- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- See Provider Website
- APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- N/A
- Rewards rate
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
If you’re looking to rebuild your credit, the Premier BankCard® Mastercard® Credit Card* may help -- but it will cost you. Although this card has a low credit score requirement, it comes with hefty fees.
Many other credit-building cards, including secured cards, which require a security deposit to fund your credit line, can help you grow your credit without worrying about steep program fees and many other unexpected charges. The Premier BankCard, however, has more fees than most other cards, charging a program, annual and monthly fee, among others.
Here’s what to expect from the Premier Bankcard Mastercard, including the rewards, fees and alternative cards to consider.
Rewards
The Premier Bankcard Mastercard doesn’t offer many rewards. Instead, this card can help you build good credit habits and report your activity to the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, to help grow your credit score.
The card also offers a credit limit increase after 12 months of having an account in good standing -- that means on-time payments and staying within your credit limit. However, you’ll be charged a 25% fee for the amount of your increase, a fee most other credit-building cards do not charge.
Card fees
While this credit-building card is an unsecured credit card -- it doesn’t require a security deposit to open an account -- it charges other higher-than-average fees you should review before applying. Here are some of this card’s major fees:
- Program fee: $55 to $95 to open an account
- Annual fee: $50 to $125 based on creditworthiness
- Monthly fee: Up to $10.40 based on creditworthiness (the first year is free)
- Cash advance transaction fee: $8 or 5% of the cash advance (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3% of each transaction
- Credit line increase fee: 25% of the credit line increase
To minimize fees, we recommend considering a credit card with no annual fee. If you can’t qualify for a no-annual-fee card, consider one of our credit card picks for lower credit scores instead.
Alternative cards
There are plenty of other credit-building cards on the market that are more affordable than the Premier BankCard Mastercard, including:
Discover it Secured Credit Card
The Discover it Secured Credit Card* is one of the few secured cards that offer rewards: 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, plus 1% cash back on all other purchases. You’ll also earn a cash-back match at the end of your first year, essentially doubling the cash back you earned. There’s no annual fee for this card, but you will need to supply a deposit -- between $200 and $2,500 -- to secure the card and serve as your credit line.
You can see if you prequalify for this card without completing a full application and causing a ding to your credit score. If approved, you could upgrade to an unsecured card as quickly as seven months after opening your account if you demonstrate responsible credit usage.
Check out our full review of the Discover it Secured Credit Card
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
Another good option for building or repairing credit is the Capital One Platinum Secured card. This card has no annual fee, and its security deposits work a bit differently than most secured cards. For example, a $49 security deposit could get you access to a $200 credit line. Like most secured cards, once you upgrade to an unsecured card, your deposit will be refunded.
Like the Premier BankCard Mastercard, the Capital One secured card does not earn rewards, but it also doesn’t have annual, monthly or program fees to worry about.
Check out our full review of the Platinum Secured Credit Card from Capital One.
How PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® Credit Card compares to other cards
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- See Provider Website
- APR
- N/A
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- N/A
- Rewards rate
-
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
- Intro Offer
-
Cashback Match™ Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 27.49% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 2% Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 17.49% – 31.49% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 1.5% Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.; 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away.
FAQs
If you’re just starting out on your credit card journey or working on repairing your credit score, a secured credit card can help. Secured cards allow you to fund your credit line with a security deposit. In exchange, the card provider reports your usage to credit bureaus, so you can boost your credit score over time by making on-time payments.
It could take a few months or years to see a notable jump in your credit score. If you keep your credit usage low and continue to make on-time payments every month, your credit score should begin to grow.
The best credit card to improve your credit score is the one with the fewest fees and hurdles to approval. The Premier Bankcard has steep fees but can approve you if your credit score is as low as 500.
It’s important to compare cards based on fees, limitations and even rewards. While not all secured or credit-building cards offer rewards, some do. Compare different cards within your credit range before completing an application.
*All information about the Premier BankCard Mastercard, Discover it Secured Card and Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
