really bad credit might have to pay in full.

  • Reports to All Three Credit Bureaus - Swiss Colony reports to all three major credit bureaus so this credit line can help you build or rebuild your credit.

Cons

  • Can only be used at www.swisscolony.com - This is not a Visa or Mastercard and only be used to shop at at www.swisscolony.com.



The Swiss Colony Credit Card Review Conclusion

When you shop at the Swiss Colony, most of you will simply use your regular credit card to pay for it. However, if you have bad credit and do not have any credit card, then you can apply for a Swiss Colony credit account or credit card. There is no annual fee and you can pay over time. You can also only use it at their online store or catalog. From this perspective, it is exactly like a retail store credit card.

However, I would caution any one who shops with them to pay your bills in full and not carry a balance. And this is especially so when you are buying food products. You should never be carrying a balance on such items.
 


Alternatives for Rebuilders

If you really love shopping at The Swiss Colony and you do not have any credit card, then by all means get their credit account. But if you are a rebuilder, there are many alternatives like secured credit cards or credit builder loans like Self which you should consider instead to rebuild your credit. The reason is because it is better to get a credit card which is either a Visa or Mastercard so you can use it anywhere rather than to be locked into a buy now pay later store card.


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