First Access Visa® Card review: Costly credit for little payoff

Using the First Access Visa Card responsibly (ex., by paying your balance on time and keeping your credit utilization low) can help you build or rebuild credit over time, since the card reports to all three major credit bureaus. However, the high fees, limited benefits and lack of flexibility make it a difficult card to carry long-term.

There are more cost-effective ways to build credit, such as using a secured card with no annual fee or even a starter card that offers basic rewards. If you qualify for even a slightly better option, it’s worth exploring alternatives that provide value without the financial strain.

Additionally, the lack of credit limit increases over time for responsible usage can be discouraging. Many credit-building cards gradually increase the credit limit as the cardholder demonstrates responsible credit behavior. Managing greater amounts of credit is an essential part of growing as a responsible credit user and important to maintaining a healthy credit utilization ratio, so it’s a shame the First Access Visa doesn’t offer a timeline on such increases (and worse, charges a fee when it does grant them). While reporting to credit bureaus is essential, it is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to establishing a positive credit history. 

The First Access Visa Card could work well if you need a starter card or an unsecured credit-building card without the security deposit barrier. It also offers a flat rewards rate.

Rewards: Offers a flat rate on all purchases

The First Access Visa Card's flat rewards rate on purchases provides an uncommon incentive for a credit-building card. While many credit-building cards don’t offer rewards or cash back programs, this card does, so it may motivate you to use your card regularly and responsibly. 

Even though the First Access Visa Card can technically help you build credit, there are quite a few downsides to using this card, such as the slew of fees and lack of cardholder perks and credit-building features.

Rates and fees: Packs on high costs for cardholders

Like many other credit-building cards, the downsides to the First Access Visa are buried in the credit card agreement’s fine print. The card charges exorbitant interest and maintenance fees, even for a card designed for people with poor credit. With all of the First Access Visa card’s fees combined, you could spend hundreds of dollars a year just to hold the card.

• APR: There is an incredibly high 35.99 percent APR on purchases (See Terms) and cash advances (See Terms), and any interest charges have a minimum price of $1.
• Sign-on fee: First Access charges a one-time program fee of $95 once your application is approved.
• Annual fee: The first year’s fee can range from $50 to $125, depending on your approved credit limit. The annual fee is charged upfront and deducted from your overall credit limit. This means if you're approved for a $300 credit limit, it will actually start at just $225. After the first year, the fee drops to $48 annually, regardless of your credit limit. There is also a $29 annual fee on supplementary cards.
• Monthly service fees: Although there is no monthly service fee in the first year, it becomes applicable starting at month 13, ranging from $6.25 per month ($75 per year) to $10.25 per month (or $123 per year).
• Credit limit increase fee: After the first year, you become eligible for a limit increase assessment. The cost of this assessment is 25 percent, meaning that if your limit is increased by $50, the fee is $12.50.

Other fees

• Late payment and returned payments fees are quite steep at up to $41 per incident.
• There is a cash advance fee beginning in the second year, which costs $10 or 3 percent per transaction, whichever is more.
• If you want one of First Access’s card designs, there’s a maximum $10 Premium Plastic Card Design fee.
• First Access will impose a $35 Express Delivery fee for express delivery of your credit card.
• First Access may charge a $3 copying fee for each requested duplicate of any monthly billing statement or other document unless the request is made due to a billing error dispute.

From annual fees to monthly maintenance fees and even one-time processing fees, these charges can eat into any available credit limit and hinder your ability to improve your credit score effectively.

Welcome offer: A temporary break from high fees

Instead of offering a standard sign-up bonus or introductory APR, the First Access Visa waives its monthly and cash advance fees for the first 12 months. While this may sound like a relief given the card’s typically high costs, it’s not a true welcome offer with added value — there’s no cash back, no points, and no promotional APR. At best, it delays the inevitable: the fees you avoid now will return in full after the first year, meaning you’re not saving or earning anything — you’re just postponing the cost. Essentially, this offer doesn’t reward you for opening the card; it merely gives you a short reprieve before the financial drawbacks kick in.

Cardholder perks: Barely offers the basics

The First Access Visa Card offers a couple of basic features:

• Supplementary cards allowed: If you need an additional card for a spouse or partner, you can get one. You’ll be charged another annual fee and share the credit limit, so it’s likely this won’t prove worth the cost and effort.
• Wide card acceptance across the U.S.: Since the First Access Visa is a Visa credit card, virtually all merchants across the U.S. and online will accept this credit card. However, you can’t make charges abroad with this card.

In the realm of credit-building cards, this minimal feature set is not uncommon. But the card falls short compared to other similar cards that may offer more robust rewards programs, credit score tracking or other benefits that incentivize card usage and responsible financial behavior. 

Plenty of issuers offer credit cards for bad credit designed to help people with bad or fair credit scores — and plenty of them have much more to offer for far fewer costs than what you’d get with the First Access Visa.

The First Access Visa Card may be a good fit if:

• You're a credit builder with poor or bad credit who has had trouble qualifying for most unsecured credit cards
• If you have limited credit history and are trying to establish a credit profile from scratch
• You have been denied secured cards or prefer an unsecured option without tying up a refundable deposit
• You need a last-resort credit option despite high fees, due to a very low credit score
• You're seeking fast approval and reporting to major credit bureaus to begin rebuilding credit as soon as possible

But if you’re in the market for a credit card when your credit is on the low side, the First Access Visa is a very expensive option. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s an attainable card for people with low credit, it wouldn’t be a worthy credit card option at all. The excessive fees and the incredibly high ongoing APR are not worthwhile when there are so many other card options available for people with bad credit that don’t cost hundreds of extra dollars a year just to maintain the card. Most people would be better off saving for a secured credit card deposit.

While the First Access Visa Card might suit some credit builders with limited options, it’s far from the only choice. There are other cards worth considering — like secured cards with rewards or unsecured cards that don’t charge an annual fee — that may offer better long-term value and lower costs.

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*The information about the First Access Visa® Card and Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category. 

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score: