Credit One Bank Unsecured Platinum Visa Review

A low credit score is the bane of any business owner. Poor credit makes applying for loans or mortgages tricky, and even services such as cell phones or the internet can be hard to get with a weak score.

Finding a credit card can also be difficult because many issuers look for those with good credit histories. Luckily, there are cards designed to help out those with low credit scores. The Unsecured Platinum Visa from Credit One Bank is one such card. While this offering isn’t packed with the richest rewards or best benefits, it gives you the chance to bolster your all-important credit score. By crafting an unsecured card, Credit One Bank is also offering something unique — most credit-building cards are secured and require a deposit.

Even though this card is designed for personal use, utilizing a personal credit card for your business might be a great option. You’ll still be able to build up your credit score and a card like this one from Credit One can help get you in the habit of paying off a credit card every month.

Unsure if the Credit One Bank Unsecured Platinum Visa will work well with your business? Keep on scrolling to find out!

Credit One Bank Unsecured Platinum Visa At A Glance

Eligibility

Because Credit One created this card for rebuilding credit, you’ll likely only need a poor credit score or better. That means your score should be around 500. If your score is higher than that, you may want to look at cards aimed at those with fair credit.

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Rewards & Fees

Rating: Fair

The card’s reward scheme varies based on your creditworthiness when you apply for your card. These tiers include:

• 1% cash back on eligible gas, groceries, cell phone services, internet services, and cable and satellite TV services.
• 1% cash back on eligible gas, groceries, restaurant purchases, cell phone services, internet services, and cable and satellite TV services.
• 1.1% cash back on eligible restaurant purchases and 1% cash back on other eligible purchases.
• 1% cash back on eligible purchases.

Because the card is for those with low credit scores, these reward tiers are actually quite generous. The fact that you can even collect above 1% cash back on restaurant purchases is especially enticing because many credit-building cards either offer no rewards or max out at a 1% earn rate.

The Credit One Bank’s Unsecured Platinum Visa features a variable annual fee that ranges from $0 to $75 the first year and $0 to $99 the second. The amount you’ll pay is based on your creditworthiness. Note that your annual fee cuts into your initial credit line. So if you have a credit line of $300 and your annual fee is $75, you’ll only have $225 of credit available initially.

Credit One Bank does carry a relatively high APR, so you might want to keep that in mind. However, the Platinum Visa’s APR still sits in line with other credit-building cards. This means you may wind up with a high APR no matter which card you choose.

Other fees include a $19 annual charge for additional cards. Like with the annual fee, this fee will reduce your available amount of credit.

If you’re traveling abroad, you’ll also have to pay either $1 or 3% per transaction (whichever is higher). There’s also a fee for cash advances — either $5 or 8% of each cash advance (whichever is higher) or $10 or 3% of each cash advance (whichever is higher).

Redeeming Rewards

Rating: Fair

Rewards for the Credit One Bank Unsecured Platinum Visa are credited to your account automatically in the form of a statement credit. The credited amount you’ll receive is based on your eligible net purchases from the previous statement period.

Other Benefits

Rating: Fair

As an added bonus, those interested in this card can fill out a form to see if they’re pre-approved. With a pre-approval process, you’ll be able to find out if you qualify for the card without harming your credit score. This can be very important because a normal application draws a hard pull on your credit history — something that may lower your credit score.

While Credit One Bank might start you with a low credit line (your available credit could begin as low as $300), they’ll perform automatic checks for credit line increase opportunities. This can be especially beneficial for users looking to improve their credit scores by consistently paying off their card balance. Do note, however, that a credit line increase may come with an additional fee.

You’ll also get access to Credit One Bank’s Zero Liability Policy. This means you won’t have to worry about unauthorized purchases made with your card. On top of that, the bank also provides EMV chip technology in their cards to protect against counterfeiting.

After your first billing period, you’ll be able to change your payments’ due date. The only restriction is that it must be at least six days before or after the original assigned date and you’ll only be able to change the date once every six months.

Live your life digitally? Credit One Bank provides customizable notifications for account alerts that include due dates for payments, payment posted confirmations, and notices about posted activity. You’ll be able to receive those notifications via text or email. Credit One Bank cards also feature the option to connect with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay, so you can use your phone with participating merchants.

Final Verdict

Is the Credit One Bank Unsecured Platinum Visa right for your business? You might want to apply for this card if:

• You have low credit and are looking to rebuild it.
• You’d like a credit-building card that won’t require a security deposit.
• You don’t need a high credit line.

Compare Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® at Credit.com

On the other hand, you might want to pass if:

• You have good credit or higher and can qualify for a credit card with better rewards and lower fees.
• You need a high credit line right away. The Credit One Bank Platinum Visa can have a credit line as low as $300 to start (and potentially lower depending on extra fees).